The Gunther Werks 993 Turbo Commission combines an 840-horsepower engine, a 2,750-pound curb weight and extensive in-house engineering in one of the company’s most ambitious Porsche builds. Priced at nearly $2 million and limited to 75 examples worldwide, the latest Turbo Commission shows why founder Peter Nam considers Gunther Werks a manufacturer rather than a traditional restomod shop.
A 993 Built Almost Entirely In-House
Companies that transform older Porsche 911s into faster, lighter and more expensive cars are nothing new. But Peter Nam believes Gunther Werks takes a different approach.
The company founder does not characterize his Huntington Beach operation as an assembler or conventional restomod business. Instead, he says Gunther Werks has developed into a manufacturer that designs and produces virtually everything needed to turn a Porsche 993 into one of its limited-production cars.
That philosophy is evident in the latest Turbo Commission, a right-hand-drive customer car headed for the UK that Nam showed Autoblog at the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed this summer.
“Everything you see on the car right now, headlights, tail lights, carbon fiber wheels, steering wheel, seats, everything, with the exception of the engine, is designed and manufactured in-house at our factory in Huntington Beach,” Nam said. “We are a true vertically integrated manufacturer.”
The numbers behind this particular 993 are equally notable. The car carries a price tag of nearly $2 million and is one of only 75 examples planned for production worldwide.
840 Horsepower in a 2,750-Pound Porsche
The finished Turbo Commission weighs just 2,750 pounds while producing as much as 840 horsepower from a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged flat-six engine.
As part of the transformation, the original 993 chassis is extensively reinforced. Nam said the result is a structure that is 150 percent stiffer than the original.
“The 993 chassis is now 150 percent stiffer than the original,” Nam said. “This car has no body roll at all. It just is completely flat on track, and it’s as stiff as a modern-day car.”
With 840 horsepower moving just 2,750 pounds, the car has roughly 3.3 pounds to move for every horsepower it produces. Nam described the resulting power-to-weight ratio in particularly ambitious terms.
“Power-to-weight ratio is superior to a Bugatti,” he said. “This is essentially a hypercar with a Porsche badge.”
The comparison comes from Nam, but the performance figures provide the basis for his description. The engine is developed with Rothsport Racing in Oregon, while Nam said Gunther Werks designed and developed approximately 30 percent of the package, including its charge-cooling system and distinctive flat-fan arrangement.
Three Performance Personalities
Despite its 840-horsepower capability, Gunther Werks did not design the Turbo Commission to deliver maximum output every time it is driven. The drivetrain has three settings that substantially change the amount of performance available.
“In comfort mode on the drivetrain, it has about 550 horsepower,” Nam said. “In sport mode, it has around 740, and track mode, it has 840.”
That creates a 290-horsepower difference between the least aggressive and most aggressive drivetrain settings. Nam says the changes create genuinely different personalities rather than simply altering throttle response.
“You have basically like Bruce Banner and the Incredible Hulk,” he said.
The suspension is also adjustable. According to Nam, its electronically controlled system makes adjustments 1,000 times every second and provides Comfort, Sport and Track settings that operate separately from the drivetrain modes.
The level of adaptability has reportedly surprised some Gunther Werks customers. “They were all shocked about how comfortable the car was,” Nam said, adding that some owners use their cars as daily drivers.
That versatility is notable given the Turbo’s power, wide bodywork and track-focused engineering.
“This is one of those cars you could drive through London, have dinner with your wife, drive to the track without using a trailer, and drive back home,” Nam said.
Engineering Drives the Design
The Turbo Commission’s aggressive appearance is also tied directly to Gunther Werks’ engineering philosophy. The numerous vents, ducts and openings across the car are not simply styling elements, according to Nam.
“Everything is dictated by engineering and performance of the car,” he said. “The design and the beauty of the car is really a byproduct of the engineering.”
Nam said the various ducts and vents serve purposes related to thermal management, aerodynamics or downforce rather than simply making the already extreme 993 look more dramatic.
Gunther Werks also pushes its development cars harder than it expects customers to drive them.
“We don’t want our customers driving our cars and being lab rats,” Nam said. “We push our cars and test them and break them on the track to find all the points and weaknesses so that they are as bulletproof as possible.”
The Meaning Behind the X Symbols
While engineering dominates the Turbo Commission, the car also carries details with a more personal meaning. Small X motifs appear throughout the vehicle, including on the wheel center caps, steering wheel, door panels and seat pattern.
Nam said the symbol traces back to Gunther Werks’ beginnings nearly a decade ago and represents the challenges he faced when starting the company.
“When I started this company nine years ago, everyone told me that it can’t be done, it’s impossible, and a lot of people closed their doors in front of my face,” he said. “The X symbol, it’s a symbol of overcoming adversity, and a symbol of trying to do the impossible.”
The car also carries another message on its door sill: “Define your limits by going beyond them.”
A 993 That Embodies Gunther Werks’ Philosophy
Nine years after Gunther Werks began, the Turbo Commission puts that philosophy into physical form. The 2,750-pound, 840-horsepower 993 can shift from a relatively civilized 550-hp road car to what Nam describes as a “hypercar with a Porsche badge.”
