Designed by His Daughter: The Five-Car Gunther Werks Tribute to F1 Ace and Le Mans Victor Martin Brundle

David C.R. Neyens | Motorcopia

Charlie Brundle, a noted designer with McLaren, Aston Martin and JLR (Jaguar Land Rover) already on her résumé, styled five 860-horsepower turbocharged, air-cooled 911s around her father’s racing helmet. The first is shown at the Concours at Wynn Las Vegas this week, Oct 29-Nov 1.

Gunther Werks of Huntington Beach, California, will show the Brundle Edition Turbo at the Concours at Wynn Las Vegas from October 29. Only five will be built. Each is based on the company’s 993-generation Porsche 911 Turbo, with a 4.0-litre air-cooled, twin-turbo flat-six rated at 860 hp, a six-speed manual, and carbon-ceramic Brembo brakes.

Charlie Brundle designed the hand-painted livery and cabin around the helmet her father, 1990 Le Mans winner Martin Brundle, wore through his storied racing career. He helped tune the car’s Sport and Track settings. Gunther Werks has not announced a price; its “standard” Turbo, as if that descriptor could ever be applied, is listed at about $950,000.

Let’s dig deeper.

Most tribute cars borrow a famous name and add a plaque. The Gunther Werks Brundle Edition Turbo started somewhere more personal. Its livery and cabin were designed by Charlie Brundle, whose father is the man the car honours. Five will be built, and the first is shown at the Concours at Wynn Las Vegas, which opens October 29.

The driver

Martin Brundle’s career covers a lot of ground. In 1983 he took Ayrton Senna to the final laps of the British Formula 3 championship before finishing runner-up. He went on to start 158 Formula 1 Grands Prix between 1984 and 1996 for teams including Tyrrell, Brabham, Benetton, Ligier, McLaren and Jordan, scoring nine podiums.

His most important wins came with Jaguar. Tom Walkinshaw Racing’s Group C program brought Jaguar back to the front of sports car racing in the late 1980s, a revival built over several seasons of steady development. Brundle won the 1988 World Sportscar Championship for TWR Jaguar, along with that year’s Daytona 24 Hours. In 1990 he shared the winning Silk Cut Jaguar XJR-12 at Le Mans with John Nielsen and Price Cobb. Since retiring, he has become better known to many fans as a Formula 1 commentator, on ITV, the BBC and, since 2012, Sky Sports F1.

The builder

Gunther Werks, based in Huntington Beach, California, remasters the 993-generation Porsche 911. The 993, built from 1994 to 1998, was the last 911 with an air-cooled engine. Gunther Werks strips each donor car, reinforces it and rebuilds it with carbon-fibre body panels. The company’s emphasis has always been on performance; it says racing driver Randy Pobst lapped WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in 1:30.99 in one of its cars in 2020. A sister company, GW9, applies the same approach to carbon parts and forged wheels for current Porsches.

The Brundle Edition is based on the company’s latest model, the Turbo. It uses a 4.0-litre air-cooled, twin-turbocharged flat-six that Gunther Werks rates at 860 hp and 610 lb-ft of torque, calibrated for high-octane fuel. It drives the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox. Double-wishbone suspension, an adjustable rear wing, front canards and Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes with forged billet calipers complete the package. Brundle worked with the engineers on the car’s Sport and Track settings.

The designer

Charlie Brundle has worked in design at McLaren Automotive, Aston Martin and Jaguar Land Rover. For this car, she started with her father’s racing helmet. Its colours became a two-tone pearl livery, painted by hand, and the design carries through into the seat upholstery. A seat bolster label uses the colours of the Grand Prix cars Martin raced.

The smaller details are personal. One of Martin’s lines is on the dash: “The most important bit of the car is the nut holding the steering wheel.”

His helmet insignia sits beside it, along with hand-signed dashboard end plates. Charlie’s “MB” monogram is embossed in the headrests. Outside, the car has smoked indicators and taillights, one-off forged magnesium wheels etched with Brundle branding, special decklid lettering and door sills, and a unique key. Gunther Werks says there are further hidden references throughout the car for owners to find.

“Designing a car that celebrates my father’s racing career has been an incredibly personal experience,” Charlie says. Martin calls the project “deeply personal” and points to what drew him to the car: “despite having extreme race car performance, it is remarkably civilized and usable too.”

Each of the five buyers also receives a Bell HP77 Formula 1-homologated helmet, painted to match the car and signed by Martin.

The bottom line

Gunther Werks has not announced a price. Its standard Turbo is reported at about $950,000 before options, in a run of 75 cars, so the Brundle Edition will sit above that. With only five examples, its value will rest less on the specification, which other Gunther Werks Turbos share, than on the story: a Le Mans winner’s career, interpreted by his daughter.

See it in person

If you’re in Las Vegas for the Concours at Wynn, the Brundle Edition is worth seeking out. It’s the first public look at a car only five people will own. For build details or to enquire about one of the five, contact Gunther Werks directly.

Follow Charlie Brundle on Instagram: @brundle.creative https://www.instagram.com/brundle_creative?

Images courtesy of Gunther Werks / Eric Becker | Kahn Media ebecker@kahnmedia.com unless otherwise sourced and captioned.

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