There are gobs of built Porsche 911’s out there, some are done well and others… not so much. This Big Bird is one of the nicest builds I have seen in some time. 600 hp and no stone left unturned. Buy the buyer’s estimation they have $300k into her and it is up for auction at no reserve.
1996 Porsche 993 Twin Turbo Twin Plug:
From the seller –
“Selling my ultra custom 1996 Porsche twin turbo-twin plug 3.8 liter powerhouse with over 600HP… aka BIG BIRD.
This is an amazing car and hope you enjoy reading about it as much as I have enjoyed driving her. She was last on display at the Legends of the Autobahn meet in Monterey California summer 2011. See the PCA spotlight video below with PCA president Manny Alban featuring the car.
Where do I start? The motor is probably the most fascinating part of the car and is a crowd pleaser. The car was designed and engineered by S-CARGO racing in San Rafael,CA.  They are one of the top Porsche air cooled specialists in the west coast. Known for building unbelievable air cooled Porsches. Twin plug conversions along with custom fabrication and design are their forte. Thank you Rob and Mark and the entire S-Cargo staff for putting in the hard work and building this masterpiece. The car was built so that it would be reliable enough for daily driving and simple enough for another Porsche shop to work on if needed.
Now more about the car. It started out as a completely stock 1996 Porsche C4S. So much has been changed, upgraded and modified that the car is far from stock. The car was meant to be a dream car build and everything done first class with open check book.
Over 300k has been invested in this beauty with records and documentation of build. The motor is a completely rebuilt twin turbo 3.8 with twin plug (12 spark) conversion. It has 2 plugs firing per cylinder. Essential to achieve optimum power for high performance engines. Since high compression ratios are used, twin-ignition allows all of the power benefit to be gained from the increase. Twin-plug equipped 911 and 930′s run much crisper and cleaner with lower cylinder head temperatures and improved throttle response. Plus, a twin-plug 911 is much less prone to plug fouling with today’s fuel.
Besides the damage to one’s bank account, there isn’t one drawback to installing this system and enjoying the benefits in throttle response, power and great drivability that twin-ignition adds to any 911. Quite a difference!. In some cases, it is a necessity to realize the maximum gains from a complete set of engine modifications.
Over 100k alone was spent on the motor build and modifying it not including the cost of the initial motor (about 30k). The turbos were replaced with massive Garrett GT30 custom polished turbos. The ECU was programmed by Protomotive.  The heads were port and polished. GT3 oil pump was added and an additional oil cooler was added in front bumper for extra cooling.
The transmission was dissembled and upgraded with Guards GT4060 limited slip differential, and viscous coupling, high performance clutch and completely resealed.  The real beauty of this build is the specialized fabrication and fitment of the parts. The heater box, headers, and exhaust were all carefully crafted for this car. Even small details like the turbo inlet tubes made of plastic were replaced with custom fabricated aluminum lines for reliability and performance. All of the work is beautifully done and very expensive but well worth it. She is a rolling work of art and people love to see and hear it run.
She is not hard to miss. The speed yellow paint is gleaming bright. All bodywork done by UACC in Burlingame,CA. The body was professionally refinished in its factory color Speed Yellow and rain gutters have been shaved just like the real Yellowbird RUF Porsche. Paint job and custom body cost over 20k. The RUF body kit(not obtainable any more) was carefully fit to the body. Recaro A8 seat backs and roll bar were color matched and installed. Immediately upon completion it was sent to S-Cargo racing for its transformation.”
So much to like about this car. It is one thing to built a spare no expense car but to do it in such a way that blends with the overall purpose of the car is truly extraordinary. It’s all here, motor, paint and body, interior, brakes, clutch, transmission were all addressed. This is important because if there were a weak spot the 600HP motor would find it.
The best part is this 993 is offered at no reserve. Current bidding sits at $73k with a few days to go. I think a final bid in the $85k area would be appropriate and fair for all parties involved. It takes a great deal of courage to sell a car such as this with no reserve, kudos to the seller on building such a fine 993.
~Aaron.
Sold at $94.5k!