EXCLUSIVE: Porsche Exclusive to offer air-cooled engines for Porsche 991s
Ever since 1998, Porsche 911 traditionalists have bemoaned Zuffenhausen’s switch to water-cooled flat sixes. However, Total 911 can exclusively reveal that this is all about to change thanks to a new scheme from Porsche Exclusive.
Porsche’s bespoke department – the team behind one-off builds such as Mansour Oijeh’s 935 street car – has announced that, from today, Porsche 991 Carrera owners will be able to swap their 3.4 or 3.8-litre DFI flat six for a specially developed 4.1-litre air-cooled unit.
The new air-cooled motor uses a horizontal cooling fan to suck air through the 991’s decklid cover after Exclusive’s engineers found the current 911’s engine bay too small to fit a vertical fan flat six (as seen on most classic 911s).
As well as fitting the new air-cooled engine (the first to be fitted in a 911 since the 993), Porsche Exclusive will remap the car’s electronic system in order to remove the water temperature functionality from the 991’s digital fourth dashboard gauge.
“The decision to return to air-cooling has not been taken lightly,” explained Porsche Exclusive’s Marcus Rückdatierung. “However, after years of calls from our loyal customers, we feel that this April is the time to reintroduce a key part of Porsche’s heritage back into the current 911 line up.”
“Project Luftegekülht has been one of the biggest ever engineering challenges for Porsche Exclusive,” Rückdatierung continues. “Getting rid of all that hot air from the 991’s engine bay was more complex than we initially imagined but we are really pleased with the end result.”
While UK pricing has yet to be announced, German customers can order their engine swap now for €142,015, the high price reflecting the large R&D costs incurred by Porsche Exclusive during the new engine’s development.
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