New Porsche 911 Speedster to arrive later this year

Porsche has confirmed it will produce a limited-edition 911 Speedster.

The drop-top had been previewed as a concept model at the 2018 Paris Motor Show, commemorating the brand’s 70th anniversary and paying homage to its first car, the 1948 356 Speedster.

To mark this, just 1,948 examples of the Speedster will be produced, staying fairly faithful to the concept model. Though it’s based on the outgoing ‘997’ GT3, it features a chopped-down windscreen and double-bubble hump on the rear deck. The convertible top is lower too.

Like the concept, the Speedster won’t get an electric folding roof. Instead, a lightweight cover intended for emergency use only will be held in place by pop-style fasteners.

The bonnet, front wings and humps are all crafted from carbon fibre to aid weight loss. Porsche’s also added lightweight centre-lock 21-inch alloy wheels, a bonnet-mounted fuel filler cap and a pair of titanium exhaust tips. There are also a few retro additions, such as bullet-style door mirrors which hark back to the brand’s early racing cars.

The Speedster’s black interior is all about being lightweight. Porsche’s cut out the air-conditioning and infotainment and added carbon-backed bucket seats for driver and passenger.

Under the skin lies the same rear-mounted, naturally-aspirated 4.0-litre flat-six engine as the 911 GT3. In this application, it produces 493bhp and 460Nm of torque, and sends power to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox.

The 911 Speedster will be capable of 0-60mph in less than 3.8 seconds and will hit a top speed of 192mph.

It’s not yet known how many of the 1,948 911 Speedsters will make it to the UK, and Porsche hasn’t announced pricing details yet. However, expect a significant increase over the £111,802 price of the GT3.