"That shape has endured for almost fifty years.”

January 27, 2013 4:26 PM

Magnus Walker and his wife talk about everything. About building exquisite 911s and giving them their own subtle differences - and why he won't do commissions. About moving from London to Los Angeles. About urban renewal and sewing. About big hammers, leather, race car driving, dreadlocks, and "that sensory overload type of thing." [Vimeo, 32:34]

From the filmmaker: "URBAN OUTLAW is a portrait of Magnus Walker, the rebel Porsche customizer who turned a hobby into an obsession, and an obsession into a successful business. From a workshop in downtown Los Angeles, Magnus obsessively harvests fragments from donor 911s, grafting them onto vintage frames to create one-off automobiles with the spirit of Ferdinand Porsche but an ethos entirely his own."

posted by Chutzler (25 comments total)

When I read this FPP, I saw "building exquisite 911s and giving them their own subtle differences," and thought: well, damn, that's edgy. All I could figure was that they were political artists who sculpted different versions of the 9/11 tragedy as it might appear in different cities and time periods. I was quite relieved to click on the link and see the reference was to the Porsche 911. I, uh, I am not so much of a car person.
posted by Countess Elena at 4:32 PM on January 27 [4 favorites]

My trust fund detector is pegged in the red zone.
posted by zippy at 4:41 PM on January 27 [21 favorites]

Yes please.
posted by arcticseal at 4:43 PM on January 27

I have watched ten minutes of this, and it's enjoyable on multiple levels – as a fan of DTLA, I'm particularly interested in the space he and his wife live in. But the title Urban Outlaw is kind of hilarious when you hear Magnus go on about how he wants to take advantage of the gentrification of his neighborhood to open up a wine bar.
posted by roger ackroyd at 4:44 PM on January 27 [4 favorites]

I saw some of this not too long ago and I'm really happy to now see the whole thing. As a huge car guy who loves DTLA and driving too fast in that part of town and who loves old Porsches and Frankenstein car projects, this hits all the right notes for me. I'd been wondering how fast I could get away with driving across that bridge. It's good to know there's someone faster than me out there drawing attention of the cops.
posted by The World Famous at 5:04 PM on January 27 [1 favorite]

I like to consider myself a bit of an Urban Outlaw. It is good to know there are like minded individuals out there, sticking it to the man. I might not have dreds or drive fast, but when he says "Crazy stuff like that, but, you know, its all part of what I'm about I suppose" It resonates with me, way down in my gut. Keep doing crazy stuff like that cuz I'm with you man, I'm with you.
posted by Ad hominem at 5:32 PM on January 27 [3 favorites]

Here's an article on Speedhunters that goes into some more depth into the guy, as well as some really nice shots of his collection.

and on the other side of the world, you have Nakai-San and the incredible Rauh-Welt Begriff porches.
posted by hellojed at 5:32 PM on January 27 [1 favorite]

The word "outlaw" here has a couple meanings. The type of 911s he builds are referred to as "outlaw" style due to the fact that the cars use non-standard parts and body pieces from other 911s from differing model years and configurations to achieve a very aggressive, track-inspired look.

Essentially, Magnus' specific interest in the specific 911s he builds is the definition of the outlaw style.
posted by basicchannel at 5:34 PM on January 27 [3 favorites]

My trust fund detector is pegged in the red zone.

According to this article he's a "self-made millionaire"
posted by gwint at 5:44 PM on January 27 [2 favorites]

Ah, some day, 911, some day.

I'll take mine black on black, thank you.
posted by Room 641-A at 5:46 PM on January 27 [1 favorite]

For now, you can own an Urban Outlaw trucker cap, from Magnus Walker's clothing line, Serious.
posted by Ad hominem at 5:52 PM on January 27

I clicked on your second link, which I shouldn't have done as I keep finding fun, old, ratty, motorcycles on craigslist that I can't afford, but I still want to bring into my nice, warm garage and do wonderful things to them, but it reminds me that as faux and cliche as it may be, I do love swiss cheese and it just whispers "Speed..." seductively into my ear and I want to get my drill press out and attack all my vehicles and I'll wake up tomorrow and... "Oh god, what happened to my Volvo station wagon!?"

*shakes head, tops up nightcap, wipes away cold sweat*

*ahem* This is to say your post is good, and I enjoyed it.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 5:54 PM on January 27 [3 favorites]

I know another shape that has endured for almost fifty years. And damn, I have got to start exercising...
posted by Splunge at 6:45 PM on January 27 [2 favorites]

So, Rob Zombie has a new hobby?
posted by notsnot at 6:56 PM on January 27

Please don't disrespect Rob like that.
posted by Splunge at 7:19 PM on January 27

I wonder if he keeps a couple of sets of street tires sitting around for when he wants to go driving in the city, or if he's actually crazy enough to drive on urban streets on those Hoosier DOT R-compounds.

Nice find.
posted by indubitable at 7:30 PM on January 27

He lives jn my neighborhood.His place is pretty cool.
posted by Ideefixe at 7:32 PM on January 27

People please don't drive fast in downtown los angeles, it has potential as a walkable place. Stick to computer games if you like fast cars.
posted by markvalli at 8:24 PM on January 27 [1 favorite]

when you start messing with air-cooled 911s, and you do anything other than spend your life trawling virtual and actual swap meets looking for ONLY OEM parts, you will get piles of hate from the purists. so what. I admire Walker's dedication to his vision. he has true passion.

I also think what Nakai-san is doing is great. again, the purists hate him for cutting up the cars, but he's really playing off the Porsche race cars with the flares and wings.

I covered Depth of Speed/ Josh Clason here before, but here's a new video from them about another 911 guy in California:

one car to do it all
posted by ninjew at 12:20 AM on January 28

*No, really officer. I'm serious. None of these parts are stolen. I totally bought it this way from this guy.*
posted by three blind mice at 3:37 AM on January 28

I don't know why I clicked on this. I've got just about as close to zero interest in cars as its possible to have. But I'm so glad I did. Loved this movie, loved this guy and his wife. I'm looking forward to checking out more from this filmmaker. Thanks for posting this.
posted by marsha56 at 3:54 AM on January 28

Oh, man. That dolphin-grey '65 911...swooooooooonnnnnn....
posted by Thorzdad at 4:16 AM on January 28

My trust fund detector was alerted by this posting, too. I admire Mr. Walker, but my definition of "self-made" might be stricter than has become the norm. I wonder, especially since he's British, whether he's related to the London-based executive consulting firm Magnus Walker & Partners.
posted by walter lark at 8:06 AM on January 28

Is there anywhere that lists the songs used in the movie? When he is talking about racing across the bridge early in the video, the background song is pretty sweet.
posted by Slothrop at 10:30 AM on January 28 [1 favorite]

DUH! The credits! I had stopped the movie short when I watched it last night and was looking for credits on the video's page. I scrubbed it to the end and checked out the songs list...
posted by Slothrop at 10:33 AM on January 28