Michael SatterfieldIn a quiet corner of Jacksonville, Florida, tucked among the palmettos and industrial corridors, a Porsche roars to life, not with the high-pitched wail of a modern turbocharged flat-six but with the guttural, unapologetic snarl of a 3.8-liter air-cooled engine fed by Motec brains and built with the precision of a scalpel. It’s not a Singer. It’s not a museum piece. It’s a Classic 9.
Classic 9 Motorwerks is the brainchild of Jim and Jason Faulkner, a father-son duo with decades of experience between them in vintage racing, architecture, and hands-on restoration. Their cars aren’t replicas or restomods in the trend-chasing sense. They are, as the Faulkners describe, “heritage-inspired” machines, rolling tributes to Porsche’s golden era of motorsport, interpreted through the lens of modern performance and timeless design.
What began as a shared garage passion, racing a 1973 Porsche 911 RSR in vintage SCCA events, has evolved into a full-fledged business with a growing cult following. After years of helping friends restore their own early 911s, the Faulkners decided to make it official in 2018. By 2021, Classic9 Motorwerks was born.
“We were never trying to create a brand at first,” says Jason, whose professional background is in architecture. “But we realized there was a place for what we were doing—respecting the past while subtly enhancing it for today’s roads.”
Classic 9: From Blueprints to Bodywork
Jason Faulkner’s story doesn’t follow the typical automotive arc. As a teenager, he dreamed of becoming a race car driver but recognized early that passion alone wasn’t enough to secure a seat. So he turned to automotive design, only to find that in the 1980s, the path to that career was murky at best.
“Architecture felt like the most structured way to feed that same creative drive,” he says.
After nearly three decades in the field, Jason’s design discipline now shapes every curve, stitch, and seam in the Classic 9 workshop. His deep understanding of proportion, form, and visual rhythm, honed in architectural studios, is evident in every RSR or Clubsport they touch.
“Every element on the car must serve the whole,” he says. “Whether it’s a vent, a stripe, or a piece of trim—it has to feel intentional.”
Reimagining a Legend
The Classic 9 RSR is their current crown jewel. Inspired by the 1973 911 RSR, it’s a muscular, wide-hipped beast riding on KW coilovers and Porsche 930 brakes. Under the decklid sits a snarling 3.8L air-cooled engine with electronic fuel injection and a Motec ignition, delivering 371 horsepower in a chassis that weighs under 2,500 pounds. The result is a power-to-weight ratio on par with a modern 911 Turbo—but wrapped in analog charm.
“There’s a reason we don’t chase 4.0-liter builds like some others,” Jason explains. “A well-balanced 3.8 in a lightweight F or G-body chassis gives you more feel, more feedback—and better value.”
Modern touches—like LED headlights subtly hidden behind vintage lenses and an electric air conditioning system tucked into the “smuggler’s box”—are integrated with almost invisible care. Even Porsche purists have a hard time spotting where old ends and new begins.
The Color of Nostalgia
One of their most talked-about builds wears the iconic Gulf Blue and orange livery, but not in the way you’d expect. “It was the client’s request,” Jason explains. “He loved the symbolism of Gulf Racing, but we didn’t want to do a literal copy.” Instead, they applied subtle orange side stripes and ghosted Carrera graphics into the bodywork, an homage rather than a costume. It’s these kinds of details, quiet but deliberate, that make Classic 9 cars feel less like tributes and more like thoughtful reinterpretations.
As with any project that blends vintage parts with modern systems, challenges arise. In one particularly frustrating episode, Jason spent weeks troubleshooting a clutch issue, only to discover that the pressure plate was a racing unit, not the street-spec part he thought he had ordered.
“I had to drop the engine and transmission again, all because I didn’t double-check the part,” he says with a laugh. “It was humbling.” The payoff came when a professional race car driver, Aaron Nash, took the car for a spin and declared it “one of the most engaging and enjoyable cars he’s ever driven.”
“That made my year,” Jason says.
Why They Don’t Chase the Trends
If Classic 9 seems refreshingly absent from the social media noise of the restomod world, it’s by design. They’re not interested in carbon-fiber overloads or radical interiors that alienate from the car’s origins. Instead, they lean into what made the early 911s great in the first place.
“A lot of shops are chasing builds beyond their breath,” says Jim, who handles operations. “We’re focused on doing what we know best, and doing it better than anyone else.”
Their builds may not have exposed carbon or laser-etched dashboards, but they exude a quality and craftsmanship that quietly speaks volumes.
What’s Next for Classic9
While the Gulf RSR has captured most of the recent headlines, Classic 9 is already expanding their portfolio. Next up is the C9 Clubsport (CS), a more subdued touring version inspired by the 911ST—lighter, simpler, and ideal for long road trips or canyon carving weekends.
They’re also growing their vintage racing program, building period-correct 911R, ST, and RSR racecars while offering track support to clients. A 1974 3.0L RSR is undergoing a refresh for the 2025 vintage season, and a 2.0L race chassis is in the works for 2027.
Their new global headquarters, a purpose-built facility in Jacksonville, will house both the automotive and architectural arms of the business. “It’s not just a garage,” Jason says. “It’s a space where clients can connect with the process, see their car come to life, and experience the environment that shapes it.”
Advice for the Next Generation
For aspiring builders and dreamers hoping to follow in Classic9’s tire tracks, Jason offers a dose of realism: “Fortitude and patience. That’s what it takes.”
After earning his architecture degree, he apprenticed under a master Porsche mechanic for five years. Now, nearly three decades into working on 911s, he still considers himself a student.
“There’s always more to learn. And I plan to keep learning for the next 25 years.”
Legacy in the Making
Ask Jason what drives him after all these years, and the answer loops back to design.
“Designing a building that still looks timeless after 50 years is rare,” he says. “But Porsche did that with the 911. We’re just continuing that story.”
Looking ahead, Classic 9 may dabble in artisan coachwork, taking cues from builders like Chris Runge. But their foundation will remain rooted in purpose, proportion, and passion.
“We’re not chasing flash,” Jim adds. “We’re chasing feel.”
In a world of overhyped builds and algorithm-chasing content, Classic9 Motorwerks offers something more enduring: a reverence for the past, a commitment to craftsmanship, and a belief that the soul of a Porsche isn’t found in horsepower or carbon fiber—but in the purity of the drive.
