Automotive Expotrs November 2022

Theon Design reveals CHI001, its latest bespoke commission
Theon Design has revealed its latest bespoke development, a fully restored and enhanced Porsche 911
(964)-based commission for its first customer in Chile, featuring a lightweight carbon body paired with
semi-active suspension and a 400bhp 4.0-litre flat six.
Combining ‘OEM+’ design, quality
and manufacturing techniques with
uncompromising attention to detail CHI001
is, like all Theon creations, an example
of the company’s world-class design and
engineering expertise, delivering on the
company’s objective of distilling and
enhancing the essence of the air-cooled
911.
Theon Design is the brainchild of Adam
Hawley, a Porsche obsessive with more
than two decades of automotive design
experience at prestigious OEMs such as
BMW, JLR, Lexus and Lotus, who also
helped design Airbus A380 luxury interiors.
Under Hawley, Theon Design seeks to make
each car it creates lighter, more powerful
and even more visceral to drive than the
original on which it is based, while at
the same time paying careful homage to
Porsche’s methodology and engineering
ethos.
“Our intent is clear,” explains Hawley.
“We apply an OEM-grade approach
with Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and
manufacture to enhance a classic Porsche,
delivering the best possible quality. At
the same time, we are careful to honour
Porsche’s heritage and engineering ethos;
we’re totally focussed on lightweight
construction and delivering truly engaging
driving dynamics. CHI001 pushes this to
new heights and is fantastic example of
what Theon Design is capable of.”
The company is based in the UK’s
‘Motorsport Valley’ in Oxfordshire, home
to an array of auto and racing technology
companies and technicians – the ideal
location in which to assemble a small team
of passionate engineers and establish
relationships with trusted suppliers.
High-tech lightweight body
As with all of Theon Design’s bespoke
commissions, CHI001 is based on a 911
(964) that has been stripped back and fully
restored, using numerous design cues from
Porsche models past and present.
CHI001 is the first Theon Design creation to
feature carbon fibre for the vast majority of
the body, with the lightweight composite
material used for the roof, bonnet, engine
lid, spoiler, bumpers and sill covers, while
only the doors are steel – to aid side impact
protection. Lightweight black Kevlar is then
used for the wheelarch liners.
For the bespoke body, each component
was digitised and modelled in 3D design
software to ensure ultimate precision and
perfect panel fit – enabling Theon to tailor
individual details to the customer’s exact
specification.
While CHI001 is very much cutting-edge
in its construction, it also features an
evocative nod to the past with its custom
Viola Metallic paint, a colour first seen on
the 30th Anniversary Porsche 911 (964)
of 1993. CHI001’s 17” Fuchs style wheels
feature body-coloured centres, with
champagne-coloured petals and outer rims,
while the special paint is complemented by
Noble Chrome brightwork.
Theon’s unflinching attention to detail is
also demonstrated by the Royal Purple
Porsche script and strips, which match the
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