Porsche’s 904 mid-60s GT racer reborn as Aerfal Automotive Æ94
The Dutch firm plans to bring back the mid-engined 904 in 400bhp flat-eight form
Thought every possible combination of Porsche-based restomod, remaster, and tribute had already been done? Well, it seems there are still more combinations out there, as one Dutch company has created a tribute to the Porsche 904 of the 1960s.
The original 904 Carrera GTS was a fibreglass-bodied sports car designed as a follow-up to the open-topped 718, to compete in group 3 GT racing in the mid 1960s. It was mid-engined and initially used flat-four power, though Porsche later fitted the 911’s flat six, and a handful even got an F1-derived flat eight.
It’s the latter cars that Dutch firm Aerfal Automotive is paying homage to with the Æ94. Using the mid-engined 914 as a basis, the Æ94 closely echoes the styling of the original, but the most interesting aspect is probably that Aerfal plans to bring back that rare flat-eight engine variant for its own reimagining.
The company hasn’t released many details – all the images you see are renderings, so the project is likely in its very early stages – but Aerfal is promising a 4-litre flat eight making around 400 horsepower, a combination that it says is “not about chasing numbers, but about creating an engine that breathes character, a soundtrack and sensation that connects the driver directly to Porsche’s primal racing heritage”.
Naturally it’s mid-mounted, and aircooled like the original too – the original, incidentally, being half the capacity and making more like 240 horsepower. For the rest of the car, Aerfal is pitching it as an interpretation of what Porsche’s mid-60s engineers might have achieved with today’s technology and tools.
The styling is certainly convincing, though it’s likely that the end product will be a little larger than the original – the 914 it’s based on has a longer wheelbase than the 904, so everything will need to be that little bit bigger in order to keep the 904’s proportions (though that should also make fitting that flat-eight engine a little easier).
The wheels are notably larger (the renders show it wearing Michelin Cup 2 tyres), no doubt to shroud brakes capable of hauling the car down from 400-horsepower speeds, the front and rear lights are thoroughly modern, and the cabin should be a little more accommodating of modern frames than the tiny 1960s racer.
The renderings show some typical restomod touches inside, from a comprehensive retrim to plenty of exposed titanium, a pair of racy bucket seats, and a gearlever positioned on a turret with an Elise-style exposed linkage below. Pleasingly, you apparently still get manual window winders, and there’s not a touchscreen in sight.
And while the real car might be some way off, there are at least some big names contributing to the project: Aerfal has turned to the vastly experienced Porsche specialists Tuthill for tuning the suspension – as well as building its own cars, Tuthill has worked with Singer and Meyers Manx too, among others.
Price, release date, full specifications? All unknown, though cars like this don’t tend to come cheap: the Kimera EVO37 tribute to the Lancia 037, perhaps conceptually closest to this 904 revival, is in the half-million Euros range, and you’ll pay similar money and more for some traditional restomods from the world’s best. It would certainly be fun to see the Æ94 among them.
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