Every year at Monterey Car Week’s swankiest event, The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, Porsche restomod firm Gunther Werks unveils an eye-popping new model. Way back in 2022, Gunther showed up with an orange stunner on the stage, then known as “Project Tornado.” Tornado, as in spinning air, as in serious turbocharged power in a highly customized 993-generation 911.

　　In the interim years, Gunther Werks refined Project Tornado through extensive testing and changed the name to simply “Turbo.” That bright orange paint job then started showing up on media drives around Los Angeles. And I, for my part, waited with serious anticipation and more than a little skepticism, hoping I might get a turn to review this $1.8 million restomod.

　　I wanted to know how a small company can hope to justify such a stratospheric price tag. But also, whether the performance goes so far above and beyond that the Turbo loses any semblance of Porsche-ness.

　　(Photo/Michael Van Runkle) Spoiler alert: 840 horsepower from just 4.0 L of displacement and two 48mm turbos absolutely rocked my world.

　　Doing the math, the Turbo’s power-to-weight ratio in Track mode eclipses a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport. And, the Gunther Werks Turbo has rear-wheel drive and a stick shift, the holy grail combo for driving enthusiasts.

　　Gunther Werks builds the Turbo in the company’s SoCal HQ, where I got a chance to take a tour before climbing behind the wheel. And a surprisingly forthcoming tour, too.

　　Apparently, Gunther Werks as a project began when the founder of Vorsteiner Wheels, Peter Nam, wanted to fit the biggest wheels and tires possible onto a 993. Depending on who you ask, the 993 is either the best air-cooled generation because it’s the most modern, or it’s almost too refined and has lost some of the original Porsche spirit.

　　(Photo/Michael Van Runkle) For the Turbo, Gunther uses a double-bubble roof (out of carbon) and when I drove it, a high-downforce wing that bolts directly to the chassis (also carbon, a theme develops). Without a solid total for downforce the wing generates, rest assured that it needed chassis mounting to prevent from literally crushing the (carbon) engine cover.

　　The carbon body panels still retain a classic Porsche 911 profile, without a doubt. But then all the smaller details continue to update the 993 with modern touches.

　　Gunther builds the headlights in-house, which purposefully resemble lenses with an X of track tape in place. Bezels and knurled switchgear, plus the incredible gearshifter, all get 3D-printed for prototypes (and weighed!) before entering production. Two different depths of steering wheel dish can bring the rim even closer to taller drivers. There’s an optional carbon-fiber dash face and a “waterfall” rear seat delete.

　　(Photo/Michael Van Runkle) Three-stage paint can literally be a one-of-one custom color known only by the client’s name. Gunther’s HQ houses two paint booths for handling body and parts. Most cars leave with a leather or alcantara shift knob boot, but I prefer the Turbo’s exposed mechanical linkages.

　　(Photo/Michael Van Runkle) A Soundtrack Unlike Any Other The sound alone sets a Gunther Werks Turbo apart from any other road-legal car I’ve ever heard. Yes, some familiar air-cooled 911 rasp sets the air alight immediately. And the two small turbos puttering away accentuate the depth.

　　But I suspect the massive horizontal gear-driven fan on top of the engine, necessary to provide enough air for the air cooling to work, contributes to the overall cacophony most. Partially like straight-cut racecar transmission gears, partially deep vibrato, partially howling turbo — a combination that the custom exhaust only amplifies.

　　Rothsport Racing built the engine, which originally put out “only” 750 horsepower. More recent dyno tuning then turned the wick up to the absurd 840 peak rating.

　　(Photo/Michael Van Runkle) Everything about the Turbo is reminiscent of a Porsche 911, just turned up to 11 in every way. The floor-hinging clutch always takes a momentary adjustment, but this one nails the feel and friction zone at the perfect height off the floor.

　　The shifter, as the saying goes, slots into gear like a fine bolt-action rifle. It’s slightly taller than expected, but precise, predictable, and pleasing at all times.

　　Liveable Approachable, But Also Absolutely Bonkers And the throttle response: Just Perfect. That 4.0L ripsaws through rpms in neutral, small turbos, and ITBs feeding impeccable revs. But it never got overly sensitive while actually in gear, until I pushed harder and harder. Then a new character emerged, all howling and shrieking. Effortless power, all throughout the rev range, that hits like a sledgehammer when asked.

　　(Photo/Michael Van Runkle) Plus, another dial on the dash face individually controls the JRZ Proactive suspension. Even in Track mode for the engine and dampers, the Turbo is still just barely livable for street driving. The car only weighs 2,790 pounds, thanks to carbon-fiber everything, so the suspension doesn’t need to be harsh to create grip and overcompensate for mass.

　　The front tires do tramline a bit, given the sheer width of rubber. But the rear-engined weight distribution helps to prevent too much untoward steering feedback.

　　And rather than going with the popular electric steering assist systems that mount on the column, Gunther Werks retained hydraulic steering. This lets the car load up into corners and then unwind under throttle so nicely, which helps the unbelievable power never feel out of control.

　　(Photo/Michael Van Runkle) I even fit with plenty of room to spare! Porsche’s 911 interiors from the 1990s typically fit taller drivers, in fairness. But even with a roll cage, the Turbo’s thin carbon bucket seats kept me swaddled in comfort. They’re a massive improvement on Porsche’s OEM buckets, which give me a backache worse than Spirit Airlines and also make life in a crash helmet miserable.

　　Gunther even developed a magnetic, removable headrest pad to create more room for those owners brave enough to take a car out on track. And, of course, the visibility remains a standout even if the high-downforce wing blocks some of the rearview mirror.

　　Daydreaming of a Track Day

　　(Photo/Michael Van Runkle) These are not the kinds of cars that rack up huge mileage. In fact, the very Turbo I drove might be the most well-traveled Gunther Werks build yet. The odometer showed over 4,000 miles, most of them at full gas by journalists driving like maniacs.

　　Despite some damage along the way that Gunther Werks needed to fix, the car still absolutely cooks. And for clients, Gunther can help keep the builds running if and when things do go wrong. We must always remember that producing any running and driving car requires a miraculous combination of skill, effort, and a bit of luck.

　　Contemporary tech like 3D printing and CAD helps make a company like Gunther viable. Yet the development costs for something so complex — and the demand for something so spectacular — still befuddle the brain.

　　Gunther Werks Turbo: Conclusions

　　(Photo/Michael Van Runkle) Gunther Werks Daydreaming My own dream Gunther Werks would be a Turbo, just for that soundtrack. But I’d go with a classy dark green or an understated gunmetal metallic rather than orange. And a boring interior with simple leather and carbon-fiber — and the exposed shifter, of course — because my main criticism would be that the styling goes a little overboard.

　　But that’s just my own personal taste. At any rate, maybe that would help to keep the sticker shock closer to the starting $1.45 million pricetag.

　　Then again, it’s all a fantasy anyway. But its one I got to live out at least once, which made for one of the more memorable days of my automotive journalism career thus far.