Daily Slideshow: A Pair of Custom Porsche Sit Pretty in the Desert
Purists, just… don’t. Think of this pair as over-the-top artwork in Porsche form.
Beyond-berserk work in plain wrappers
“I can’t wait to see what they look like once they’re finished.” That was my first thought after seeing a few images of John Sarkisyan’s pair of Porsches, as from most distances they look for all the world like they’ve been photographed pre-paint in just primer. Upon closer inspection, however, it became clear that not only are they fully completed, they’re overdone. Does your Porsche feature a leather-lined frunk with a faux suitcase fuel tank cover with leather straps to not only hold that “luggage” down but two custom holsters a piece for bottles (yes, plural) of hard liquor as well? Yeah. Even the most contentious rappers would think that’s a bit much, and it barely scratches the surface…
You thought I was kidding? The liquor’s but one sprinkle on these crazy cupcakes
Before I go any further, I want you to peruse the pictures and realize that if a part could be reworked, it was. A LOT. The hand-tooled leather work and exquisitely-engraved copper-clad parts alone would take a dozen crafts-persons ages to complete on their own. Yet, according to John, thanks to using “his” people—and staying on top of things himself—his creating these two-of-a-kind 356- and 912-based customs out of “cars that were trashed—there was no life in them” took just “seven months of really demanding work and 12-hour days, but they got done [for SEMA 2017].”
You don’t have to like them to admire them, but it helps…
“Strange” stuff first: Should the engine bay be lined in the same quilted leather as the interior? [Red on the 912, orange on the 356, FYI.] Should the intake trumpets, fuel filler hardware, and… everything else is “copperized” and engraved in such detailed scrollwork that it could show the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing a thing or two? And as my German is somewhat decent, I thought I’d shake the Staub off it for a more apt description of its fiddly bits, but it turns out “Steampunk” is the same in both languages. However, the profligate number of analog stopwatches on the dash does have a word auf Deutsch: verrüct. His reasoning? “I also like the Heuer stop clocks; I had two on my Speedster [more on that next] and now I have three on my 912 and six on my 356.”
It’s the wild, wild Weissach up in here! [Again.]
These “outlaws” are a few six-shooters short of living up to the title, but that didn’t stop John from decorating nearly everything that wasn’t leather-clad or painted like an old-school “presentation” firearm. And this isn’t Sarkisyan’s first rodeo, as Sarkisyan implemented many of these features on the award-winning 1957 Beck Outlaw Speedster he and his brother Edison built for SEMA 2015. Making their reappearance are the wheels, leather panel straps front and rear, paint color, dash-mounted stopwatches, steering wheel, and custom Calif. "black" plate. They did drop the frunk’s liquor bottle capacity by one, but it was in favor of WAY more plating, engraving, and filigree on the follow-ups. Plus they used two real Porsche this time, so… progress?
Putting the moderate go in all that show
Ordinarily “outlaws” are called that because—in 356es at least—their standard four-banger has been tossed in favor of something less VW Beetle-esque like the flat-six from a 911. In both cases here, however, the decision was made to have Fat Performance in Orange, California, build powerful born-with-style flat-fours instead. That left room—in both the engine bays and the budgets—for all manner of customization, including an ornate crossbar mount and carburetor “trumpets” plated in powder coat-sealed copper. “When you leave copper bare it turns green and looks bad,” says John. “My powder coater and I came up with a solution; we plated and polished the pieces to a high luster, then powder coated it with a copper sealer.” None of that makes them any faster, of course, but that was never the point.
The control freak’s guide to hurried excellence
Creating one Porsche show car full of one-off touches is hard enough, but to do two at once is flipping insane. Not only are all of the shiny bits inside and out—including the shifters, parking brake handles, fuel filler caps, and Budnik steering wheels—custom-made for these cars, only the last one is the same in both. Naturally John had to “helicopter parent” the build(s) to get these details just right, but when it came to those acres of leatherwork, well, let him explain it: “I’ve used the same leather guy for years, but I have to be there or the interiors wouldn’t end up looking like I want. This was a three-month interior [job] done in 10 days, but I had to be there to make sure it was done the way I wanted in the time I needed.”
They will, they will, rock you (in secret)
Both cars feature a suite of McIntosh audio gear, both because it’s the brand of choice for John and for its old-school display vibe. But that equipment is not only hard to find, it’s incredibly expensive. So why hide it in admittedly gorgeous luggage-looking leatherwork? Because I assume, like everything else on these cars, the point was to create the finest 356 and 912 possible without souring their retro flavor. Mission, I dare say, accomplished.
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