When you think about the perfect Los Angeles city car, you don’t necessarily jump to a 1980s Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2, but once Leh Keen has fiddled with the suspension and interior, it just might be. With a softer suspension, more tire sidewall, and taller ride height, a Safari 911 is an excellent machine for running around in the mean streets of LA. You can hit bumps, curbs, pot holes, and speed humps at speed without so much as a worry about it hurting your car, and certainly without worrying about it compacting your spine as a stiffly sprung motorsport-inspired suspension might.
Matt Farah, of Smoking Tire fame, recently sent his Casis Red Porsche off for a complete overhaul by BBi Autosport and The Keen Project. He drove Leh’s personal car a few years ago, and fell madly in love with the concept. It’s been just over a year since he bought the car, and it’s turned out exactly how he wanted it. With huge knobby tires, a wild interior, some bash bars, and bright as day fog lamps, Safari Project #14 makes for a great city runabout. It’s comfortable, easy to drive, and works exactly as planned. This is the first of three drive reviews of the car, running around in the city. In the near future, Matt promises to bring us reviews of the car on a twisty canyon road and again on an off-road route. I look forward to seeing if his positive opinion continues to hold when he drives the car in those differing environments.
This kind of does go to show that Leh Keen was a genius for kicking off this trend in the Porsche world. They’re apparently brilliant to drive, still retain the character Porsche is known for, and carry an added value that can’t be reproduced anywhere else. That Leh has a waiting list years long is testament to the car, as well. Well done to Leh and well done to Matt for getting the car he wanted. I’m personally so glad he decided to keep it in Casis Red, it’s such a gorgeous color.