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This Porsche 928 S Has Been Transformed Into a Rally-Ready Off-Roader

Porsche 928S The Monolite Project By Essen Garage 0 Hero
Photos: The Monolite Project | Essen Garage | Fercho Urquiza

Fernando “Fercho” Urquiza was bit by the Porsche but at an early age, first becoming enthralled with the Stuttgart firm in his early teens before eventually setting up his own restoration and customs shop in Querétaro, Mexico, operating under the banner of Essen Garage. Alongside your standard restorations and hot-rodded 911 builds, Fercho and his team at Essen also occasionally take on more idiosyncratic Porsche projects such as its heavily-modified 928 S off-roader known as “The Monolite Project” — or “928Shark.”

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Photo: The Monolite Project | Essen Garage | Fercho Urquiza

The Monolite Project started out of a stock 1980 928 S, though has been extensively modified from the ground up for rally and off-roading duties. Fitted with a lifted suspension setup, TMP rides on a set of five-arm wheels shod in Kumho all-terrain tires. Out in back, the build’s rear fenders have been chopped and treated to custom flares while up front the car’s front corner panels have been given the widebody treatment before also being fitted with custom matching flares. In addition to being treated to custom front intakes, the fore-end of the Porsche has also been bestowed with a custom front bumper with an integrated WARN winch that’s bookended by a set of HELLA auxiliary lights supplementing the 928 S’ pop-up headlights. A set of one-off rock sliders also run from tire-to-tire beneath the donor’s doors while the bottom of the car has been fortified via a full skid plate. Under the hood of this front-engined Porsche is a completely rebuilt 5.4-liter V8 mated to a manual gearbox. 

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Photo: The Monolite Project | Essen Garage | Fercho Urquiza

Undoubtedly one of the most noteworthy aspects of the project is its completely reworked rear-end. The 928 S’ rear cargo area has also been lopped off before seeing the aft-end fitted with a pickup-style bed and rear window. The build has also been capped off with a custom roof rack and head-ache rack combo that extends over the bed and doubles as a carrier for the project’s set of full-sized spares. The front of the roof rack also now accommodates a quad spotlight arrangement and a recovery jack. Completing the exterior is a set of matte gun metal gray paint and a high-mount muffler exiting out from behind the back left wheel. Inside, the 928 S has also been radically transformed. Trimmed completely in Alcantara from the seats to the dash to the door panels, the fully bespoke cabin now features a set of OMP race seats with five-point harnesses, a MOMO steering wheel, and custom perforated floor mats finished in a fluorescent yellow hue that matches the interior’s seat trim and roll-bar paint. 

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Photo: The Monolite Project | Essen Garage | Fercho Urquiza

Essen Garage’s Porsche 928 S “The Monolite Project” is currently making its rounds on the 2023 Hot Wheels Legends Tour where it will be on display in a myriad of major cities.