Thursday 26th March

12,000rpm 911 upgrade a hit - who knew?

Swindon Powertrain M64 kit proves even more popular than we thought it would...

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Back in 2023, Swindon Powertrain announced a new upgrade for the final air-cooled Porsche flat-sixes. You might remember it: M64 Cylinder Head Kit was a pretty prosaic name for a very exciting bit of engineering, introducing four (titanium) valves per cylinder and aluminium construction to the old engines. It meant more power, more torque, less weight and better flow, which all sounded very beneficial to the concept of a reimagined 911. 

Perhaps the biggest appeal, however, was what the M64 CHK could do for revs: lighter internals can handle higher engine speeds, and Swindon claimed up to 12,000rpm. We’ve all seen enough Tuthill videos to know how spectacular an air-cooled flat six at those sorts of revolutions can sound. Plenty of others saw the appeal as well, as the firm has today confirmed that one hundred M64 Cylinder Head Kits have now been sold. Given it was only launched in October 2023, and that it costs £30k plus taxes - and it’s only for 964s and 993s - that seems impressive. In case you thought the demand for Porsche hot rods was dying down… 

Swindon also revealed that the M64 has made it into Thornley Kelham's European RS 911s, either on top of a 3.6 revving to 10 or a 9,000rpm 4.0-litre - which accounted for 15 of the Cylinder Head Kit sales. Apparently the rest have gone to ‘engine builders across Europe and around the world including the USA, Japan and Australia for use in both road and track 911s.’ It’s good to know that there are now old flat sixes screaming beyond GT3 levels around the globe. Swindon Powertrain’s MD Raphaël Caillé said: “We’re proud to be helping so many engine builders and 911 enthusiasts… unlock substantial extra power and torque to create truly standout builds with this high-revving upgrade.”

The work isn’t stopping here, either. Caillé added: “We’re never content to stand still, so expect further high-performance developments to be announced soon.” Which is pretty exciting when kicking off from 12,000rpm. Already that’s included an agreement to develop a 5.3-litre flat-eight (!) for Runge Cars in the US, which currently makes classic flat-four sports cars (Gary Oldman, of all people, owns a Runge). That promises to be something very special. For now, the Cylinder Head Kit remains available for those special 911 builds, and it doesn’t take long in the classifieds to start dreaming about a 12,000rpm project - what a Supercup homage this Grandprix White 964 could be…

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• Thornley Kelham European RS | PH Review
• Porsche 964 Carrera RS vs. 993 Carrera RS Clubsport

[Maccmike8]

Very very special.

[Robertb]

I'm guessing £30k for the Swindon powertrains bit is just the start. What do we reckon for a full engine build? Best part of £100k?

[Skaben]

that car is pictured is lovely...

[Liamjrhodes]

I would of thought it would easily get into the 100s, not something most of us mere mortals could imagine but would love to have a drive in one

[Krikkit]

Robertb said:

I'm guessing £30k for the Swindon powertrains bit is just the start. What do we reckon for a full engine build? Best part of £100k?

>£100k easy if you're really going at it with a full Swindon setup.

They do the following all suited to build together (inc VAT):

24v cylinder heads £37,737
Pistons and liner set £7,200
GT3 crank £7,200
Stud kit £1,166
ITB kit £7,344
PAS adapter £2,719
Carbon fan shroud for 24v heads £2,542
Titanium rods £12,000

A shade under £78k just for the above. Machining, gaskets, paint, 100h of assembly etc, injection components, coils, loom, mapping etc all on top.

[soad]

Skaben said:

that car is pictured is lovely...

True, but before my time. Prefer 964/993.

[Mark-C]

Skaben said:

that car is pictured is lovely...

It is but I'm liking the detailed pictures of the heads as well

[nismo48]

Mark-C said:

Skaben said:

that car is pictured is lovely...

It is but I'm liking the detailed pictures of the heads as well

+1

[skidskid]

Cylinder head and valvetrain development is my day job, that 37K price seems very good value given the development needed and the low volumes being made. They say air cooled power is the most expensive power but a 100K for a built 12000rpm engine seems good value when anyone else doing a comparable engine will only sell you one if you buy the car costing millions.

[Johnny G Pipe]

Tremendous! Yet more 964-shaped joy being sprinkled into this troubled world.
(That leggy wrong hand drive Grand Prix White car is up at strong money though..)

[Jte3397]

skidskid said:

Cylinder head and valvetrain development is my day job, that 37K price seems very good value given the development needed and the low volumes being made. They say air cooled power is the most expensive power but a 100K for a built 12000rpm engine seems good value when anyone else doing a comparable engine will only sell you one if you buy the car costing millions.

I was thinking the same. Just need the money now...

[SE2]

Phwoar, I'd enjoy that in a 964 or 993 RS.

[JJJ.]

How much for a restromod 911, may as well have those heads etc too.

Edited by JJJ. on Friday 27th March 09:03

[86wasagoodyear]

Does Swindon have anything along those lines for a G-series ? Mine would top out at 6400 rpm and tbh sounded like it was being throttled at that point & ought to be able to go much higher

[thegreenhell]

86wasagoodyear said:

Does Swindon have anything along those lines for a G-series ? Mine would top out at 6400 rpm and tbh sounded like it was being throttled at that point & ought to be able to go much higher

I don't see why this kit wouldn't work on a G-series engine. You might need bigger pistons and cylinders to give enough valve clearance to the bore, but otherwise it's the same basic engine.

[mrp1961]

Krikkit said:

>£100k easy if you're really going at it with a full Swindon setup.

They do the following all suited to build together (inc VAT):

24v cylinder heads £37,737
Pistons and liner set £7,200
GT3 crank £7,200
Stud kit £1,166
ITB kit £7,344
PAS adapter £2,719
Carbon fan shroud for 24v heads £2,542
Titanium rods £12,000

A shade under £78k just for the above. Machining, gaskets, paint, 100h of assembly etc, injection components, coils, loom, mapping etc all on top.

I guess there's also the question about whether the existing drive train can take the upgrade, or needs further mods too? Clutch? Gearbox? Diff? Where would the costs end?

[thegreenhell]

mrp1961 said:

I guess there's also the question about whether the existing drive train can take the upgrade, or needs further mods too? Clutch? Gearbox? Diff? Where would the costs end?

Good point. You'd absolutely need a much shorter final drive, at the very least, otherwise your standard gearing would be good for over 300 mph if you just doubled the rpm without changing anything else.

[SimonTheSailor]

It's great - but when can you realistically use it ? When can you go anywhere near 12,000rpm ? It would scream like hell, be bloody annoying, only place is the track and only on track days with no noise limits ?

[Liamjrhodes]

SimonTheSailor said:

It's great - but when can you realistically use it ? When can you go anywhere near 12,000rpm ? It would scream like hell, be bloody annoying, only place is the track and only on track days with no noise limits ?

Thats too sensible thinking for a place like this! We all need 12k rpm for driving to the shops in first gear

[alexpa]

Liamjrhodes said:

SimonTheSailor said:

It's great - but when can you realistically use it ? When can you go anywhere near 12,000rpm ? It would scream like hell, be bloody annoying, only place is the track and only on track days with no noise limits ?

Thats too sensible thinking for a place like this! We all need 12k rpm for driving to the shops in first gear