OPEN INVITATION

As part of its 70th anniversary celebrations, Porsche unveiled the 911 Speedster Concept, which the Stu gart firm describes as “a road-ready study of an exciting open-top sportscar”

BORN IN THE USA

Speedster variants have been part of the Porsche company history since 1952 and the forefather of Porsche Speedster models, the 356 1500 America Roadster, had a hand-built aluminium body, weighed 60 kg less than the 356 Coupé and its flat-four engine developed just 52 kw but could propel the car to a top speed of 175 km/h.

FRANKENSTEINIAN FORM

The Speedster’s underpinnings utilise technologies and components lifted from a number of its production relatives; for example, its chassis is from the 911 GT3 and the broad bodywork from the 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet. Pounds gained by chassis reinforcements required after lopping off the roof are offset by a bonnet, rear cover and wings made of carbon-fibre composite material.

PLENTIFUL PEDAL AND PUNCH

Borrowed from the 911 GT3 and hooked up to a titanium exhaust system, the Speedster’s 4,0-litre flat-six engine develops in excess of 370 kw and is capable of spooling up to 9 000 r/min. Porsche purists will be heartened to hear the firm has steered clear of its excellent dual-clutch transmission and gone oldschool, fitting the Speedster with a six-speed manual gearbox.

PRODUCTION A STRONG POSSIBILITY

It’s about as thinly-veiled a preproduction prototype as you could hope for, so it comes as little surprise that the Stuttgartbased automaker says the Speedster “offers a glimpse of a potential series-production version, although this model may not be presented until 2019”, adding that a decision on whether to move ahead will be made in “the coming months”.