What makes the Porsche 911 so iconic? Is it the looks? The drivetrain? The handling?
It’s all that and more. For me it’s the unmistakable sound, the timeless styling, the motorsport history and the shape that has endured for more than 60 years. But if I had to step back and look at the 911 from the eyes of a non-Porsche enthusiast, none of these points would fully explain its iconic status.
No, what really makes the 911 legendary for the masses is its versatility: the perfect mix of sportiness, functionality, speed and comfort. It’s just as easy to do the grocery shopping at home as it is to cut through the cracks.
That’s why my previous article about a 993 Cup 3.8 RSR may have had a slightly biased title. An RSR race car may be the ultimate object of desire, but it’s a far cry from what the Porsche sports car stands for.
Billy Hilton’s 1995 911 Carrera 2, on the other hand, is the distilled essence of Porsche’s sports coupe – with a serious attitude to boot.
Growing up around the car culture of the 1990s, it was inevitable that Billy’s desire for a ’90s performance icon would one day have to be satisfied. But when the time came, it wasn’t as easy as it was for most Porsche enthusiasts.
‘I can’t pretend it was always the plan to buy an air-cooled 911’ Billy remembers. “My ‘realistic’ dream car from my younger years was an Escort Cosworth, but the 993 really started to grow on me in 2018/19. The 964 became very popular and expensive, and I think my memories of the 993 became more consistent as I got old enough to remember them fresh. The same cannot be said for 964s”
Billy’s sights were initially set on a Speed Yellow 993, but when the seller backed out of the deal at the last minute, he ended up with the black C2 you see today. However, it wasn’t perfect when Billy first saw it.
‘The owner had not taken care of it’ Billy explains. “It was outside under a covered car cover and nature took its toll. I realized I had to spend a little more to get it back to its former glory.”
Undeterred, Billy took a closer look at the car, and after a test drive he noticed several details not mentioned in the ad, namely aftermarket side skirts and non-OEM badging scattered throughout the car.
“Then there was the test drive…” Billy remembers. “It drove and sounded so much more aggressive than the other 993s I had seen. The attention the car received was wild; it felt special.”
What Billy had found was a black-on-black, manual Carrera 2, delivered new to Porsche Mayfair in 1995 with the registration ‘1T’. On delivery it was immediately sent to Gemballa in Germany for a complete makeover – side skirts, front bumper, suspension, exhaust and badging – with most of the parts sourced from Gemballa’s 993 Le Mans package.
Billy’s favorite Gemballa accents? “All body parts are made of carbon fiber, the side skirts are cut into the rear side panels. The returns from that period are also wild.”
It’s clear from these photos that Billy didn’t just buy the 993 and leave it at that. He took an already iconic sports car with period-correct cool and turned it into his ultimate ’90s performance machine.
…And as much as it pains me to flatter him – since Billy is a good friend of mine – his approach to building this Carrera is pretty much perfect in my eyes.
A significant drop in ride height, thanks to the KW V3 coilover suspension with custom springs, means the 18×9 and 18×11 inch BBS LMs fit perfectly under the Carrera’s narrow body lines. Behind the wheels are ‘Big Red’ 993 Turbo front brake calipers, an essential upgrade for any serious ’90s Porsche.
But don’t think of this car as ‘just’ a standing 911; it can really handle it, even at this ride height. In the quest for a perfect underbody, every rubber bushing has been replaced with a polyurethane equivalent and all control arms and control arms are fresh OEM items.
After a spirited (albeit short) drive, I can confirm that Billy’s 993 grips exceptionally well and handles rough road surfaces surprisingly smoothly. The secret? A combination of Carrera RS top mounts, Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires and a Wavetrac limited slip differential.
Every aspect of the driving experience has been upgraded for maximum response and feel. Fixed-back Recaro Pole Position seats are paired with a CAE shifter and a Momo steering wheel attached to a brand new Porsche steering rack. Behind the seats is half a DAS cage, and since our shoot Billy has added a set of screen-printed Gemballa gauges. Lightweight Carrera RS glass completes the look and shows off just how nerdy Billy has gone with his build.
The engine remains largely stock, but Billy has taken steps to improve its responsiveness and squeeze more power out without major upgrades. The Carrera exhales through a Cargraphic exhaust with cat bypass and has been tuned by Chip Wizards to produce 314 horsepower. A Carrera RS lightweight flywheel ensures that this six-cylinder engine revs, while an RS clutch ensures reliable shifting.
Porsche enthusiasts may notice that some of the original Gemballa accents have been replaced – and I’m glad they have. As period-correct as some of the parts may have been, the GT2 front bumper extension looks much better than the Le Mans version ever did, especially when combined with the RS brake ducts, ‘shaved’ side repeaters and headlight washers.
‘Restomod’ headlights are a big thing for me these days, with so many brands trying to modernize the look of a car rather than simply improving the lighting. But the Morimoto headlights on Billy’s 993 look fantastic, as long as the outer LED ring is turned off, as here.
“After I got it home and back into a usable, drivable car, I quickly realized it needed paint and a lot of time to get it where I wanted it,” Billy admits. Fortunately, Billy has been a figure in the British car scene for longer than he cares to admit, and with that came the connections needed to build it to where it needs to be.
“Kyle Tubbs at Str8 Paint needs a name change, thanks to the paint job and almost all the rubber seals, moldings and consumables he replaced. The PPF was applied by Alex Wright of Vivid Vinyl,” Billy says. (Alex is also a friend and the owner of my favorite Mk1 Golf ever built) “Richard Payne from Milestone71 and the team at Wrightune also played a big role.”
Billy’s Carrera is a rare breed: a car that ticks so many boxes and combines performance, style, driving pleasure and personality. Billy spends his days designing ultra-high-end audiovisual setups in some of London’s most spectacular homes, and it’s clear that the same meticulous attention to detail translates into his car builds.
I’m grateful that Billy passed on other feature opportunities so I could bring you the exclusive on this one unbelievable Porsche911.
Mario Christou
Instagram: mcwpn, mariochristou.world
mariochristou.world
