“For speed, add lightness.” This famous quote by Lotus Cars founder Colin Chapman speaks eloquently for both race and road cars that lower weight aids performance and efficiency. “For speed, add lightness and more power” goes one better, and that is the core philosophy behind the Sportec SUB1000 seen here. While the 964 and 993 are the base cars for retro-modded specials from the likes of Singer, Gunther Werks, Kaege, and Theon, the basis for Sportec’s SUB1000 is the lighter and less technically complex G-Series 911 Carrera 3.2 with a G50 five-speed gearbox.
With the lightest new 2025 911—the 992.2 GT3—tipping the scales at 3,243 pounds, it is sobering to recall that an early 911 from the 1960s was not just smaller in every dimension but also significantly lighter at 2,381 lbs. The SUB1000 weighs just 2,183 lbs and addresses the “more power” part of the equation with a 3.4-liter air-cooled flat-six, whose 310 hp output more than doubles the 130 hp of the 2.0-liter early 911.
This low weight makes a clear difference to the way the SUB1000 goes down the road. Put in a request at the classic three-spoke, deep-dish Momo helm for a change of direction, and despite the impressive purchase of the Yokohama Advan A052 rubber on the blacktop, your fingertips immediately feel the lack of inertia as the nose carves away from the straight ahead.
Older 911s lean into bends in a way alien to their modern coil-sprung descendants. But with its lower ride height and 21st century suspension upgrades, the SUB1000 stays comparatively flat, resolutely keeping slip angles in check as lateral loads are fed into the seam-welded, half-roll-cage equipped bodyshell. Meanwhile, the limited-slip differential adds a welcome level of traction consistency on the way out of bends.
The old-school unassisted steering talks to you in a way that modern power-assisted systems struggle to approach, and a drive down a familiar road makes you realize just how much road surface information modern cars filter out. That’s great for your daily driver but far less engaging in a car built for pure driving pleasure like this one.
Sportec builds all their flat-six engines in-house, their lead engine builder having gained extensive experience working in the engine departments of two well-known Porsche specialists in his home country of Germany. The 3.4-liter engine is based on a tried and tested formula that goes back to the ’80s, marrying the original 3.2-liter crank with 98 mm (3.8 in.) Mahle barrels and pistons. Fed by a modified 997.1 intake with drive-by-wire control governed by a freely programable ECU, the car features a mil-spec wiring loom and a power management unit with two CAN-Bus lines without any relays and fuses. The ECU programming allows the driver to choose between Normal and Sport modes at the flick of a switch.
The sports exhaust system consists of equal-length six-into-one headers. This EU-type-approved system features 200-cell catalytic converters, and adds a deep 911 race car-style soundtrack that underpins the SUB1000’s purposeful looks.
The official rated output for the SUB1000’s engine is 310 hp at 5,960 rpm, underpinned by 250 lb-ft of torque at 4,860 rpm. In parenthesis, the stock Carrera 3.2, with a curb weight of around 2,645 lbs, makes 231 hp at 5,900 rpm and 209 lb-ft of torque at 4,800 rpm.
These comparative numbers show just how much effect lower weight and increased power have on the power-to-weight ratio of the SUB1000, whose punchy 3.4-liter engine has a comparatively easier job of thrusting the car out of bends. As you build revs while unwinding the steering past the apex, the torque curve seamlessly crosses over with the rising tide of horsepower, the tachometer needle zinging around the orange dial towards the 7,000-rpm redline. Recalibrated so that 6,500 rpm sits at the 12 o’clock position, this arrangement allows you to catch the vertical position of the needle out of the corner of your eye prior to an upshift.
The bespoke inlet manifold system, sports exhaust, and larger displacement add a harder edge to the soundtrack that ends up somewhere between a Carrera Clubsport and a modern RSR race car. With no carpets and sound-deadening material in the stripped-out cabin, all the mechanical sounds are amplified, so the SUB1000 leans heavily towards a weekend fun car rather than a daily driver.
The pedals and short-shift mechanism under the elaborate-looking gear lever are fully exposed, and the CNC-machined billet alloy gear knob, a work of art in itself, matches the style of the alloy steering column stalks shared with the Sportec Ferdinand we drove during our last visit. These components are skeletal to save weight, while the exterior door handles are drilled for the same reason.
While there are many possible combinations and permutations of uprated brakes for older 911s, the 930 Turbo finned calipers and cross-drilled discs are a tried and tested solution that works perfectly with the unique offsets of the classic Fuchs wheels. Designed to stop a 300+hp car weighing over 2,866 lbs, these big brakes have more than enough headroom to slash the velocity of the much lighter SUB1000 with ease.
The SUB1000 project began in 2021 as the dream of Sportec’s CEO, Gregor Burkard, who wanted to build a pure, lightweight driving machine. He was not alone in this, as several customers had expressed serious interest in a completely analog car with no power steering, air-conditioning, or electronic distractions.
“We were even thinking of offering a six-speed gearbox conversion, but the cost of this would be horrendous, so it is off the table unless a client specifically wants it,” said Thomas Hofer, Sportec’s sales chief.
The ‘Sportec by MCS’ coil-over suspension with outboard fluid reservoirs is not an out-of-the-box solution but rather comes with a bespoke calibration for the individual owner’s wishes and is set up by Sportec’s resident test driver, three-time Le Mans winner, Marcel Fässler.
“Marcel is a very cool guy who even brews his own beer,” Hofer explained. “He is like a good neighbor who looks after everyone around him and is a joy to work with. He retired from professional motorsport in 2021, aged 44, and apart from coaching in race school, he gives us feedback in suspension development work where we benefit from his seemingly endless knowledge.”
The Sportec by MCS coilovers for the G-Series 911 come with raised spindles to leave the lower wishbones in the right position at their lowest ride height and one degree of negative camber dialed in out of the box. With the nitrogen dampers benefitting from pre-loading, the system is three-way adjustable for low-speed bounce, rebound, and high-speed bounce. Stiffer than stock rubber bushes keep the wishbones from excessive play under load.
The Yokohama Advan 052 track-day tires are particularly suitable for light cars like the SUB1000. Sized 225/45ZR16 and 245/45ZR16, they are wrapped around 8.0J and 9.0J x 16-inch alloys patterned after the iconic Fuchs design. Bespoke offsets increase the front and rear tracks for improved road handling, and thanks to the equal gaps between all four tires and arches with 30 mm (1.2 in.) taken out of the stock ride height, the car takes on a more purposeful hunkered-down stance on the tarmac.
Up front, the race-spec fuel cell that holds 65 liters (17.2 gallons) of high-octane gasoline in this prototype will be carried over to the production cars. The front fenders, hood, front and rear bumpers, engine lid, roof, and doors of this prototype are all made from carbon-kevlar, but the production car will retain the factory steel roof, and its front wings will be stamped from lightweight 0.8 mm (0.03 in.) thick steel with Sportec’s unique arch extensions incorporated.
The steel rear arch extensions, as are the front fenders and hood, are shared with the Ferdinand, but the bumpers and rear lip are unique to the SUB1000. Another part of the weight-saving regime is a polycarbonate rear window, and the two drilled-out alloy guard strips are there to stop it from popping out when the shell flexes.
The two carbon-fiber race seats that dominate the minimalist cabin are beautifully trimmed in brown distressed leather from Sportec’s ‘vintage’ collection, with their thigh support sections perforated by eight Ford GT40-style metal rings to reveal orange leather beneath. These seats also feature baseball pattern outline cross stitching as used on the original Audi TT Roadster. These “Wow!” level details deliver surprise and delight.
Serious drivers find the steering wheel in a G-Series 911 too far away and the column stalks too close to the wheel, resulting in the occasional unwanted activation of the wipers or indicators when turning a corner. As in the 964-based Ferdinand specification, a deep-dish Momo steering wheel brings the wheel closer to the driver, while the bespoke aluminum stalks are angled to avoid accidental contact when twirling the wheel.
The dashboard ignition key and switch panel structure is made from anodized aluminum, while the recalibrated factory instruments sit in a leather-trimmed lightweight carbon-fiber panel. The underside of the dashboard has been designed to avoid visible pipes or wires.
“All SUB1000 components are made in-house, and the only thing we do not do is the leather and bodywork parts,” said Hofer. “At first we bought in the carbon-fiber panels but ended up spending hundreds of hours finessing them to our quality standards that replicate the consistent gap precision of OEM metal panels. In the end we decided to invest in the tooling bucks for the steel front wings and rear wing extensions, with over 300 components designed, prototyped and either 3D printed or machined from the solid for this bespoke build.”
With hundreds of man-hours involved in each build, Sportec only has the capacity to create five bespoke cars per year. As the Ferdinand is 964-based a major problem is finding the base car for each project. It is no secret that Singer has been buying up 964s all over the world for stock. The fact that the SUB1000 is based on a 911 Carrera 3.2 is a bonus, as these are relatively plentiful and not yet as expensive as the 964 and 993. And with many of these older G-Series cars needing restoration anyway, a SUB1000 might make perfect sense if you are a hard-core enthusiast looking for the perfect lightweight 911 hot rod.
