Want to Audi Swap Your Porsche 911?

If your Porsche 911 motor went boom, the folks at Renn27 have a solution that offers Turbo power for a fraction of the price.

Even diehard Audi fans will admit that the Porsche 911 is automotive royalty. But every noble bloodline — just ask King Charles — has its less popular members, and for the 911, that’s the 996 generation, whose  “fried egg” headlamps drew the ire of Porsche purists around the world.

Fugly front fascia controversy aside, a 996-generation 911 Turbo is still going to run buyers north of $50,000, and while naturally aspirated versions can be found for less than half that, they come with a very well-documented problem. That would be the potential failure of the intermediate shaft bearing. There are few warning signs that it’s about to go, and when it does, that’s the end of the engine.

So if you’re buying a used model? You’re either going to need documentation that it’s been fixed, or pony up around $4,500 at your local Porsche garage.

Enter the proposition of an engine swap. Because while the idea of giving Stuttgart’s masterpiece a heart transplant might sound like heresy, that hasn’t stopped people from swapping in everything from Chevy small blocks to K-series Honda engines. And now, the folks at Renn27 have developed kit to drop in an Audi 2.7T. Since the Four Rings mill — which saw service in the legendary B5 S4 — can be reliably tuned to produce 500 ponies, it’s a great way to get Turbo power at a fraction of the price.

While Renn27 offers individual swap components, the complete kit runs $10,800, and includes everything you need to make the Audi engine play nice with its corporate cousin. This includes engine mounts, transmission spacers, a DME replacement microcontroller, and engine to chassis adaptor harness, along with other necessary hardware, like a new clutch, flywheel, turbo and exhaust. Watch the video below for an overview of the process, and cross your fingers that we get to see one of these babies in action at the track soon!

Photos: YouTube

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