To find the true purpose of the 2019 Porsche 911 Speedster, which is the production version of the Speedster Concept Porsche built to celebrate 70 years, you need look no further than the instrument panel and the steering wheel. What’s there, and what isn’t, is revealing.
A cluster of five circles makes up the instrument panel in the Speedster, and four of them carry honest-to-goodness instruments. Actual needles that move along a path with measured distances to indicate change, not computer screens with digital re-enactments. And a big and beautiful tachometer in the center reads revs, though it can’t quite keep up with the engine in first or second gear, which, by the way, makes it better. That’s what’s there.
But what’s missing is even better: a steering wheel infested with buttons, switches and knobs. The Speedster’s has a horn and nothing else. No volume control, not even cruise control, there to distract you. The steering wheel on the Speedster just … steers. How novel!
More and more these days, true car buffs find value in the absence of things, as they give a stronger sense of a car’s intent. It’s like what Miles Davis said of jazz: “It’s not the notes you play, it’s the notes you don’t play.” The point being, despite the abundance of modern gadgets on this roadster, what Porsche left out gives purity to the Speedster’s purpose. Porsche built a car just to drive. And, boy, did they build it well.
Let’s start with the frame. Zuffenhausen has kept plenty busy pumping out versions of its new 992-chassis 911. In fact, we’ve reviewed a couple trims already: the Carrera S and 4S, as well as the drop-top versions Porsche calls cabriolet. The Speedster isn’t that. It’s built on the outgoing 991 chassis. It’s a swan song, if you will, for the last 911 platform to not have color screens for an instrument panel or hybrid-friendly systems, like an electric brake booster, installed.
More specifically, the Speedster starts life as a 991.2 Carrera 4 Cabriolet body-in-white, which is the modern-day bare frame. Porsche then modifies the windshield frame by lopping off nearly two-inches of it, modifies the rear for a proper nod to the 356 shape and starts replacing a bunch of metal with carbon fiber. Indeed, the rear tonneau cover, front trunk and front fenders are carbon as are a bunch of other bits throughout.
The underpinning holding all that carbon also allows Porsche to simply bolt-on a bunch of GT car parts. Considering that, Porsche decided to make this the first 911 Speedster in its over 30-year history with a GT powertrain and installed the 4.0-liter, naturally aspirated GT3 Touring engine, but not before replacing 2901 psi direct fuel injectors with 3626 psi units, adding individual throttle bodies for each of the six-cylinders and swapping one exhaust for another that weighs 22 fewer pounds.
The reason for the changes is partially necessity as new stringent European emissions standards require very complete and clean combustion, which the first two changes help. But it doesn’t hurt that those same changes also increase power throughout the rev range, including at the peak, as the Speedsters motor makes 502 hp at 8,400 rpm and 346 lb-ft of torque at 6,250, an increase over the GT3 of 9 hp and 7 lb-ft of torque, respectively. I like numbers in general; I like those numbers a lot. And while impressive, I must admit I like the GT3 RS numbers even more, 513 hp at 8,250 rpm and 347 lb-ft at 6,000, but apparently those same euro emissions kept Porsche from a direct swap. Additionally, the side air intakes in the GT3 RS’s body play a necessary role to get the engine enough air.
The one and only transmission offered requires a clutch pedal, it’s the six-speed from the GT3 Touring, using a slightly different dual-mass flywheel. And it’s geared for fuel economy in the same way the Baconator is geared towards calorie counting. That means that you’re never far away from peak output as it channels through the mechanically locking differential and on to foot-wide section-width rear tires.
Speaking of, those rear tires also help steer the car, because Porsche’s rear-axle steering system is fitted as standard, adding agility at low speeds and stability at higher speeds. It also comes with adjustable shocks; you choose between standard and sport modes via a button on the lower center console. And while Porsche tuned these dampers specifically for the Speedster, it started with 911 R calibration and tweaked from there. Don’t confuse standard for comfort, your choice is between stiff and stiffer. After all, ride height is also an inch lower than standard Carreras. Continuing on the GT car parts bin plucking theme, the Speedster has adaptive engine mounts that stiffen up in high cornering loads and loosen up when cruising.
Altogether, the Speedster weighs 3,230 lbs., heavier than its GT3 Touring sibling by about 100 lbs., but lighter than the frame-sharing Carrera 4 Cabriolet by 187 lbs. Thank the aforementioned carbon fiber as well as a much simpler mechanical cloth top used here. That burden’s the 4.0-liter with just 6.4 pounds per horsepower to push around. Drop the clutch just right and the Speedster takes 3.8 seconds to reach 60 mph and, if road and nerves allow, will carry-on to 192 mph, top-up.
And while those seem like track worthy numbers, this is not a track car. Yet, Director of GT Line cars, Andreas Preuninger, wanted the Speedster equipped with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2’s, a serious track tire because, “they are there to help with steering feel from neutral position, they help precision.” Grip in the warm and dry isn’t bad either. They wrap around 20-inch center-locking, forged aluminum wheels.
If owners do get the itch to drive on to a closed course, they can take comfort in Porsche fitting automatically extending roll bars behind the passenger compartment, if the going gets inverted, and ceramic brakes as standard equipment. They’re not only ceramic, but huge. In fact, the fronts are bigger than the steering wheel by just about two-inches, 16.1 verses 14.2. The rear brakes are bigger too, at 15.4-inches. six-piston calipers clamp down in front and four-piston units handle the rear.
The Execution
Take a moment to realize we now live in a world where a car equipped with individual throttle bodies, high-pressure direct injection, rear-axle steering, adjustable shocks, torque vectoring by brake, and adaptive engine mounts can be considered old-school. I know, it’s weird. But here we are.
And that’s okay because the Speedster’s stew pot full of tech blends into a machine that offers brilliant motoring. Open-top scenery and sensory inputs with GT3 reaction times and sounds. Better than most anything on the road, an open stretch gives the chance to get into a rhythm where you are one with the car. That connectedness, that bond, between you and the Speedster is strong. It’s remarkable just how quickly you feel comfortable moving quickly.
Part of that connection comes from sinking deep into the bucket seats as they have deep lower and upper bolsters holding you in place. Enough so, it’s actually a little awkward to get out and in, that is until I noticed that while the seats manually adjust fore and aft (saves weight), they electrically adjust height. Raised an extra inch or two, it’s easily to wiggle over the lower bolsters and the door sill.
But once you’re in and moving, it doesn’t matter, as steering is phenomenal. It’s weighted perfectly to precisely place the car and sensations from the road channel back to your hands with fiber optic line clarity. Thank Mr. Preuninger for the Cup 2 tires and forged alloy wheels, as they only help. As does the impressively stiff chassis. Even with the top down (cloth top wouldn’t do much anyway) there were zero rattles, quivers, or shimmy’s and the roads did get quite bumpy at times.
And it’s not just the steering, as power builds linearly with throttle, which makes applying it early and often a treat. What’s difficult is lifting off. Hearing Porsche mechanicals chatter at 9,000 rpm is intoxicating like the siren song in The Odyssey. It sounds so good! I reached triple digit speeds more than once, couldn’t help myself. Good thing the brakes performed with rock solid consistency, offering excellent pedal feel and initial bite.
All of this is enhanced, of course, by the six-speed manual transmission, with very short throws and precise movements like a Tag Heuer watch. The Speedster is not about lap time, it’s about engagement and the driver having full and absolute control over gear choice is wholly for the good.
That’s what’s ironic about auto-blip, Porsche’s name for an auto rev matching system in the car. It works well, but, to me at least, entirely misses the point. This whole car is about engagement and I prefer to heel-n-toe and match revs on my own. Having a system that does the work for you dilutes the experience. But only just because a switch on the lower center console turns it on and off, and auto-blip defaults to off on start-up. Yes! Pound it, Porsche!
Yet, the irony continues, my only real demerit for the Speedster came when rev-matching on my own, sometimes the throttle burbled instead of revving freely when attempting to stabbing the gas. It was curious, most of the time, it revved freely and rev matching was no trouble, but occasionally it needed a second stab.
The Takeaway
So, yeah, the Speedster is good. Really good. And it’s rare. Tied to the seventieth anniversary of the company, Porsche is only building 1948 Speedsters, as a homage to the model year of the first 356 that bore the Porsche name. To that end, each one can be purchased with the $24,510 Heritage Package, a package that includes silver metallic paint and white painted “arrows” on the front trunk lid, a special interior leather, historic Porsche crests, and other differentiating details.
The Speedster is for those with equal amounts of nostalgia and mutual funds. Before any options are applied, the Speedster costs $275,750, which is same price as a GT3 Touring and a Carrera S Cabriolet combined. That’s crazy! But it is also worth it.
Driving is fun. And the Speedster puts the correct emphasis on the importance of enjoying yourself on the road. All the technology on this car improves the drive, not distract from it. U.S. owners will get the infotainment screen as standard, but only because back-up cameras are mandatory here. Everywhere else its optional. Just like air-conditioning, which is a no cost option.
Don’t get air-conditioning because it’s a car nerd cardinal sin to drive with Speedster with the top-up anyway. Keep the radio off too, as the 4.0-liter always plays number one hits. Every time I hear it, I feel like going for a drive.
ON SALE: Late 2019
BASE PRICE: $275,750
POWERTRAIN: 4.0-liter F-6, 6-speed manual transmission, RWD
OUTPUT: 502 Hp @ 8.400 rpm, 346 lb-ft @ 6,250
CURB WEIGHT: 3,230 lbs
0-60 MPH: 3.8 seconds
FUEL ECONOMY: 14/21/17 (est)
PROS: One of the purest driving experiences of any new car today
CONS: It costs all the monies. Every one.
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