Ready to Roll

“You need to drive the Coupe again.” That was Peter Nam’s response when I got in touch to request a drive in the forthcoming Gunther Werks Speedster. Who am I to argue? After all, it’s been four years since Total 911 was first to sample the 400R, and a lot has happened since. That car was a prototype, it affectionately referred to as ‘the red car’, and I can remember driving it like I did so yesterday. Nam’s promising it’s changed, and for the better. It’s not just the car that’s changed either, as Gunther Werks HQ has, too. They’re still located in Huntington Beach, California, but the production of the cars necessitated a move to new premises, both bigger and better suited to the work it does. Which, to recap, is simply to make the world’s best 993. There’s your conclusion if you don’t want to read any more. If you’re still with us, then here’s how they do it, and crucially, how it drives.

In those four years Gunther Werks has sold every one of the 25 cars it promised to build. That alone underlines the quality of its work, because with a price starting comfortably north of half a million dollars, before you add any options or, indeed, the donor 993 Coupe to begin with, it’s not every air-cooled enthusiast who can afford it. The Gunther Werks appeals to an exacting, wealthy clientele then, the sort of