Celebrating 70 years of the Porsche sportscar, Porsche has decided to start producing the purist Limited Special Edition Porsche 911 Speedster in the first half of 2019. 1,948 units of the open-top two-seater will be built, a number reminiscent to the Porsche 356 “Number 1” that received its operating license on June, 8 back in 1948.
With its pure concept and historically accurate execution, the 911 Speedster reflects the brand essence of the Stuttgart-based sports car manufacturer with precise clarity emphasising a pure driving experience.
History of the Speedster
Dating back to 1952, the Speedster models have been part of the Porsche company history which began in the USA with the forefather of Porsche Speedster models, the 356 1500 America Roadster. Since then, the history of Porsche Speedster models have been variants of sports car models combining open-top driving pleasure with incredibly distinctive driving dynamics.
The 356 1500 America Roadster developed exclusively for the US market had an aluminium body manufactured entirely by hand and weighed 60 kilograms less than the 356 Coupé. Its top speed of 175 km/h with its 70-hp four-cylinder flat engine was an impressive feat at the time. It featured slot-in windows for the doors, a folding rain-cover top and lightweight bucket seats.
By 2010, eight different series and special models had been created with the ‘Speedster’ byname. The 356 A 1500 GS Carrera GT Speedster represented a highlight in 1957, and the first 911 Speedster followed in 1988. The 356 units of the 911 Speedster produced for the 997 series in 2010 saw a temporary end to the production of Speedster variants.
The future 911 Speedster
Derived from the current GT models, it was developed at the Porsche Motorsport Centre, which is the birth place of the 911 GT2 RS and, most recently, the GT3 RS. The 911 Speedster, based on the 991 range, will be the first car to be offered with the new Heritage Design Packages allowing for even higher personalisation with the Porsche exclusive accessory.
The characteristics of the 911 Speedster include a shorter window frame with a more inclined windscreen and correspondingly shortened side windows giving the sports car an even stockier profile with a very low fly line, which is reminiscent of its predecessors such as the Porsche 356 1500 Speedster. A special rear cover made of carbon fibre connects behind the front seats, covering a roll-over protection structure and featuring the classic ‘double bubble’, a traditional element of this sports car design that has been present since the 911 Speedster from 1988. The wide B-pillars and the rear are decorated with milled, gold plated Speedster lettering.
As dictated by the historic original, the Porsche 911 Speedster also features a lightweight tonneau cover instead of a convertible top to protect the car interior from rain when parked and is attached using eight Tenax fasteners. The lightweight driver focused principles of the Speedster philosophy continue through into the interior, where the unnecessary modern comforts like navigation, radio and air conditioning systems have all been done away with. The full bucket seats are made of carbon, and the light brown Aniline leather covers in Cognac 356 picking up on features from the car’s classic predecessors.
Essentially built on the chassis of the 911 GT3, the broad body of the 911 Speedster has been borrowed from the 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet, with the wings, front bonnet and rear cover of the 911 Speedster made of lightweight carbon-fibre composite material.
The paintwork in the traditional colours of GT Silver and White harks back to Porsche’s early racing cars – as do many of the other carefully crafted details, such as the 50’s style central fuel tank cap positioned in the middle of the front bonnet, the classic Talbot shape of the exterior mirrors or the unique design of the main headlights.
Transparent and opaque surfaces on the headlight covers produce a cross-like effect and are nod to a practice prevalent in Porsche’s early years in motorsport. At the time, the original headlights were taped before races to protect them against stone chipping and to prevent the glass from shattering.
Below the bodywork, the Porsche 911 Speedster relies on state-of-the-art components. contrasting high gloss polished clover-leaf details on the imposing 21-inch rims. The GT developers also contributed the exhaust system with titanium tailpipes and the powertrain, which includes a six-speed manual transmission to drive the six-cylinder flat engine developing over 500 hp and capable of engine speeds up to 9,000 rpm.
