Classic Porsche 911 restomods have long been popularised by companies like Singer and Icon, and they were recently joined by an Australian outfit called Wiedergeboren, which also adds modern luxury, technology, performance and safety to the one of the world’s most recognisable sports cars – for a hefty price.
Now Australia has another million-dollar 911, courtesy of local company Zeigler/Bailey, which goes beyond the normal restomod practice with its Z/B 4.4 – a fully remanufactured G-series Porsche 911 coupe based on 1975-1989 donor cars, fitted with an Australian-designed 4.4-litre air-cooled flat-six engine and a new steel platform.
Priced at an all-inclusive $1.6 million excluding the donor vehicle, the two-seat Z/B 4.4 is said to comply with all applicable Australian Design Rules and standards, with a quoted build time of about 12 months from commissioning.
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Zeigler/Bailey uses the upper structure and shell of the 1975-89 Porsche 911, a series that introduced fully galvanised bodies and recorded 198,496 sales globally, many of which remain on the road. Donor cars can be supplied in right- or left-hand drive, and the company can assist customers in sourcing a car if required.
Each project starts with a complete strip to a bare body shell. The original floor is cut along both chassis rails and transversely across the top of the dashboard and rear parcel shelf. In its place goes a seam-welded sheet-steel tub with an integrated transverse crash bar at the front firewall, which Zeigler/Bailey says increases shell torsional rigidity by about 15 per cent.
The replacement platform is designed to comply with the applicable 1986 ADRs.
The Z/B 4.4 uses steel side-impact doors and a steel “long-hood” front lid, with other outer panels being bonded carbon-fibre over a retained steel framework. Zeigler/Bailey says the symmetrical platform also allows the driving position to be converted from right- to left-hand drive, or vice versa, in about a day.
Front suspension comprises a MacPherson strut layout inspired by the 997-generation 911, with aluminium dampers that offer ride-height adjustment and optional four-way damping. At the rear, an independent multi-link arrangement with double wishbones places height-adjustable coil-over dampers inboard, actuated by titanium pushrods mounted to a CNC-machined aluminium bulkhead.
Braking is via Brembo four-piston calipers and ventilated steel discs with Bosch ABS. The car rides on 17-inch forged aluminium wheels with carbon-fibre centres and centre-lock nuts. Zeigler/Bailey has also developed a CAN-bus electrical architecture using solid-state power control modules.
“I started once again from first principles,” said mechatronics expert Greg Bailey, who designed the car’s CAN-bus electronic system.
“If I was going to design a whole new electrical system for a vehicle, what should it entail? We’ve now got a car with no fuses, no relays. It’s all solid-state PCMs [power control modules] with CAN-bus technology, linking them all.”
The Z/B 4.4’s air-cooled flat-six displaces 4388cc and is built around an aluminium block machined from solid billet, with billet twin-spark cylinder-heads and coil-per-plug ignition. Bore and stroke are 106.045mm and 82.8mm respectively, and compression is 11.5:1.
Zeigler/Bailey claims the engine produces 300kW of power and 500Nm of torque, managed by a Haltech ECU and drive-by-wire throttle.
The company says the engine comprises more than 1200 parts designed specifically for this engine, including a billet steel crankshaft and camshafts with an “ultra-low-jerk” lobe design. It uses dry-sump lubrication, and the exhaust system is largely 3D-printed in stainless steel with driver-selectable Quiet and Track modes and provision for cartridge-type catalytic converters.
Zeigler/Bailey says the engine meets its ADR obligations for sound and exhaust emissions, comparable with standards in the late 1980s, and matches the emissions performance of Porsche’s final air-cooled 993-series 911 engine.
The engine’s bolt pattern suits a Getrag G50 five-speed manual gearbox, and Zeigler/Bailey says the engine and G50 drivetrain will fit any air-cooled 911 chassis with the required torque-tube modification. The Z/B 4.4 uses a limited-slip differential and Zeigler/Bailey-designed driveshafts with GKN tripod-type constant-velocity joints.
“For me, it’s all about reducing man-hours… Putting complexity into each part, as opposed to making complex manufacturing tasks for humans,” said Mr Bailey.
Inside, the new platform is said to accommodate occupants up to 204cm tall. Seat options include Porsche electric chairs, GTS sports seats and optional GT3 carbon-fibre seats. Standard upholstery is Nappa leather with Alcantara on selected panels and machined aluminium trim.
Zeigler/Bailey has developed analogue-style digital instruments in billet housings and a 9.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, navigation, Bluetooth and data-logging, plus a six-speaker sound system.
Safety and security equipment includes Bosch anti-lock brakes, an electric parking brake, parking sensors, a reversing camera, blind-spot monitoring, GPS tracking and live telemetry over a 4G connection.
Zeigler/Bailey says it has 14 full-time staff and six cars either completed or in production at its inner-Melbourne facility. Founder John Zeigler Jr aims to build about 10 cars per year locally and up to 50 annually for export, as well as up to 1000 engines a year for other projects.
The company stresses that it restores and modifies existing Porsche vehicles and isn’t sponsored, associated, approved, endorsed nor affiliated with Porsche.