New Product Research and Development March 2018

New product development is a key part of what gets us out of bed in the morning. We are always working on new technology and testing interesting new ideas for our own use, or for our research and development clients.

The current products in test include our latest alternator project. Designed, machined and assembled here in the UK, this product is a proper game-changer, producing 90 amps at idle and an impressive 180 amps at speed. It's been running on our Porsche 911 SC for several weeks and we're pleased with the results to date. There's a bit more testing to do before we can sign off the major product features and begin to focus on the finer details.

Electric Heating for Air-Cooled Porsche 911

Having more power at our disposal allows us to ramp up testing on our prototype electric heating system for air-cooled Porsche 911s. The original 911 heating system is a notorious hotchpotch system with several layers of auxiliary blowers added as the models matured, none of which were particularly wonderful, even when new. Many owners delete the entire heating system in the name of simplicity or to chase more power from straight through headers and deleted heat exchangers, but that is not the Classic Retrofit way. We want heat at all times!

Several organisations have attempted to develop electric heating systems for air-cooled 911s over the years, but it is not easy to achieve, as the current draws place huge stress on the car's original electrical system. Our system tackles the issue with Classic Retrofit's trademark approach of total integration and optimum efficiency. Prototype testing has been promising thus far, so we look forward to trying the system in the SC later this year.

None of this dilutes our commitment to keeping our promises and delivering our latest products as close to schedule as possible. Supplier delays held up some of our most recent batch of air-con systems, but that is just about resolved and we have been securing alternative sources for the future, or commissioning the manufacture of our own products where this is not possible. 

Contact us with any questions regarding the range of Classic Retrofit products for vintage Porsche 911s.