A brief history of the Porsche Speedster, the windiest Porsche

More recently, Porsche began production of the new 2020 Porsche Speedster, which is based on the 991-generation 911. The car was presented in April 2019 at the New York Auto Show and will go on sale later this year. But the roots of the sports convertible go back to 1952, when the first Porsche Speedster was produced. And here is its brief but quite interesting history.

The first Porsche Speedster 1956 – only for the poor

The new Porsche 911 Speedster has finally arrived at dealers after years of waiting and countless spy photos. All of the German brand’s Speedsters are important cars in the company’s history, and in light of their debut, let’s recall open-top models from the past.

Launched in the 1955 model year, the original Porsche Speedster used the 356 as its starting base car. American sports car importer Max Hoffman saw a hole in the brand’s lineup for a less expensive version of the sports car that could combine everyday use with the occasional racetrack run. He thought the car would be particularly appealing to buyers in the Southern California market, in particular the less affluent youth.

Hoffman’s calculation worked 100%: he had priced the market right, and the 356 Speedster was very successful. The models had a simple fabric roof, no side windows, and a tiny removable windshield. The lack of trimmings in the interior meant that this version had a lower base price than the regular convertible. The Speedster was available with 1.5- and 1.6-liter flat-four boxers engines in several boost versions.

Buyers of the Porsche 356 Speedster could get their sports car in two factory configurations. Both versions used a 1.6-liter flat-four boxer and a four-speed manual transmission. The base version produced 60 horsepower, but the S variant, sometimes called the Super Speedster, increased the herd to 75 German horses.

By today’s standards, that’s not much, but even that power, coupled with excellent aerodynamics and minimal weight, made for great dynamics – compared to the 356 model, the Porsche 356 Speedster was as much as 160 kg lighter. Porsche produced 3,676 examples of the 356 Speedster from its launch until the end of 1958, reaching an annual sales peak of 1,171 cars in 1957.

Although the idea behind the 356 Speedster was to be able to get a cheaper Porsche, they have since become quite a prized classic car. For example, the one pictured above was the only one painted from the factory in 1956 Polyantha Red. The seller was asking 399,500 euros for it.

The return of the Porsche Speedster

Porsche waited until the 1989 model year to revive the Speedster modification. By that point, the 356 had been retired, so the next generation became known as the “911. The company installed a steeper windshield in the standard Carrera model. At the back, an interestingly shaped hood gave the special edition a completely different silhouette than the standard 911 Cabriolet. Mechanically, these cars were identical to the Carrera 911 of the time with a 3.2-liter six-cylinder boxer engine producing 214 horsepower and working with a five-speed manual.

Porsche offered the 1989 911 Speedster in two configurations: a standard body or a version with wider rear fenders called the Turbo Look (photo above). The turbocharged model proved much more popular. A total of 1,894 units were sold, with total sales of just over 2,000.

The Second Coming of the Speedster

After the standalone 1989 version, the 911 Speedster returned again in 1994. Externally, these models look similar to the 1989 version, but with a nose more similar to the cars of the 911 model era. In this case, most of the examples had a narrow body, but the Porsche Exclusive department created a few wide-bodied cars.

The 993rd generation Porsche 911 holds a place of honor among fans of the brand as the last generation equipped with an air-cooled engine. The rarest of these models is the 911 Speedster. The Porsche Exclusive division built only two examples. The dark green Porsche was a gift from the company to 911 designer Ferdinand ‘Buzi’ Porsche. Comedian and Porsche collector Jerry Seinfeld ordered the silver car (photo above).

The 996-generation 911 never received a Speedster version, but the roadster returned as an option for the 997. Porsche continued to maintain a low production run, producing only 356 of these cars for the 2011 model year.

Porsche sold the 2011 Speedster in only two colors, Pure Blue and Carrara White. All used the power of a 3.8-liter, 402-horsepower opposition six, and the only available was a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. Adaptive suspension and ceramic-composite brakes were basic.

Classics and Contemporaries

In June 2018, Porsche showed the 911 Speedster concept. The new model had familiar features, such as a heavily sloped windshield and a body with a two-tone paint job, as well as round vintage numbers on the hood and doors. The chrome bullet-shaped side mirrors are reminiscent of the company’s past.

The glazed front headlights in the model are marked with the letter X, indicating that racers put duct tape on classic sports cars to keep them from crashing. The version is sold with a flat-six boxer 911-GT3, pumping out 500 horsepower at 9,000 rpm.

Finally, the 2019 Porsche 911 Speedster is shown at the 2019 New York Auto Show. Unfortunately, the design was not a surprise due to the large number of spy shots and concepts, giving a full picture of what the new model looks like.

Instead of using the new Porsche 911 generation 992 as a starting point, the new Speedster is based on the 991 generation model, namely the 911 GT3. The 4.0-liter flat-six boxer has 502 horsepower and a red zone at 9,000 rpm on the tachometer. The only transmission option is a manual six-speed transmission. It is currently the most expensive model from Porsche.