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- Porsche fans will be delighted with the stunning Porsche 912 restomod that looks like a 356, wowing both Magnus Walker and motor show goers.
- Drew Hafner, the builder behind the restoration, has spent the better part of the last 18 months working on this dream car, showing his dedication and craftsmanship.
- The Porsche 912 restomod isn’t just for show, it’s also for driving pleasure. Hafner spent thousands of man hours creating this beautiful and unique design.
Will definitely like it Porsche Fans considering this is a stunning Porsche 912 restomod designed to look like a 356 with such dedication and craftsmanship that it impressed YouTuber Magnus Walker. On his YouTube Channel, Magnus Walker Urban Outlawmaster gear meets Drew Hafner, the brains and brawn behind this stunning Porsche 912 restoration, who describes this car as his dream car.
Hafner spent the lion’s share of the last 18 months of his life working on it classic carand the effort is visible in the restomod’s stunning and sleek lines, which are appreciated by many fans, at car shows and even Drew Hafner’s Instagram account. Walker also seems very impressed with the design, as he and Hafner discuss it at length while talking about the original sports car icon of something related to the process.
Drew Hafner built his Porsche Outlaw at Emory Motorsports
Hafner grew up following his father’s example of restoring cars, and dabbled in die-casting from an early age before landing his dream job at Emory Motorsports. Known for making the best Porsche restomods, Emory Motorsports Designs is often referred to as the “Outlaw”. Once Hafner started working there, he spent a lot of time indoors working on his favorite Porsche project.
For Hafner, walking into the Emory Motorsports building is like being part of the family and doesn’t feel like “work.” It’s like hanging out with your favorite group of people, working on cool cars, and going to even cooler events.
Although this outlaw Porsche 912 has a certain modern flair, Hafner admits he built it as a car to drive, more as something to have fun with than just something to show off at events. He likes its ’60s look, but this build took a lot of man hours, so it probably quickly became a show car once people saw its pure beauty.
This is a 3000 man-hour Porsche Restomod
Walker asked Hafner for the number of man-hours he spent on the creation, and the young man estimated it took him around 2,000 to 3,000 hours, though he admits that may be on the lower end of the estimate.
Although Hafner works full time with Porsche companies at Emory Motorsports, this is the first Porsche he’s built for himself. This particular car started out as a 1968 Porsche 912, though by the time Hafner got his hands on it, it was wearing the cheap 930-style fiberglass body that became popular in the 1980s. Hafner had the Porsche 356 in mind as a source of inspiration, and given that his first car was a Volkswagen Beetle, he wanted to incorporate some of those memories into his car as well.
If you check out the Instagram account above, where Hafner shows off a before and after version of the same Porsche 912, most fans can’t believe how much the silhouette has changed. Again, Hafner is a master metalworker, and he shows Walker what he does at Emory Motorsports, pointing to the modified metal frame of a car that started out as a 356 B Coupe but is transformed into a Pre A convertible thanks to Hafner’s craftsmanship.
That’s what Hafner’s dream job is: taking cars that look unassuming and frugal and using the raw materials to build a new shell for them to give them a new lease of life, just like he did with his Porsche 912. If you’re inspired too and want Porsche 912 for DIYaverage prices are around $51,000, according to Classic.com.
Average price of a Porsche 912
- Average price of a Porsche 912: 51,325 USD
- Top sellers for the last 5 years: 200,616 USD
- The smallest sale in the last 5 years: 3500 dollars
Not just a rebuild, this Porsche 912 is a 356-themed rescue
Hafner explains how he got this Porsche 912 after seeing it in a parking lot in North Hollywood where they went to get parts for Emory Motorsports. This car was in poor condition, and not the Porsche 912 that tops collectors’ lists, although it should have been. Released in 1965 as the successor to the iconic 356, it offered better power from the 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine. While it had better handling than its predecessor, it wasn’t as great in the looks department. So Hafner decided to apply 356 procedures.
Porsche 912 engine characteristics
|
Years of production |
1965-1969 |
|
Engine type |
Boxer four |
|
Engine capacity |
1.6 liter |
|
Horsepower |
90 hp |
|
A turning point |
98 lb-ft |
(Technical characteristics obtained from official Porsche websitedoes not indicate the actual car in the video)
However, when he bought the car, it was full of trash and had water in the pan, given the broken windows. So Hafner started by stripping the car of not just the cheap 930 widebody kit, but all the rusted metal. He vacuumed everything and tore everything apart from the bare essentials. First, he repaired the chassis and all other working parts, and then turned his attention to the body and appearance of the car.
But it wasn’t an easy journey, as Hafner admits he worked on the car in his spare time. Sometimes he even slept on the shop floor and caught a few winks on the sofa before returning to it in the morning. This Porsche 356 themed restomod is made with passion and the love just shows. Hafner admits that he enjoys riding it, mostly with his wife by his side.
There’s a surprise hidden in every aspect of this 356-themed Porsche 912
If you look under the hood of this Porsche, which doesn’t look like a 356 or a 912, but is a stunning combination of both, the engine is also a surprise. Although it started as a 3.2-liter 6-cylinder engine from the ever-evolving Porsche 911, Hafner milled out the two center cylinders. This restomod Porsche 912 may have a lot of similarities to the Porsche 356, but it is equipped with a 2.1-liter 4-cylinder engine that produces 180 horsepower.
Reminiscent of the Porsche 356, the one-piece body and fenders attract attention. While on the 356 Porsche kept the quarter panels, rocker panels and fenders as a single unit, later in the 911 and 912 they were separated for easier replacement. Again, while the latter is the practical choice, Hafner had more aesthetic ideas. He wanted to make his Porsche 912 look like a 356 with fixed fenders. Technically, it only eliminates the gaps between the wing and the hood and the wing to the locker.
Despite the amount of work that went into realizing this gapless shell, Hafner believes it was more than worth it, at least for him. This Porsche restomod also has a lot more from the 356A, like the beehive-shaped taillights, the single-faceted grille deck lid, and even the rolled-up rocker panels. Die-hard Porsche fans will also appreciate the split front bumper, as well as a special safety arch that mimics the center pillar. A ton of thought, hard work, and love later, Hafner’s Porsche 912 not only looks like a Porsche 356 A, but it’s also his dream car come to life, and it’s something that all gearheads would be drooling over.
Sources: Magnus Walker Urban Outlaw YouTube channel, Instagram/drewhafner, Porsche, Classic.com