Porsche 911 Speedster set for production
Show car turns into reality, surprising exactly no-one. Looks good, right?
Porsche has confirmed the 911 Speedster, released earlier this year as a concept, will be put into production.
Just 1948 examples of the topless special will be made to celebrate 70 years of Porsche, complete with a distinctive double-bubble cover extending from behind the front seats. A pair of black louvres connects the two humps, sitting behind a see-through wind deflector.
Although the body looks relatively standard – speedster tail aside, naturally – the front wings, front bonnet and rear cover are all made of carbon-fibre here, to shed a few precious kilograms. There's also a tonneau cover instead of a conventional roof, affixed with eight fasteners.
Keeping the retro theme going are Talbot-style wing mirrors, headlight covers finished with an 'X' motif recalling the tape from old racing lights, and a fuel tank cap in the middle of the front bonnet. Speedster is spelled out in gold around the car, too.
We'd argue the neatest touch is the 21-inch alloy wheels, inspired by current racing 911s like the RSR – although those titanium tailpipes are pretty special as well.
Where the first concept car's carbon bucket seats were trimmed in saddle brown leather, the second Speedster has a red-and-black finish to match the exterior treatment. It's not quite as overtly old-fashioned, although turfing the infotainment and air-conditioning to shed a few kilograms is.
Although the car pictured is finished in Guards Red, there are plans to offer a range of 'Heritage Design Packages' as a nod to Porsche legends past.
Power comes from the 4.0-litre flat-six from the 911 GT3, pumping 370kW of power and 460Nm to the rear wheels through a seven-speed PDK transmission. Redline is a lofty 9000rpm, as with the GT3.
The 911 Speedster is on show at the Paris motor show, where CarAdvice is on the ground covering all the action.