only Porsche collectors can justify paying the price tag. buy one to drive, forget it.

 

Am I the only one who finds it ugly here? This seems like a classic case of someone drooling over something not out of conviction but merely because of the brand and other factors.

 

Sport Classic >>>>>>> Speedster.

 

Does it have some form of a roof?

 

Can someone explain the Speedster to me? And say with a straight face that the gigantic hump behind the seats looks better than this:

 

The color is amazing.

Thanks for sharing

 

This. Though I do like the color-coordinated interior bits and that cool pattern on the seat bottoms. I just can't get into the Speedster. I like the Carrera GTS a lot, and I am waiting patiently for the Cayman CS, but otherwise the latest stuff hasn't fired me up. That goes for Lotus, Ferrari, and Lambo, too.

 

I dig the color and the interior. But that's it. If I could get a 997GTS cab in the same color with that interior and wheels, that would be cool.

 

A Carrera GTS makes much more sense to me

PS: Thanks for the avatar Mini George!

 

John Von Neumann, the 1950s Porsche west coast distributor wanted a convertible "boulevard racecar" he could sell to his California customers for cheap money. So he went to Max Hoffman, who was US importer for Porsche at the time, and told him he wanted a stripped down, lightweight 356 convertible he could sell for 3 grand. Von Neumann put in the request and eventually Ferry Porsche ordered Reutter (who was building the bodies at the time) to simplify the lines of the 356 cabriolet, cut down the windshield, add removable canvas side windows instead of roll-up glass, and a very rudimentary top. The car became a hit on the street, since everyone in hollywood bought one, when it came out in '54. It also didn't need much preparation be competitive in club racing either, which added to the popularity of the car.

Flash-forward to 1988. Porsche is getting ready to debut the 964 in 1989 and end the era of the "impact-bumpers". They come up with the 911 Speedster for 1989. They designed the hump to go over the rear seats, cut down the windshield, but went with glass roll-up windows and a manually operated top. In the USA it was only available in turbo-look, with the wide fenders, brakes and suspension of the 930 turbo. But, in Europe you could get it in narrowbody as well. The performance wasn't all that impressive, since it didn't have anything deleted from the options or stripped down at all. Basically an '89 Turbo-look cab with the speedster canopy, windshield, side-windows and top.

In 1994 Porsche was again getting ready to bid the current 964 model farewell and they released another run of Speedster cars. This time, it was only available in narrowbody worldwide, although they made some special-order widebodies for the UK market in the end. You could get it in standard or "clubsport" trim (which was more of an appearance group than anything else) and you could even get it in tiptronic. Once again, besides the Speedster-specific parts, it was not all that different from a C2 cab.

Now in 2010, Porsche is bidding farewell to the 997 next year and looking to send it off with the Sport Classic, and now the Speedster. They're once again banking on the success of the previous two 911 Speedsters, which were popular because of the legacy of the 356 Speedster. But, just like its 911 predecessors, we have what is more or less a cabriolet with the power top gone and Speedster-specific parts added. But, nothing close to a truly stripped-down, barebones car for less money than the base Carrera coupe.