TJ Russell's Baja Prerunner Porsche 911 Is Pure Insanity
If you love a good Safari Porsche 911 build, you're going to dig this next-level creation designed with incredible attention to detail.
Next Level Build
Safari Porsche 911 builds have enjoyed a true renaissance lately, almost as if folks have suddenly remembered that this legendary model performs just as good off the road as it does on it. But this 1991 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet, owned by a fellow named TJ Russell, takes the concept of an off-road Porsche to the next level.
Photos: Instagram
Built to Jump
Russell was keen to show off his incredible machine on Instagram, and we were obviously keen to scope it out. Because unlike a lot of "Safari" builds, this one packs a legit long-travel suspension designed to soak up big jumps. Russell proves that by, well, jumping it. And recording the results on film.
Photos: Instagram
>>Join the conversation about TJ Russell's Baja Prerunner 911 right here in Rennlist.com.
One-Off Machine
Russell built the 911 himself over a number of years, which makes sense given the incredible details present in his ride. As you might imagine, that process involved a lot of fabrication and one-off designed parts, because a lot of this stuff simply doesn't exist.
Photos: Instagram
>>Join the conversation about TJ Russell's Baja Prerunner 911 right here in Rennlist.com.
Lots of Fabrication
The suspension utilizes stock rear mounting points, but that's where the comparison with a regular 911 pretty much begins and ends. Otherwise, all of the components except for the coilovers, hubs, and brakes were custom designed by Russell. Fitting a set of coilovers up front required fabricating and building an entire sub-assembly as well.
Photos: Instagram
>>Join the conversation about TJ Russell's Baja Prerunner 911 right here in Rennlist.com.
Long Travel
All of that hard work paid off, however. The 911 now has a whopping 12-inches of suspension travel up front, and an even longer 14-inches in the rear. That's not quite as much as you'd see on a trophy truck, but obviously very impressive for a Porsche. And it's more than many of today's trucks sport from the factory.
Photos: Instagram
>>Join the conversation about TJ Russell's Baja Prerunner 911 right here in Rennlist.com.
Wider and Longer
This particular 911 is also obviously much wider than stock, a move partially necessitated by the new suspension setup. To maintain optimum balance and weight distribution, Russell moved the rear wheels back two inches and the front wheels forward one inch.
Photos: Instagram
>>Join the conversation about TJ Russell's Baja Prerunner 911 right here in Rennlist.com.
Comfy Ride
The longer wheelbase helps tame the impressive 365 horsepower generated by a worked-over flat-six. And all of these characteristics don't just make this 911 an impressive off-road performer. It's quite fast on the road as well, not to mention pretty comfortable going over potholes thanks to that suspension setup.
Photos: Instagram
>>Join the conversation about TJ Russell's Baja Prerunner 911 right here in Rennlist.com.
Garage Worthy
Despite the car's many impressive one-off features, it appears that Russell is willing to build Baja 911s just like this one for customers. And while we are sure that this sort of thing will leave a major hole in our wallets, that won't stop us from thinking long and hard about commissioning Russell to build one of these beauties for our very own garage!
Photos: Instagram
>>Join the conversation about TJ Russell's Baja Prerunner 911 right here in Rennlist.com.
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