This ‘European RS’ is a high-revving, all-mechanical 911 restomod that isn’t electric

Let’s make it clear from the start: this is not an electric 911 restomod. It’s an all-mechanical, high-revving 964 that draws inspiration from two of the lineage greats: the 2.7 RS and GT3 RS 4.0.

Dubbed the ‘European RS’ and built by Thornley Kelham, each of the planned 25 units will take over 6,000 hours to make… and start at an estimated £580,000 each. So, what do you get for your investment aside from the VW Beetle headlights?

Three flat-six air-cooled engines will be offered in various displacements (3.6, 3.8 and 4.0 litres), with the output skipping between 390 and 406bhp. That’ll then be put to the road by a six-speed manual through a set of Michelin Pilot 4S rubber.

Thornley has gone to town with re-engineering these blocks, with changes including billet aluminium cylinder heads, forged pistons, new camshafts and individual throttle bodies. The result? That’ll be a redline of 10,000rpm which, through the custom Inconel and titanium exhaust kit, should sound like a smash hit from Hans Zimmer.

No word on 0-62 times or a potential top speed as yet, but expect it to quite easily put most tailgaters in German saloons to the sword.

On to the other big mechanical bits: the suspension now includes modern GT3 wishbones, JRZ Motorsport coilovers and Eibach springs, with the option of adaptive damping available. You’ll also get carbon ceramic brakes, while a revised steering rack and Wavetrac limited-slip diff complete the toy box and should make it a good laugh on a quiet B-road. Less so on the A406, perhaps.

And since there are no electric motors or batteries to haul around, Thornley says the RS can be up to 300kg lighter than donor 964s - sitting at an estimated 1,070kg. To get a feel for just how extensive the diet has been, the original glass rear windows are even replaced with something called ‘polycarbonate’. No idea what that is, but it sounds… funky.

The RS also looks rather pretty sat on those 18in Fikse alloys, no? The original body - which is placed upon an all-new chassis - has been lowered by 51mm, widened by 220 and stretched by 19, while a wider track has been knitted in to make the car more planted around the twisty bits.

Thornley has said it’ll offer a fair amount of customisation with these cars to tailor them to customers’ requirements, and we’re expecting most of this individualisation to happen in the interior.

As standard you’ll get Connolly leather and Alcantara upholstery, carbonised Recaro seats and a Momo steering wheel. The vintage switch gear also stays put, but Thornley has done a full sweep of the electrical system to bring it up to date.

Other goodies include an adjustable roll cage, pulley straps in place of conventional door handles and traditional window winders instead of electrically powered ones. Nice touch, that. The only real bit of tech you get with the RS will be Apple CarPlay and Bluetooth connectivity, so it really is a properly focused bit of kit.

Reckon this is the sort of 911 restomod we should see more of?