Porsche Boxster S vs. Factory Five 818S!

grm-feb-2015-818-buildup-pt-10-1“We started with nothing more than a pile of parts, a wrecked Subaru, and an instruction manual, and we finished with a car that can attract drooling bystanders, beat a Porsche on a track, and take you to work every day.” – Grassroots Motorsports Magazine

 

The crew at Grassroots Motorsports Magazine pitted their newly built Factory Five 818S against a well-sorted Porsche Boxster S in the tenth and final installment of their build series.

A year ago, we delivered one of the first Factory Five 818 kits to Tim Suddard (GRM Editor) and his crew at Grassroots Motorsports Magazine.  With help from Wayne Presley at VeryCoolParts.com, Tim and his team proceeded to disassemble a donor Subaru WRX, and used the running gear to build their Factory Five 818.

The February 2015 issue of Grassroots Motorsports is on newsstands now, and includes this final road test evaluation of the newly-minted 818S.  Accomplished road racer and autocrosser Dan Shield did the driving, and the cars were tested head-to-head on the track and on the street.  You can read the article below, or here’s a link with the entire build and testing history of the project – grassrootsmotorsports.com/818.

grm-feb-2015-818-buildup-pt-10-2-3

“One car lets your neighbors know you finally made it, while the other car lets your neighbors know you literally made it.” – Grassroots Motorsports Magazine

grm-feb-2015-818-buildup-pt-10-4 grm-feb-2015-818-buildup-pt-10-5 grm-feb-2015-818-buildup-pt-10-6

Latest Factory Five News

Peter D. Graduates Mk5 Build for Son Scott’s Wedding

Factory Five customer Peter D. from Pfafftown, NC and his son Scott started to put thier Mk5 Roadster plans together early in Fall 2025. The submitted their order in mid-October 2025 with the kit arriving in mid-December. They soon started to inventory the kit and start building the car as they had a goal of having the Mk5 featured at Scott’s wedding in June 2026. “I am a retired healthcare administrator, and Scott is a project manager for a transportation company,” wrote Peter on The Factory Five Forum. “We are both very mechanically minded. I bought my first car at 14… Read More »

Read More

Factory Five’s USA 250th Celebration Event!

2026 is off to a great start, and the team wants to keep the momentum going! They have put together a sale for all of our kits to help you build your car your way this year. Score a Free IRS Upgrade OR Save $2,026 Off Options on Mk5 Roadsters, Mk4 Roadsters, Type 65 Coupe, and ’33 Hot Rod To ensure your finest ride is possible, we are offering FREE IRS Upgrades (up to $3,199 in value). Our Independent Rear Suspension is the best suspension configuration Factory Five has to offer. This upgrade package includes: OR you can save $2,026… Read More »

Read More

Rob M. Reaches First Start Milestone!

There’s many milestones when building a Factory Five including getting the kit in your garage, making it a roller, engine install, and of course, graduating the build. One of the most exciting ones though is the first start, and customer Rob M. from Suttons Bay, MI recently shared his Mk4 firing up for the first time on The Factory Five Forum! “First start was a success!” wrote Rob on the forum. “Dad made it up and we had perfect weather. I primed the fuel pump with my power probe and got the pressure right at 65 psi per the Gen… Read More »

Read More
Top