Woah, what?! First things first, this is a 997, built by UK company Reflex Auto Design in homage to the Rothmans livery Porsche 935 and 962 Le Mans cars. It was completed in summer 2018 and generated plenty of publicity in the modified car scene. Now it’s up for sale with Historics Auctioneers, estimated at £85,000-90,000 ($111,000-118,000). The super-low stance is thanks to air suspension from Air Lift Performance, consisting of a large reservoir tank to hold the compressed air and two pumps to keep it topped up. Separate lines and solenoid valves control the flow of air to the airbags/rams at the front and rear of the car, controlled by a 3P management system in the centre console. It allows the driver to raise or lower the front or rear or both at the push of a button or via a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone app.
The Rothmans livery is the real deal too, paint not a wrap, and designed by a computer artist at EA’S Ghost Games studio, who drew up a 3D rendering of the car. It uses Audi Pearl White as a base, with contrasting Ford Imperial Blue and Audi Misano Red. Only the Rothmans logos are vinyl graphics, along with the logos in white on the front and rear quarters. The original idea was to copy the original 934s and 935s with their screwed-on wheelarch extensions, “flachtbau” noses and low-slung headlamps but that was rejected for the low-slung 935-style headlamps you see here. The wheels are Rotiform LVS, similar to BBS but with a modern twist; the fronts are 10Jx19 while the rears are 13Jx19. It runs red Forge Motorsport calipers (six-pot at the front, four-pot at the rear) and a custom exhaust system by EMP Performance Exhaust along with an engine re-map for increased power.
The rear seat has been removed to make room for a crossbraced rear cage, and the stock front seats have been changed for red Recaro race seats. The steering wheel, dashboard top, door panels and centre console have been retrimmed in Alcantara, and the Tiptronic controls on the wheel have been replaced by a paddle conversion using Mercedes components. With all the R&D it’s estimated that the 997 has cost well into six figures. It’s showing an odometer reading of just 50 miles, because the mileage was set to zero when the rebuild was finished, and will be offered for auction on March 2 at Ascot Racecourse, UK by Historics.
Images courtesy of Historics Auctioneers
