While Ares Design’s own S1 Project aims to blend hypercar design and aesthetics with supercar performance in a sports car-priced package, the Italian coachbuilder is best known for building one-off exotics that are essentially restomods of classic cars.
Maxim’s recent deep dive into the S1 Project mentions the Modenese auto fabricator’s takes on the Land Rover Defender and Porsche 911 964, and as it happens, a new blacked-out edition of each has just been completed.
Beginning with the British four-door bruiser, Ares’ Centro Stile gave 2018 Defender 110 a carbon fiber hood, widened wings, larger tinted windows, a “high-grade” panoramic roof, 18-inch custom rims and hid all visible body bolts. The interior’s luxe refinish features red leather and black carbon fiber paneling, as well as an upgraded infotainment system and AC unit.
Land Rover’s original four-cylinder turbo diesel engine was swapped out with a 4.8-liter V8 engine capable of delivering 280-horsepower through a six-speed automatic transmission, while other heftier hardware implementations include strengthened axle shafts and larger six-piston disc brakes.
Pivoting toward the Porsche, Ares tricked out the late 80s-/early-90s era 964-generation of the 911 with details reminiscent of even earlier versions of the iconic German sports car.
White Fuchs rims with black spokes were famously featured on the 911 Carrera RS 2.7 of the 70s, and the “houndstooth motif” emblazoned on the black leather-clad steering wheel was derived from vintage Porsche race cars.
The interior also gets the snazzy Porsche Classic Communication Management system, which was specifically created to retrofit vintage models with a touchscreen and modern media capability like Apple CarPlay and Google Android.
Ares engineers went to work on the the 964 911’s 3.6-liter six-cylinder boxer engine, installing a powerful turbine and intercooler to top 425 horses. Prices for Ares latest Defender and 911 builds have yet to be released, but feel free to inquire online.