Porsche Builder Creates the Lightest 911 Ever
One man's quest to make his 1968 Porsche 911 as light as possible takes adding lightness to the extreme.
Adding Lightness
One of the many things that attract people to early 911s is their inherent lightness. It's a big part of what makes the iconic Porsche model so much fun to drive, after all. But for a guy named Richard King who owns a shop called Karmann Konnection, his 1968 Porsche 911 just wasn't quite light enough. King wanted to see just how far he could push the envelope, and just how much weight he could remove from it. And he's been documenting the process via his shop's Instagram page.
Photos: Instagram
Swiss Cheese
The process basically involves adding holes. Lots of them. King has been drilling holes in pretty much every single component except the 911's body, with an aggressive goal of slimming his Porsche down to around 1,300 pounds. The result is, well, an interesting concoction that looks a lot like the Swiss cheese you eat on your sandwich.
Photos: Instagram
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No Hack Job
Not to say this is some sort of hack job. The machining here is pretty flawless and almost pleasing to look at. King isn't the kind of person that's just going all willy nilly with a hole saw, he's doing this carefully so that he can remove weight without rendering his 911 undrivable.
Photos: Instagram
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Structural Integrity
However, there isn't a part that can be lightened that hasn't been touched. That includes the bell housing for the transmission, even. But this won't stop people from questioning what this will do to the Porsche's structural integrity. King has said that he's adding reinforcements where necessary, but we're still curious to see how it all works out in the end.
Photos: Instagram
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Cool Cabin
In all fairness, the interior looks pretty cool given this treatment. The drilled-out seats reportedly weigh a mere 10.5 pounds each, though King did leave a little padding there instead of going with just bare metal as many race cars do. It's a cool looking cabin, for sure, and one that'll undoubtedly raise some eyebrows.
Photos: Instagram
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Because Lightness
Virtually everything that could have a hole drilled in it has been given this Swiss cheese treatment as well. That includes things like the emergency brake, starter motor, suspension, and even the wipers. And in case you were wondering, even though the body isn't holy, it is made of fiberglass. Because of lightness, of course.
Photos: Instagram
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Origami Project?
Personally, we're intrigued to see how this super light 911 project turns out. King's obsession with lightness is pretty much unparalleled, but we're also obviously concerned that this thing will fold up like an origami when it's all said and done. Hopefully, he'll prove us wrong in the end.
Photos: Instagram
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