Keith Brantley from Oviedo, FL is a unique player in this game. We often see enthusiasts who bleed brand loyalty, but Kevin doesn’t quite fit that pattern.Impala, Firebird and Camaro then a Viper; first a ’96 and then an ’08, Keith explained. I picked up a brand-new C63 when I was drag racing the ’08 Viper. We were at the track and I figured I’d see what the Benz could do – it ran a 12.1!
And that was it. His bone-stock four-door Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG was very strong from the factory.
After that run it all went downhill, he laughed. If you ask my wife, it’s another story, Positively downhill, he clarified, but!Two tenths of a second might not sound significant, but it’s a huge leap in drag racing. So at this point it was decided the C63 would be heavily modified. That meant the Viper had to go.
Now, before you get your briefs in a bunch, Keith isn’t all about straight-line performance. Sure, he’s also a road-racer and builds his cars to perform well in both disciplines, though he loves it.The C63 made 530whp and 505 lb-ft on pump gas, before forcing nitrous down its throat. A 55whp gain is nothing to sneeze at, and while it’s a substantial increase, it’s still not enough to break world records. But instead of going with forced induction, Keith stuck to what he learned in his muscle car days: nitrous makes a ton of power when applied properly.
With a 200-shot installed, the crimson sedan put down a solid 700whp and a massive 730 lb-ft.
In action they’re enough to launch the Benz to 60mph in 2.8sec, with an absurd sprint from 60-130mph in 5.98sec, although the numbers don’t mean much on paper.AMG builds a damn fine motor, if you ever doubted it.
As a precaution it was upgraded by Weistec Engineering and a high-speed stall converter fitted, although the transmission has held up as well.
The evil look didn’t hurt either, although on the exterior, Keith kept the factory paint color but added a custom carbon fiber ram-air hood for performance reasons. The car was starving for air so the hood made a huge difference.
Cutting weight was a big effort as well. So a Vorsteiner carbon fiber trunk and roof were fitted, shaving about 50 lb.roof, trunk and hood helped shed some pounds
The car serves three purposes: Drag racer, road-racer and daily driver. So, it has three sets of tires and wheels. On the street, Keith chose 18×9 front, 19×12 rear Forgestar F14 wheels with 345-width Michelin Cup tires out back and 275 Toyo R888s up front. For road-racing, he runs the same wheels but 18×11 on the rear with narrower Hoosier R6 slicks. And finally, for drag racing, Keith managed to fit skinny 17×4 wheels up front with 15×10 on the tail, again with Hoosier slicks.
Otherwise the interior is stock, although for racing, Keith uses a Tecnocraft carbon fiber driver’s seat and custom Vortex Motorsports five-point roll-bar.
Keith doesn’t compromise. He set out to build a unique car that would shatter world records, take his wife to dinner and is continually evolving. His C63 is simultaneously bat-shit crazy, stunningly beautiful and fast as hell.
It was widely acknowledged that Porsche aficionados fell into either the air-cooled or water-cooled camps, @@@@@ Long before the Panamera and Cayenne. And today that’s further splintered into early- and late-model camps forming within the ranks of 911 enthusiasts.
The resurgence of interest in the earlier cars caused values of machines like the 1973 Carrera RS 2.7 to soar a few years back. With mainly 911 SC and Carrera 3.2 models being used as donor cars because of their relatively low value and galvanized bodyshells, the unobtainable price prompted an explosion of replicas of this iconic lightweight homologation model.RSR and RS values have continued to skyrocket as people flee the banks as a place to park their cash, the RS mania has slowed down somewhat. Many enthusiasts, keen on the smaller and lighter early ’70s cars, have fixed their sights on earlier ‘long hood’ competition models like the 911 R, S/T and R/R for inspiration,. That’s part of the reason.
These late ’60s and early ’70s models are equally iconic thanks to competition glory. They made their mark in European race and rally events in the hands of drivers like Bjorn Waldegaard before the 911 RS was even conceived.’72 and 1971 S/T.
To the expert, the visual difference between this car and a genuine S/T is the lack of the front lip spoiler fitted to the seven factory-built cars in 1972. Other than that, the external oil and fuel caps are an homage to the 911 R and ultralight ’70/71 factory-backed S/T cars that competed in the Tour de France.
The shell was shipped to Kundensport in Camarillo, CA where the original steel bumpers were reworked to S/T spec. They then fitted steel S/T flares, an aluminum engine lid and balsawood-reinforced clear-framed, fiberglass front lid, all supplied by TRE Motorsports.
Kundensport would modify the gas and hood tank for the race-style filler system with bladed gas cap from TRE. They also installed the ’72 oil tank supplied by the owner, as well as the cap and filler neck from TRE.
The 911 was then painted by Kundensport and reassembled with TRE-sourced weather seal kit, lights and lenses, lightweight chrome door handles and a weld-in S/T-RSR front strut brace. TRE further provided the competition-style front and rear lid hold-downs along with lightweight hinges, while the unusual Talbot 300 mirrors had been saved by Rob for just such a project.
The original 15 S/T forged factory Fuchs wheels are light, strong, extremely rare and hideously expensive. So a set of more available 15×8 Fuchs were sent to Harvey Weidman at Weidman’s Wheels inCA and Oroville, to be turned into 15×9 and x10 replicas.When embarking on a retro project like this you have to decide if the car is only going to look like an S/T from the outside or be a near perfect replica inside as well. Rob chose a third way, which was to build a custom interior, as it happens.panel and move the clock over to the left side. The tacho now incorporates the fuel meter, while oil temp, pressure and level are all on one large dial.
The carpet is mostly original, apart from new sections replacing worn areas. A reproduction competition footrest was also fitted.
TRE supplied early Recaro-style race seats, with a deep bucket for the driver and with a less contoured navigator-style seat for the passenger.
The steering wheel is a vintage Abarth piece, again kept by the owner and more ergonomic that the skinny rim the factory supplied. Gear selection is via a Wevo classic short shifter, mounted on a black anodized 915 tower.
On a rally stage, the passenger’s job would be to read pace notes and work the chronometers that sit where the stereo would normally be. The radio head unit is now hidden, as well as speakers behind the rear side panels with the basketweave perforated to allow the sound to travel.
Seatbelts were a new fad back in the ’70s but this car has modern inertia reel belts and a aluminum TRE roll-bar behind the seats. Auto Foreign Services supplied the reproduction rear-seat delete and storage box kit.
12 1971 porsche 911 TST cibie pallas rally lamps
09 1971 porsche 911 TST fuchs wheel
05 1971 porsche 911 TST side view
Behind The Wheel
The advantage of fuel injection is the lack of carburetor jets that need constant adjustment. the, However and Dave team at TRE Motorsports are among a small group of 911 maestros who practically wrote the book on tuning carb-equipped cars like this. So, it was no surprise when the flat-six burst into life and idled smoothly, its two triple-throat PMO carbs reminding me how sharp throttle response was be before single throat, plenum-based fuel injection.size and power allowed you to slip through gaps in traffic with an agility many modern cars simply don’t possess.
The engine torque was immediately evident and meant you could drive in a higher gear than instinct tells you. And as you gain speed, the ride becomes smoother, coming into its own on fast canyon roads. And that was always its intended purpose. Clear of traffic and cops, Rob’s TRE 911 S/T would be a real blast, if you were able to take a crack at Mulholland.
However, it’s unlikely you’ll see this Signal Orange 911 anywhere near Mulholland because it’s now at home with its owner in Maryland. But if you live on the East Coast, stay alert for sightings of this rapid 911. It sounds as good as it looks.