Theon’s Carbon Porsche 964 Beats Modern GT3 in Power-to-weight With Less Horsepower

The air-cooled Porsche restomod scene has become an arms race, and Oxfordshire-based Theon Design is entering it with a different strategy. Instead of chasing a large number of horsepower, the British shop adjusts the weight, balance, and level of personalization that competes with its counterpart in the Singer.

Its new commission is the 964 generation which has been rebuilt almost entirely in carbon fiber. This old air-cooled coupe makes less power than the current 911 GT3, but it’s still far behind when it comes to power-to-weight.

Carbon Everywhere But Doors

That carbon body reduces wet weight to a featherweight 2,526 pounds (1,146 kg), several hundred pounds less than the modern 911.

Theon could have shaved even more by swapping out the doors for carbon, but deliberately kept the original steel units. The concept is pure fanaticism: the classic 911 door has a certain feel and sound when it closes, and the company refused to sell that to save a few pounds.

Air-Cooled Flat-Six Worth 421 HP

Hung behind the rear axle is a naturally aspirated 4.0-liter air-cooled flat-six that makes 421 horsepower and 324 lb-ft of torque, sent to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual. No turbos, no hybrid hardware, no paddles. It’s the same recipe purists keep asking the modern Porsche to revisit.

The MoTeC ECU runs everything, with a drive-by-wire throttle feeding six carbon horns and a set of drive modes. Most of them are natural, and to be expected, but then there’s the oddly written “Raucus” mode, which unleashes full power, raises the spoiler, and turns the exhaust into a series of pops and bangs.

Tuned by One Owner

The car was built close to its owner, who set the steering weight, throttle response, and suspension behavior to his liking before the build was signed off. None of this was “off the shelf.”

Underneath it all is a TracTive semi-active suspension with five selectable settings, and a front axle lift system so the low-slung coupe can clear the road without scraping its chin. It’s perfect for a daily driver, in theory at least.

Analog Cabinet, Sneaky Tech

Inside, carbon panels are wrapped in hand-cut Liquorice leather and Lizard Green stitching and paired with Recaro RS bucket seats. There are machined aluminum details throughout, and the gauges are color-matched to the exterior.

The carbon center console packs a wireless charging pad and phone connector, while a vintage Becker Mexico headliner discreetly powers a Hertz amp and six Focal speakers. The analog illusion remains the same, but there’s also a lot of modern technology to boot.

Specification Sheet

Pricing and Availability

Theon will offer only six of these commissions worldwide by 2026, each building consuming around 6,000 hours of work. Pricing starts at £430,000 (about $577,000), and that price does not include the 964 dealer, shipping, and taxes. A clean donor car runs anywhere from $90,000 to $150,000, so budget accordingly.

Theon Design Porsche 911 (964) Restored

Theon Design rebuilt the air-cooled 964 with a full carbon body and 421-HP flat-six, achieving a better power-to-weight ratio than the current GT3.