LAS VEGAS, Nevada — These two Porsches, a first-generation Boxster and a 996 911 Turbo, are definitely not making flat-six noises. A sharp stab of their throttles sends a fusillade of thunder through the cave-like confines of Renegade Hybrids’ shop, and I can’t stop smiling. This is going to be a trip.
Renegade Hybrids has, for more than 30 years, cultivated a cult following by turning broken and unreliable Porsches into cars that break reliability stereotypes. And don’t let the name fool you: Renegade Hybrids doesn’t turn Porsche into eco-friendly electric sports cars. It rips out the broken Stuttgart-assembled flat-six hearts and replaces them with six or more liters of American displacement. The procedure might leave most Porsche purists furious, but these hybrids are anything but a genetic disaster.
The noise they produce is phenomenal, especially coming from the 996. It doesn’t gel with the clean, Stuttgart-designed lines and conservative interior trim; instead, it’s a primeval V-8 barrage. The cannon fire settles into a lopping idle: rump, dum, dum, dum, rump, dum, dum, dum. There’s no high whoop, no sonic wail. Instead, the ground and glass in the tiny industrial shop shake from the cacophony.
There’s nothing special about the Boxster’s interior. There’s no RacePak gauge cluster, no additional temperature, oil pressure, or any other typical aftermarket gauges. The steering wheel is stock and connected to the stock rack. Every single piece of interior trim is factory original, and everything work: radio, gauges, windows, power seats, even the electrically controlled retractable top. This is a comfortable daily driver.
However, the Boxster uses a Chevrolet LS2 V-8 making 400 horsepower. “About 350 to the wheels,” confirms Scott Mann, the man behind Renegade Hybrids and this car’s owner. “Just don’t slide it into a curb. This is my daily driver after all. But get on it. You won’t be disappointed.”
The sport seats, relics from the late 1990s, are still supportive with just a hint of cushion to swaddle my behind. The stock shifter feels well weighted as I swipe it back and forth. A light throttle blip is all I need to fall for this car. For a moment, I stop caring how it drives. Or handles. Or if it squeaks and rattles and threatens to shake its bolts loose. A Boxster with a V-8? Trundling down the road, it hardly feels different from an unmodified Boxster. The ride is firm but compliant. The brakes bite exactly where you’d expect the stock units would, even though they’ve been upgraded. And the original Porsche steering geometry allows the driver to place the car wherever he or she wants. This is still very much a Porsche, except it’s not. It’s a cruise missile.
Throttle to the floor and say goodbye, sanity. Laughter is uncontrollable. The V-8’s noise tries to bury my merriment, but I can’t stop. I drop a gear leading up to a turn, mash the gas and crank the wheel. The rear tires slide, hunting for grip. Departing the streets near the shop, I leave onlookers in my aural wake. I never want to get out of this car.
Ninety percent of Renegade Hybrids’ business comes from the company’s V-8 kits that fit Caymans, Boxsters, 944s, 914s, 993s, and 996s. Customers can then build their cars in the comfort of their own garages. It’s also the cheaper option, costing only $3,295 for the Boxster kit. With that kit, which includes brackets and mounting hardware but not the actual engine, owners can swap any LS they want into their car. The other 10 percent are conversions Renegade does here in Las Vegas. These cost far more as labor, engines, and parts add up, with the final price reaching $35,000. As with the kit, you’re able to swap in the LS engine of your choice, but most go with the 50-state legal E-rod LS3. However, the owner of the 996 who’s letting me drive the car today opted for 600 naturally aspirated horses under the rear decklid thanks to a thunderous LS7.
I hop into the 911. It has more power and is louder, but can this really be better than the Boxster in terms of driving dynamics and pure enjoyment? If you’ve ever kicked a wall in anger, you can imagine the wall has about as much give as this 996’s clutch. The transmission is stock, but the clutch and pressure plates are upgraded to handle the LS7’s raw horsepower. I stall it on my first attempt to get going, but a heavier dose of throttle and a more brutal clutch approach gets me underway.
Traffic boxes me in immediately; at low speeds and in third gear, the 996 twitches and jerks with every little dose of throttle. A mile down the road the traffic clears, and I drop into second gear and release the LS7’s potential. The rear skips, swaying to and fro as I chase the car’s tail with the steering wheel. The LS7 yowls with my right foot stapled to the floor. The smile and laughter I couldn’t control in the Boxster has returned, though this time it feels more manic, more feverish.
Driftability aside, the handling isn’t compromised. Like a standard 996, this Carrera 4 is surefooted and predictable when treating it like a normal 911, even with the all-wheel drive system removed. It can be reinstalled and made to work with the new LS7 powerplant if the customer so chooses. And like the Boxster, the 996 retains the stock Porsche interior quality. The cars are relatively easy to fix, too. For instance, the wiring harness is a General Motors unit and plugs into the car’s original sensor relays. If something goes wrong, you’ll get an OEM warning light. And because the car uses a GM wiring harness and GM engine, you can hit up an OEM service center for a diagnosis and, if necessary, a repair.
After another few blocks, I head back to the shop, kill the engine, and flounder out of the knee-shaking experience. Initially I wasn’t sure of what to think of these cars, but I’ve come away looking for my next fix. It’s time to scour Craigslist for cheap Porsches with broken engines, as I know just where they need to go for resuscitation.
The post Renegade Hybrids’ Porsches Aren’t Saving the Planet appeared first on Automobile Magazine.
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