20:06 05-07-2026
Gunther Werks F-26: an air-cooled, manual, 1067-hp 935 Slantnose for Goodwood
The carbon-bodied, 1225 kg restomod puts 1067 hp through the rear wheels alone via a six-speed manual, chasing a class record on the Goodwood hillclimb.
The Gunther Werks F-26 isn't just another pretty Porsche restomod destined for a collector's garage. The Californian workshop is bringing its 1067 hp Project F-26 to the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where it will chase the fastest time in its class up the hill. An outright record is almost out of reach — the rivals there include Koenigsegg, the track-only McMurtry Spéirling and other machines with no road-going versions. But the F-26 has a rare combination: rear-wheel drive, a manual and hypercar-level power.
Project F-26 first appeared almost a year ago at Monterey Car Week. Visually it nods to the Porsche 935 Slantnose, but technically it's no longer a classic air-cooled Porsche — it's a deep engineering reinvention. Behind the wheel at Goodwood will be Scott Speed, a former Formula 1, NASCAR and rally driver. He'll have 1067 hp and 1017 Nm from a 4.0-liter air-cooled flat-six with two turbochargers.
The body is carbon fiber, so the quoted weight is just 1225 kg. All of the drive goes to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox and a limited-slip differential. For a car like this that isn't a nostalgic detail but part of its character: the F-26 is meant to be not only fast but fiercely engaging to drive.
Cooling is a separate engineering story. On powerful air-cooled engines, overheating remains one of the main risks, and temperatures can spread unevenly across the cylinders. Gunther Werks used a race-derived flat fan that more than doubles airflow compared with a traditional vertical fan and should even out the temperature across all six cylinders.
The company isn't disclosing aerodynamic figures, but the bodywork makes it clear the F-26 wasn't built for museum-clean lines. Up front there's a new double-wishbone suspension, adaptive JRZ dampers, Continental ExtremeContact Force tires measuring 295/30 R18 at the front and 335/30 R18 at the rear, plus racing ABS on all four wheels. The rear wheelbase has been stretched by 30 mm for the sake of weight distribution and the center of gravity.
That's an important difference from the familiar Singer restomods or classic Porsche 911s, where the analog feel and visual purity are what people prize. The F-26 sits closer to the category of engineering weaponry for wealthy enthusiasts: just 26 will be built, each with a bespoke interior, and the real limits will probably be explored by only a handful of owners.
At Goodwood, Gunther Werks will also show the Turbo based on the Porsche 993: 850 hp, two turbochargers, rear-wheel drive, a six-speed manual, adjustable suspension, beefier anti-roll bars and Brembo GTR brakes. The run is larger but still small — 75 examples.
The paradox of cars like these is that they're created for driving at the limit yet increasingly bought as a rare asset. That's why Goodwood remains an almost perfect showcase: there, at least, you can see what all those modern 1067 hp were put into an old Porsche silhouette for.