For a long time now, I’ve been aching to get something Porsche-related from Sweden on Speedhunters. But finding these cars isn’t always easy.
Many owners want to remain private, and with gas prices through the roof and hardcore environmentalists voicing their concerns about cars like these at every other corner, seeing an air-cooled beauty on the streets of Stockholm is rather rare these days. That said, whenever I do catch one, you can bet I’m first in line to bombard the owner with a bunch of silly questions.
I’m quite certain that the Porsche-based creation I’m about to show you is my greatest find yet. Introducing the Wiborg Special 912.
Weekly car meets are a great opportunity to connect with new people in the car scene, and thankfully, Stockholm County has a bunch of them. I’m a regular attendee at the Nifsta Classic Cars get-togethers held in Rimbo, just north of Sweden’s capital, and it was there that I first met Anton Cosmo, the owner of this wild machine.
Anton is no stranger to fast cars, and in Scandinavian motorsport circles he’s best known for his neon yellow Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI time attack machine. Even though his racing career is still progressing, Anton has already had plenty of success behind the wheel in both Sweden and elsewhere around Europe.
The Evo, which was in quite a few pieces when I visited Anton at his garage, has a lot of modifications, and with 800hp pushing just 1,100kg, I’m sure it’s a handful. Despite its serious spec, Anton has another time attack car in the works, and this one’s an even wilder build that he plans on taking all the way to the World Time Attack Challenge in Sydney, Australia.
While Anton and his father worked on the Evo ahead of an upcoming event, my focus shifted towards the car I had come to see…
Built by Wiborg Engineering, this tube-framed 912 is an absolute work of art.
While I’m all for outrageous wide bodies, I think this race-inspired build really hits the sweet spot.
It started out as a bare 1967 Porsche 912 steel shell, which was reduced to nothing more than the stock roof, pillars, rear fenders and the cowl panel, before a full tube-frame chassis was constructed within. Then, the rear fenders were custom-widened in steel by 50mm on each side, and everything else bar the original doors were replaced with fiberglass equivalents. The front splitter is custom, while the wing is a modified Carrera RSR GT-style piece that fits nicely with the car’s revised lines.
To sum up the exterior, for me it strikes the perfect track-meets-street balance.
But the party really doesn’t start until you open up the car revealing a whole lot of carbon fiber goodness.
Up front, a carbon fiber floor cover hides the new fuel tank, while the side panels partially shroud the coilovers – the front suspension setup now based up on a custom Wiborg Engineering MacPherson strut arrangement. Further back in the frunk you’ll find a couple of Alpine power amplifiers and a Focal 3-way external crossover, part of a pretty nice audio system I’ll talk more about in a moment.
The cabin is a real mix of new and old. There’s a completely restored original Porsche dashboard with Porsche meters that read to 300km/h and 10,000rpm, but also a whole lot more carbon fiber. The floor and interior panels are all made out of the lightweight composite material and where required have been flocked for comfort.
Further modern touches come in the form of Sparco Evo Plus seats with matching harness belts, a suede-wrapped OMP steering wheel, Auto Meter 2.5-bar boost gauge, a Tilton 600 Series adjustable pedal box, custom switch panel with push-button start, and a centrally-mounted Alpine hovering display touchscreen head unit with GPS.
It’s the latter that controls the aforementioned audio system. On show through each carbon door panel are Focal K2 Power series speakers – two woofers (6.5-inch and 3-inch) and a tweeter, with a custom carbon box behind each of the larger drivers ensuring some solid bass.
The system is loud and clear – but it needs to be given the growl that emits from the rear of this monster…
Lifting the ultra-light fiberglass trunk reveals even more carbon fiber – and a 3.5L Porsche air-cooled flat-six that makes 1,000hp on E85.
The engine itself is mostly hidden by the custom twin intercooler setup, complete with an air channel between the tanks for engine cooling. Additional air makes its way into the engine bay via custom tunnels running from vents in the front bumper. These feed into a custom carbon box that seals tightly around the engine fan.
What you can’t easily see in the engine bay is all the other work that went into building this motor up for four-figure output. It all starts inside the engine with genuine – and very hard to get your hands on – 935 cylinders and pistons, but the two big power-making pieces of this puzzle are twin Garrett GTX28 V-band turbochargers (custom water-cooled) with 44mm TiAL MVR wastegates on a custom stainless steel exhaust manifold.
Other key components include ported heads, a custom intake, the twin ignition setup, WOSP Performance alternator with a custom pulley system and modern PK belt, a Setrab oil cooler (front mounted) and a dry sump system.
Getting the power to the ground is a shortened Porsche G50 5-speed transaxle with limited slip differential, running a custom clutch disc with a 935 pressure plate and ultra-lightweight flywheel. Corvette Z07 hubs are used for extra strength.
I touched on the front suspension earlier, but the rear also features a Wiborg Enginering MacPherson strut layout, but with D2 coilovers at this end instead of a Bilstein/Öhlins setup.
Wiborg didn’t mess around when it came to the brakes, speccing large Brembo calipers with Pagid pads and giant carbon-ceramic discs front and rear.
To finish things off, a set of iconic BBS E88 Motorsport wheels with center-locks are wrapped up in Yokohama Advan A052 tires, 265/35R18 for the front end and a staunch 315/30R18 out back. That’s a lot of rear rubber on the road, but this thing needs it!
For Anton, he’s yet to experience anything as terrifying but also as amazing to drive on the street as this car. That says a lot considering how quick his Evo is.
This Wiborg Special 912 could also be a sign of things to come for Anton; his goal moving forward is to one day race a Porsche. Whatever he ends up with, I’m sure piloting this 1,000hp street monster is setting him on the right path.
Alen Haseta
Instagram: hazetaa
Keyword: Tube-Framed & 1,000hp: The Wiborg Special 912