Race Ready And Street Legal: Peter Eriksson’s Porsche 996

Take everything you know about the term ‘street legal’, throw a little spice on it, and you get this Porsche.

It’s a car that somehow still has license plates, despite looking like it escaped a race weekend and refused to go back to work.

I can’t even make sense of it. I’m afraid to change to aftermarket coilovers here in Sweden without looking over my shoulder for cops, but for Peter “Puppan” Eriksson, he’s somehow managed to find a way to take his Porsche 996 and fit 997 GT3 bits to it, while keeping it as a Sunday ice cream getter. 

You might even recognize his name. That’s because Larry featured this car way back in 2014, and it’s safe to say that the car has seen some upgrades…and then some.

I first saw the car in 2019 when it was blue, but I didn’t think of it as more than just another track car. My interest was sparked this year when I found out that it was street legal, and bright green now. You know…to stick out even more.

So what’s changed since 2014? For starters, between then and 2018, the 911 was strictly used for competitive racing – retiring in 2018 to become street legal. The major changes and the most obvious one is the exterior modifications. Peter has managed to find genuine Porsche 997 RSR body panels and fit them to the 996.

“After my first season in the Time Attack series, I realized that I needed wider tires, better handling, more downforce and more power to win.” Peter Recalls.

“I’ve always wanted a Porsche with the RSR look, but for a long time I thought it was too much work. I first checked out a 996 RSR, but the final inspiration came from the USA; probably the first car built with a 997 RSR kit mounted on a Carrera.”

There was indeed major work that needed to be done to complete his vision. Peter got his hands on moulds for a 2007 RSR kit that he test-fitted to the car just to see if things would work, with help from yet another familiar name, Peter Pentell, the builder of the ‘LaSupra’ EVO, AKA Epic Lancia.

But before the mould fitting was finalised, Eriksson bought a genuine RSR-kit from a 2009 competition car that was owned by another Porsche racer, Rickard Cornacchini.

This wasn’t just another bolt on kit. Remember, Peter owns a Porsche 996. This kit belongs to a 997 which meant that almost everything needed to be changed. Rear fenders, front fenders, front inner fenders, air ducts, subframes, uprights, wishbones, brakes and more.

“The goal was not just for the car to look like a 997 RSR, but also to behave like one. It had to ride as low as possible, have the correct and optimal geometry in both the front and rear suspension, and to go as fast – if not faster – than an RSR”

Since a genuine RSR is limited in terms of speed thanks to regulations, you’d be crazy to think that Peter wouldn’t make his own car faster than the bona-fide thing.

Out back sits a 3.6-litre flat-six engine paired with dual BorgWarner EFR6758 turbos. There are four different settings to change how many ponies you want at the crank, anywhere between 683hp to 855hp.

Power is channeled through a six-speed GT2 manual gearbox with a Spec 3+ clutch and SACHS 1050 Nm pressure plate, paired with an SQS sequential shifter. A 997.2 Cup/GT3 R limited-slip differential with a reinforced housing cover and a dedicated Cup oil cooler (with its own heat exchanger), ensure traction under load. 

Just don’t expect to sit in traffic wearing a permanent grin. You might manage it occasionally, but more often than not you’ll be working up a sweat. The clutch, in particular, is heavy enough to replace a gym membership. At the very least, your left leg will be in exceptional shape.

Inside is what you would expect from any road-legal race car. It’s fully stripped and fully caged with a Porsche 997 Cup steering wheel, two carbon bucket seats with Sparco harnesses and just to make the car a tad cozy, with custom carpets resembling the oldschool 911 vibe. 

Before you say anything, Peter has driven this thing from Sweden to Poznan, Poland for the Polonia GT track event located roughly 1270 kilometers away. 

“It works quite well as a two-seater…thanks to the Intercom! But it could do with slightly softer springs as a daily driver.” he says. Sounds like a first-world problem if I’ve ever heard one!

As you would expect, the chassis is all race-oriented with custom three-way Öhlins race dampers, 997 Cup/GT3 R front and rear subframes and 997.2 Cup uprights/spindles in the front and rear. I’ll include a list of every goodie at the end, for you upgrade fiends.

Peter has two sets of BBS Centerlocks measuring 18×10.5-inch in the front and 18×12-inch in the rear, paired with Yokohama tires measuring 300/650/18 at the front and 330/710/18 as the back. As for brakes, those are 997.2 Cup calipers with 380mm front 350mm rear discs. It’s safe to say Peter will be stopping, and going again, in the blink of an eye.

Now for the question many of you are probably asking: ‘how can this be street legal?’

Well, it’s a rather tedious task to accomplish. You first have to read through the SFRO (Swedish National Vehicle Builders’ Association) handbook, which describes what is required for a vehicle to be classified as ‘converted’ and registered for street use. Then you have to change literally everything on your car. I’m talking engine, brakes, chassis, wheels, tires, you name it – and even then, it might not be approved.

“At the time I built the Porsche, it was mainly old hot rods and Harley-Davidson motorcycles that were rebuilt and registered this way. Today it’s a somewhat simpler process, but you could say that I paved the way for the next generation of car builders through all the work that was done to make the car street legal – work that later builders could use as a reference.”

“We’re talking about hundreds of hours and an extreme amount of resistance, both from the authorities and within the SFRO, before I finally got in touch with a very competent SFRO inspector by the name of Gustaf Ulander, who lived in Norrland. He was absolutely fantastic, helped me through the whole process and even came down and inspected the car when it was finished.”

I keep hearing the same thing from all of the extreme car builders I know. Many come close to giving up, even after countless hours spent tweaking every single thing to meet the SFRO standards. But if you want to have a smooth time with the law, you don’t have any other choice.

I asked Peter about police activity and he had this to say: “Most have been very happy and nice, but I have been stopped and checked by the Police’s technical vehicle unit when they were conducting training for new police aspirants. They went through the car for about 45 minutes and then let us go after saying…

‘It really seems like this damn car is street legal.’ …which was nice of them!”

While it may be a real pain in the ass, the letter of the law is one of the pros of the Swedish modification scene. Police literally can’t do a thing if you have the correct papers to show for your hard work. 

As I write these final words, I’m left thinking, will there ever be anything wilder than this on the streets of Sweden? Honestly, I’m not so sure.