Porsche is celebrating 70 years of its sports cars this year, and to honour that landmark achievement it has created this – the 911 Speedster. Let’s take a look at the key aspects of this striking new car.
History
There’s a reason why this concept looks a little bit retro in places. It’s been designed to pay tribute to the very first Porsche 356 “No.1” Roadster, which gained its operating permit back in June of 1948.
Design
The rear cover of the car is created from carbon-fibre, and covers a roll-over protection structure. It’s been shaped into a ‘double bubble’ design, which is a design cue we first saw on the 1988 911 Speedster.
There’s no convertible top, rather just a lightweight tonneau top that can protect the car from the rain when it’s parked up. It also gets a 50s-style central fuel tank cap positioned in the centre of the car’s bonnet. The headlights have intricate x-designs overlaid on top of them, in a nod to the process of taping up original race car headlamps so as to avoid them shattering.
Interior
If you’re after creature comforts in your drop-top Porsche, you may have to look elsewhere. To aid lightness, the Speedster Concept lacks satellite navigation, air-conditioning or even a radio. However, the cabin has been finished in high-quality ‘Cognac’ leather – so it’s not all bare-bones here.
Chassis
The Speedster utilises the chassis found in the current 911 GT3, and the whole car sits on classic-looking Fuchs design 21-inch alloy wheels.
Powetrain
The Speedster uses a flat-six engine with close to 500bhp, similar to that found in the current GT3. Here, it sends power to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox, and Porsche say that it is capable of revving up to 9,000rpm.
The exhaust system has also been heavily developed, with engineers adding titanium tailpipes for a sporty engine note.
Production
There are chances that the Speedster will enter production, though Porsche isn’t confirming this yet.