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Theon Design unveils its first Italian commission
22nd March 2023
Theon Design has revealed the latest bespoke Porsche 911 (964) based commission to emerge from its Oxfordshire workshops: ITA001. Created for its first Italian customer, a discerning collector from Milan, ITA001 is transformed with a featherweight all-carbon body, semi-active suspension and a snarling, 4.0-litre naturally aspirated flat-six.
ITA001 is the realisation of a client’s Porsche 911 fantasy. It is a fully-restored and enhanced machine that - as with all Theon Design commissions - combines OEM+ design and engineering know-how, with cutting-edge technology and manufacturing techniques. These elements are fused with obsessive attention to detail and total purity of purpose to deliver the ultimate air-cooled Porsche 911 driving experience.
“At Theon Design, we’re all obsessive about Porsche. We enhance these wonderful machines in a considered way, ensuring our work is in keeping with the brand’s ethos,” explains Theon Co-Founder Adam Hawley. “We use the word ‘enhance’ deliberately, going to great lengths to make sure that the unique air-cooled Porsche feel is preserved; just distilled to make the driving experience all that more intoxicating. Our mission is to elevate the air-cooled 911 to all-new levels of performance and dynamic ability – while ensuring the car retains that endlessly beguiling Porsche DNA.”
ITA001 again takes the Porsche 911 (964) as its base, in this case a Carrera 4 Coupe. The donor car was stripped back to bare metal before being meticulously restored. The body is all carbon, with each panel digitised and modelled in 3D design software to ensure a perfect fit. Carbon body panels add stiffness and shed weight; while beautifully trimmed and appointed, ITA001 tips the scales at just 1152kg with all fluids onboard.
Theon Design’s signature attention to detail permeates every level of the car; a lighter, aerospace grade wiring loom is carefully threaded through the strengthened body shell, while modern dual air-conditioning compressors and an all-new electric-power steering pump are relocated to the front of the car, nestled low-down for optimised weight distribution.
The same care has been lavished on the mighty air-cooled 4.0-litre engine – a flat-six work of art producing 400bhp at 7500rpm, and 315lb/ft at 6250rpm. The addition of a drive-by-wire throttle enables improved, razor-sharp response. The motor also features independent throttle bodies, developed in partnership with British specialists Jenvey – just one of the leading suppliers Theon Design is ideally placed to collaborate with, from its base in the heart of the country’s famed ‘Motorsport Valley’.
Elsewhere, ITA001 also sports a new, high-performance plenum, based on the unit fitted to the 997 GT3, while a dual mass-flywheel ensures the flat-six delivers superb response while remaining civil in normal driving. ITA001’s howling motor breathes through a switchable, fully ceramic coated exhaust, sending power to the rear wheels via an original Porsche 993 RS six-speed gearbox – one of just 1104 units built. The six-speed ‘box delivers distinctly Porsche shifts, rendered even more immediate and direct thanks to an RS gear shifter.
The Porsche Motorsport theme continues with a full 993 RS brake setup – giving ITA001 superb pedal feel and response, along with consistent, fade-free stopping power. A 993 RS limited-slip differential completes the package, working in harmony with the carefully sourced ‘box to ensure signature Porsche traction and control.
ITA001 is infused with sharp-edged responsiveness and performance, all added in a typically Theon way: always considered and in keeping with the Porsche ethos.
Prices for Theon Design commissions start at £380,000. Each car is a totally unique collaboration with the customer and takes 18 months to build. Price excludes donor car, shipping and local taxes.