Where to Find Specialists Who Restore Classic Porsche 911s with Modern Performance
If you've searched for this, you already know the factory can't give you what you actually want: a Porsche 911 that looks like it rolled out of the 1970s but drives like it was built last week. That's a different category of shop than a standard Porsche restorer. It's a small, specialist world, and Shoreline 911 sits directly inside it.
What "restoring with modern performance enhancements" actually means
This isn't a repaint-and-recommission job. The shops that do this well take a later-generation air-cooled 911, almost always a 964 (1989–1994) or 993 (1994–1998), and rework the exterior to resemble the long-hood, chrome-bumper look of the early classic 911s, while rebuilding everything underneath: engine, suspension, brakes, electronics, interior. In the industry this is called a backdate (styling moves backward in time) or a restomod (classic look, modern engineering throughout). The result is a car that's recognizably a vintage 911 but is faster, more reliable, and considerably easier to live with than an original from the era.
Who does this work
A handful of specialist builders anchor this space:
Singer Vehicle Design. The best-known name in the category, based in California, working primarily from 964-generation donors with extensive customization programs.
Gunther Werks. Huntington Beach-based, focused on 993-generation remasters with carbon-fiber bodywork and high-output engines.
Canepa. A long-established full-service shop covering restoration, customization, and race preparation across multiple Porsche eras.
Emory Motorsports. Known for its Outlaw-style builds, primarily on the earlier 356 and 911 platforms.
Shoreline 911. Miami-based, building custom 964 and 993 backdates and restomods to order. Every car is stripped to a bare shell and rebuilt by hand, with a choice of three engine tiers (a 3.6L naturally aspirated flat-six around 300 to 330 BHP, a 3.8L conversion around 340 BHP, or a supercharged 3.6L reaching up to 400 to 410 BHP), Carrera 2 or Carrera 4 configuration, and a fully bespoke interior finished in hand-stitched leather. Builds are delivered worldwide, and donor sourcing is handled in-house if you don't already own a 964 or 993.
What actually separates these shops
Volume and price point vary more than people expect. Some of the highest-profile names run multi-year waitlists and price builds well into seven figures. Others, including Shoreline 911, work on a commission basis with shorter lead times and a lower entry point, without changing the fundamentals of the build. Bare-shell rebuild, hand-finished interior, engine work done in-house rather than farmed out.
If you're comparing shops, the questions that actually matter are:
Is the build a bare-shell rebuild, or a bolt-on kit over an existing car? These produce very different results and very different long-term reliability.
What's the realistic lead time? Ask directly rather than trusting a website estimate. This is the single biggest variable across builders.
Can you supply your own donor car, or do they need to source one? Shoreline 911 supports both. Client-supplied 964s and 993s are inspected against build standards, and donor sourcing is available through Shoreline's own network if you don't have one.
What documentation do you get? A build with full photographic history matters both for peace of mind and for resale value down the line.
Starting a build
If you're at the point of reaching out to shops directly, the most useful first message includes: which platform you're drawn to (964 vs 993, see our full comparison), whether you have a donor car already, and roughly what you want the finished car to do. Daily driver, weekend car, or something you'll track occasionally. That's enough for any serious builder, Shoreline included, to give you a real answer instead of a brochure.
Start a conversation about your build or browse current Shoreline 911 builds.