More than one Porsche enthusiast will be shaking their head at this transformation… for a number of reasons. In today’s trend toward “originality” a 911 SC made up to look like a 930 already has a few strikes against it. Consider the flat-six engine has been replaced by a non-German brand, one that is water-cooled, and things get even dicier. Is the engine swap the expected small-block Chevy V8? Nope. It’s not even a Subaru boxer turbo, which has been a fairly popular item in recent 914 transplant projects. Instead, self-taught “ricer” hot-rodder Eric Peblani built a 650hp two-liter Mitsubishi 4G63 and paired it with a 4-speed 930 transmission to create what he calls his “dream-car”: fast, reliable, stock manifolds, and easy to maintain.
Well, easy for him anyway. Peblani is well known in the “Diamond Star” (marque emblem for Mitsubishi) circles as an expert tuner of Japanese-brand drag racers. For him, the swap was a natural move and also serves as a showpiece for his tuner-business.
Pictures show the in-line four cylinder with the huge intercooler fitting nicely under the tea-tray rear end. But the water cooled, highly pressured induction requires large amounts of water cooling. The chin-spoiler is not-so-subtly packed with large radiators to keep its engine from exploding.
When the car starts up, you know something isn’t quite right; though at low revs, it’s still a bit throaty. When it accelerates hard, you almost immediately recognize the Mitsubishi-pitched rasp; not necessarily the sound Porsche enthusiasts live for.
Even harder to swallow: it’s fast. VERY fast. 11.4 in the quarter-mile at 118mph on street tires. Of course, there are other considerations for Porsche-philes. How will it handle on track days and long tours? In the end, Porsches were designed – not for the drag-strip – but for driving.
The Porschubishi; even the name wrankles….