A Porsche powered super car you say? Meet the “Frankenstein” Lykan Hypersport by Genius Garage ! The replica shell was originally built for the “Fast and the Furious” live action show but was sold after the show’s production company dissolved in 2018. Genius Garage acquired this fiberglass shell built around a wooden frame – with their work cut out for them.
Genius Garage, led by Casey Putsch, was created to bridge the gap from academia to industry giving students with spark an opportunity to grow and prove their worth to potential employers. This program gives students opportunities to work on unique projects like a 1997 Reynard Champ/Indy Car, an open cockpit WSC LeMans endurance prototype, and an IMSA Corvette project. The inaugural year for the Aerospace Team was dedicated to building a WWI Sopwith Camel biplane from the ground up.
The real Lykan saw a limited run of 7 super cars powered by a 3.7 L twin-turbocharged flat-six (developed by Ruf!) with a claimed power output of 780 hp at 7,100 rpm and 708 lb⋅ft of torque at 4,000 rpm. You may also recognize it from Fast and Furious 7 where Dominic Torreto “jumped” between several of Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Towers skyscrapers, voiding the warranty in the process. The donor car – to receive quite a unique body kit – was a 2007 Boxster S with a 3.4-liter flat-6 making roughly 290 hp – not as fast, not as furious, but why?
The Boxster chassis has the benefit of great structural rigidity in the floor as it is a convertible, allowing for leeway with modifications to the subframe. The dashboard and seat areas could remain relatively intact for simplicity. Over 700 lbs of material were removed in the process before affixing the body – ever see a naked Boxster?
This endeavor wasn’t as simple as bolting on the frame – the Porsche drivetrain and suspension needed to be moved to accommodate the longer body, intact and in one “assembly” to maintain handling and proper functionality. To do so, naturally, you cut the car in half.
Extensive work was done to fit and mate the composite body to structural points added to the Boxster chassis. The complex door hinges and all points of articulation required their own engineering solutions to work in a one-off environment and the team did a great job using hand tools, machinery, and 3D printing to stretch, configure, alter, and mate everything together. With over 20 videos in the series on the Lykan project, you can see all the intricacies of the build in greater detail.
As big fans of VINwiki and Casey’s work, we stepped up to provide performance enhancements. Our 987.1 non-resonated Race Exhaust and Long Tube Street Headers with HJS HD 200 cell cats add performance without a check engine light while reducing weight roughly 20 lbs compared to the stock exhaust system.
Through 2020, the team made quick work of body work, fabrication, and custom wiring to get the car running. How does it perform? Watch Casey overtake a C7 Z06 Corvette (10:30) and 911 (6:00) among others.
You can find the full series of Lykan videos and more at Casey Putsch’s YouTube channel, here. If you’re feeling inspired to upgrade your Porsche, reach out and chat with one of our Performance Specialists here.
Questions? Comments? Let us know!
– Mike Spock / Marketing Manager