..very refreshing. A nice surprise indeed The article in Autocar says there should be a Turbo version in the pipeline too. If they made it RWD that would be something.. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Very cool, but how many more versions of the 911/997 can they come up with? The Speedster makes 20!!!!! Seems that they're blurring the lines of distinction between models.
I would be interested in seeing how this looks in person, some of the pictures look a little "iffy" to me.
it's nice looking but i wish the "speedster" name was more coveted by porsche and the name would only be brought back in the case of a more appropriate car...this is not it. it is a bit like ferrari bringing back the california name for that disaster of a front engine v-8...well the porsche may be a little less offensive but i hope you all know what i mean. in porsche terms, rsk, rsr, and speedster are sacred names to me! pcb
I love the idea of this car although, like many of you have said, the execution is questionable. The parts are pretty readily identifiable: Front bumper is same as from the GTS and optional on all non-GT/Turbo models. The rear bumper is from the Sport Classic as are the wheels. The interior is the same as any other with a boat-load of options. The speedster humps worked better with the design of the 930 and 964 than they seem to do here with the 997.2 or the 993 Speedster (which I think this car looks a lot like). I think they should have gone for light weight, manual trans only, and base GT3 motor considering how expensive this car is likely to be anyway. I'd love to see it in Guards Red though...
I'd add GTO to your list. But I agree, and I wish Porsche hadn't watered down the Carrera name by sticking it on every 911. Now that they've drained that one of significance, and used the Spyder name on the end-of-the-987-line Boxster, I guess Speedster is the next to get violated. On the pics above, I see power windows, sat nav, body add-ons and some other non-Speedster-ish items. The original idea was to strip stuff from the car and make it lighter, faster and cheaper. The idea here seems to be to add the Speedster name to the brochure and deck lid.
I love Porsches, but this is getting ridiculous...it's like all the "limited edition" Mustangs. When does the 997.2 Shelby KOTR edition come out?
Good call, but 4 minutes is more accurate. I can think of half a dozen speed bumps & driveways within 3 miles of my house that would destroy it. +1000 on the "enough already" posts. I reckon Porsche must have mountains of 997 components lying around and decided to churn out as many "limited" models as possible before the new version rolls out. Aesthetically, I've never been a big fan of 911 Cabs but this one really turns me off. It looks way to bulbous & heavy in back. The 80's-style black decals around the flared wheel arches also look terribly out of place. The Boxster Spyder is more "speedster" than the 997 Speedster.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/565568-new-911-speedster.html at $265k, even the porsche people are not fans of this imposter!
Similar results over at rennlist. I think Porsche has found out the hard way how far they can a) stretch a model at the end of the life cycle, and b) how much nonsense their customers are willing to put up with (too many variants, stretching iconic names too far, no manual transmissions, etc).
Agree 100%. They're whoring out all that was once sacred to them. Remember back when a 911 couldn't carry the "Carrera" badge unless it was really special?
Classic, especially the bottom right special special edition. I think Von Richthofen is going to want his wings back, though.
I like it, but the 911 is the only car in the world that I feel absolutely must come with a traditional manual transmission.
