Porsche 911s Get V8 Swaps at SEMA

Two modified Porsche 911 builds with V8 engine swaps are on display at the 2026 SEMA Show in Las Vegas.

Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Performance Vehicles

Photograph of an exposed aluminum V8 engine block and steel cradle inside a rear-engine sports car chassis on a convention hall floor. — Two custom Porsche 911 builds fitted with V8 engine swaps are on display at the 2026 SEMA Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Two Porsche 911s fitted with V8 engine swaps are on display at the 2026 SEMA Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center. One car carries a Ferrari/Maserati F136 V8, and the other runs a dry-sump LS2 V8 with LS3 cylinder heads.

Why it matters

Porsche has installed V8 engines in the 928, Cayenne, and 918 Spyder but has never offered a production 911 with one, making these custom builds notable examples of the swap approach. The displays show how aftermarket builders are adapting engines from other platforms to the rear-engine chassis.

Oakes's 1978 Porsche 911 SC uses a 4.3-liter F136 V8 from a 2007 Maserati Quattroporte, reportedly revving to 8,000 rpm. Kugay's 2007 Porsche 997 GT3 runs a dry-sump 6.0-liter LS2 with LS3 heads, previously powered by a Subaru STI flat-four.

The players

SEMA Show

The Specialty Equipment Market Association's annual trade show, where aftermarket automotive builders display custom vehicles and parts.

Porsche

The German sports car manufacturer whose 911 rear-engine chassis is the platform for these V8 swaps.

The details

The Ferrari-sourced V8 is mated to a Porsche 996 transmission through a Kennedy Engineered Products bellhousing, with a custom clutch, flywheel, and fabricated engine cradle. Throttle and fueling are managed by a Link ECU G5 Voodoo Neo 6, with throttle bodies adapted from BMW E90/E92 M3 S65 components; the Ferrari-powered car also has upgraded brakes, coilovers, and a roll cage.

- 1978: Oakes's Porsche 911 SC model year
- 2007: Model year of the Maserati Quattroporte and Porsche 997 GT3 donor vehicles
- 2023: Maserati and Ferrari engineering arrangement ended
- November 4, 2026: Article published as the SEMA display opens this week
- November 6, 2026: SEMA Show closes at the Las Vegas Convention Center

Roadmap

Porsche has fitted V8 engines to the 928, Cayenne, and 918 Spyder, but never to a production 911, so these custom builds extend that V8 lineage to the rear-engine chassis. The swaps reflect an aftermarket tradition of transplanting engines from Maserati, Ferrari, and General Motors platforms into Porsche bodies.

The builds show that a 911 can accept a V8 only through custom fabrication, since no factory version exists. Enthusiasts considering a similar swap would need a custom bellhousing, ECU, and cradle, as these examples required.

The takeaway

Custom V8 swaps show how much engineering is needed to adapt an engine to a chassis it was never designed for. The Porsche 911 remains a rear-engine platform, and these builds illustrate what that conversion involves.