New Porsche 911 Speedster prices announced
The limited edition Porsche 911 Speedster is on sale in the UK now, with prices starting from £211,599
The Porsche 911 Speedster is now available to order in the UK, with prices starting from £211,599. It was unveiled at this year's New York Motor Show, being designed to commemorate the brand’s 70th anniversary and pay homage to the firm’s first production car, the 1948 356 Speedster. It will be built at Porsche's plant in Zuffenhausen, Germany, in a limited production run of just 1,948 examples.
The 911 Speedster borrows styling cues from the 356 Speedster, brought up to date with modern materials. It's based on the same platform as the Porsche 911 GT3 and adopts its wide body shape from the 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet, albeit with a chopped roof featuring a lower, shallower windscreen. In addition, the ‘double bubble’ hump, bonnet and front wings are all crafted from carbon fibre.
• Best sports cars on sale 2018
Other cosmetic features, such as the bullet-style door-mirrors, draw inspiration from Porsche’s early racing cars. Every production model will also get a set of 20-inch centre lock alloy wheels, a bonnet-mounted fuel filler cap, a pair of GT3 RS-style titanium exhaust tips and a black leather interior.
The lightweight theme continues inside, with the Speedster ditching the GT3’s air conditioning system to trim a few extra grammes, although it can be re-fitted as a no-cost option. The driver and passenger are held in place by a pair of carbon-backed bucket seats, while the standard interior trim has been ousted in favour of lightweight carbon fibre replacements.
It’s powered by the same naturally-aspirated 4.0-litre flat-six engine as the 911 GT3, producing 493bhp and 460Nm of torque. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox, allowing a 0–60mph sprint of 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 192mph. The cermamic composite brakes and suspension components are identical to those found on the GT3.
Like the concept, the Speedster doesn’t feature a proper folding roof. Instead, all cars get a lightweight Tonneau cover, fitted in place by Tenax buttons. The Speedster is also be the first Porsche to be offered with a range of new Heritage Design Packages, making it more customisable than any 911 that has gone before it.
Now read our review of the Porsche 911 GT3 RS. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below…