SEMA
DevSpeed Motorsports unveil Frankenstein’s *new* monster: a Scooby-engined 911
A tuner by the name of DevSpeed Motorsports has unveiled a unique new take on Porsche 911 modification, by transplanting the four-cylinder turbocharged engine from a Subaru Impreza STI into a 997-generation GT3.
It’s not the first time – wait put the pitchforks down! – DevSpeed has taken something German and replaced its heart with something Japanese, but more on that later. This unification, called the ‘911 GT3 STI’ and built for the 2022 SEMA show, at least keeps the 911’s ‘boxer’ engine configuration.
Just with a couple of cylinders missing. Out goes the GT3’s mesmeric 3.6-litre flat-six, and in comes the 2.5-litre flat-four from a 2008 Impreza STI. There’s a good reason for the radical solution: builder Faruk Kugay bought the GT3 as a rolling shell after it had been crashed and stripped by a former owner.
With this blank canvas, he’s painted a merry picture. The EJ25 Scooby unit – good for around 300bhp originally – is apparently significantly lighter than the Mezger (RIP) unit and capable of a merry amount of horsepower.
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There’s an upgraded BorgWarner turbo sitting onboard and a “massive” intercooler, new injectors, rails and pumps, and a Nuke Performance fuel cell and fuel system. A custom exhaust completes the engine mods, and there’s talk of 550bhp – a fair whack over the original Scooby and GT3’s outputs.
It’s rear-drive, using the Scoob’s six-speed gearbox, while the “racecar” bodywork comes courtesy of England’s VAD Design. It’s wide because apparently this car has a competition future, and as such wields massive arches able to comfortably fit 10in front and 13in wide 19in 917-style alloys.
Said body has been stiffened via a rollcage, and hides BC Racing adjustable coilovers. A final motorsport flourish comes in the form of a performance air jack system for quick wheel changes. The livery is said to be inspired by the Salzburg 917 Porsche and Subaru’s own WRC cars, designed by Sean Smith.
Oh, about that other unification? For last year’s SEMA show Kugay took an E30 BMW 3 Series and put in a 2.0-litre four-pot engine from a Honda S2000. A precursor to this year’s… unique new take on Porsche 911 modification.
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Keyword: Woah, this is a Porsche 911 GT3 with a 550bhp Subaru boxer engine