The Porsche 935 Slantnose is one of motorsport’s most recognisable shapes, and Gunther Werks has decided it deserves a modern second act, one with considerably more power than the original ever had. The Californian tuner will run its Project F-26 up the Goodwood Festival of Speed hillclimb next week, chasing class honours with a car that blends 1970s iconography and contemporary performance in a way few manufacturers would dare attempt.
What the F-26 Actually Is
The F-26 is built on the 993-generation 911 platform and styled as a recreation of the distinctive Slantnose bodywork made famous by the 935. The name refers directly to the production run: just 26 examples will be built, each priced at around £1.2 million.
Power comes from a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre Mezger flat six, crucially, still air-cooled in the traditional Porsche fashion. Co-developed with a racing firm, the engine produces 1067bhp and 750lb ft of torque. That output reaches the rear axle through a six-speed manual gearbox and a limited-slip differential. No paddles, no torque-fill electric motors. Just a clutch pedal and an enormous amount of confidence required.
The carbon bodywork keeps the dry weight to 1225kg (less than a Lotus Emira) which puts those power figures in sharp context. The performance potential is genuinely supercar-grade.
The Goodwood Challenge
Ex-Formula 1 and NASCAR driver Scott Speed will pilot the F-26 up the 1.16-mile Sussex hillclimb. Gunther Werks is expected to enter the production road car category, where the benchmark to beat comes from the 2025 event. That year, the Koenigsegg Sadair’s Spear set the fastest production car time at 47.14 seconds.
The outright hillclimb record remains firmly with McMurtry. Its Spéirling electric fan car completed the climb in 39.08 seconds in 2023, a figure that looks unlikely to fall any time soon. The F-26 is not chasing that particular mark, class victory is the realistic and still formidable target.
Why This Matters Beyond the Numbers
There is something worth pausing on here. In an era when electrification dominates performance car headlines, Gunther Werks has built a 1067bhp machine around an air-cooled engine and a manual gearbox. That is either a bold statement of intent or a very expensive act of nostalgia, possibly both.
What makes the F-26 credible rather than merely sentimental is the engineering rigour behind it. The Mezger unit was co-developed with a racing firm specifically for this application, and the weight discipline required to reach 1225kg dry in a car of this power level is not accidental.
- Engine: Twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre Mezger flat six, air-cooled
- Power: 1067bhp and 750lb ft of torque
- Transmission: Six-speed manual with limited-slip differential, rear-wheel drive
- Weight: 1225kg dry
- Production: 26 examples at approximately £1.2 million each
- Driver at Goodwood: Scott Speed
For enthusiasts who have watched the 993 platform become one of the most celebrated 911 generations, the F-26 represents a genuine curiosity. Whether it can trouble the Goodwood class leaders next week will tell us something useful about how far a well-engineered, analogue approach can still reach in 2026.
