It could be the strangest and most picturesque construction of the SEMA Show that is being held these days in Las Vegas (United States). Eneos and DevSpeed Motorsports recipe includes the body of a Porsche 911 GT3 and the engine of a Subaru Impreza STI. The result of this association, which not even the brands themselves expected, is the Porsche 911 GT3STI.
The project started when they bought a 2007 Porsche 911 997 GT3 that had been in an accident: Only the bodywork remained of it, which Sean Smith Design has stained with the characteristic tones of the Subaru WRC (blue and yellow), making, yes, some references to the Porsche 917.
Chassis tuning
The chassis of the Porsche 911 GT3 STI has been set up for circuits featuring, take note, adjustable coilover dampers from BC Racing, suspension components from the Porsche 911 Cup entry car, and a roll cage from CageKits. The braking system of the GT3 has been preserved although, for the occasion, it has Hawk competition pads. And it’s equipped with a Nuke Performance Air Jack 90 Competition system for pit stops.
The body of the Porsche 911 GT3 STI
We now turn to the bodywork: the kit is signed by VAD Design and the panels are enlarged replicas of the GT3R in order to house the wheels with which the Porsche 911 GT3 STI has been equipped. We are talking about mixed Toyo Proxes R888R tires that measure 265/35 R19 at the front and 345/30 R19 at the rear. They are mounted on 19-inch Rotiform 917 wheels.
To this we must add a carbon fiber roof and in the rear the absence of the characteristic rear spoiler. The taillights from the original GT3 have been retained and the bumper on this part is not only new, it also leaves part of the wheels exposed.
the really interesting
Beneath that aspect, the result of the merger between Porsche and Subaru, what is truly interesting is hidden. The Porsche 911 GT3 they bought didn’t have an engine, so They fixed it by installing an EJ25 boxer from a 2008 Subaru Impreza STI. With this change they managed to lighten the starting model by 77 kilos.
They upgraded the 2.5-liter four-cylinder block with a BorgWarner turbocharger, a high-performance intercooler, an upgraded intake system (especially the injectors), and a custom-made exhaust system. As a result, the engine it produces 550 hp compared to 415 hp developed by the original Porsche 911 997 GT3 equipped with a naturally aspirated 3.6-liter six-cylinder. All that power goes to the rear axle through a six-speed manual gearbox from a Subaru STI.
