This New Kit Will Take Your Air-Cooled Porsche 911 to 12,000rpm

If you’re keen on a Porsche 911 capable of screaming its way to a redline, and with a manual gearbox to boot, you may have your eye on the brand-new S/T. Hold your wallet though, as a UK-based specialist may have just stolen its thunder.

This new upgrade kit from Swindon Powertrain has been designed for 964 and 993 air-cooled models, with the ability to rev all the way to 12,000rpm. That’s 3k more than an S/T, for comparison.

It replaces the original M64 flat-six's’ cylinder heads and doubles the valves-per-cylinder from two to four. Each valve is made from titanium and is smaller than the original components.

Along with the increased RPM limit, Swindon says this brings more air into the combustion chamber and reduces stress on the rockers by allowing the use of lighter springs. All-in, the kit weighs 3.5kg lighter than a 993’s standard set - you can thank it being cast from aerospace-grade aluminium for that.

Granted, the kit will require work elsewhere in the engine to unlock its full potential, but it does include everything to fit the new heads and get them working. Swindon will sell you custom pistons if you wish, along with an inlet porting upgrade and tweaked cam profiles to maximise performance.

You can buy the kit directly from Swindon Powertrain now, with pricing at £29,950 + VAT, and each comes with a 12-month warranty. Of course, you’ll also need an air-cooled Porsche 911, and those don’t come cheap…