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The original Porsche Speedster - the 356 from 1953 - was a simple, stripped-out thing: a cheaper, lighter alternative to the standard 356. Wanted to go racing? Simply pop out the removable windscreen!
The new 911 Speedster - announced today by Porsche and due to go on sale in the
UK next January - is not a simple, cheap, stripped-out thing. And you
definitely can't remove the windscreen. At least, not without a hacksaw and a
severe impact on its resale value.
Instead, it's a very expensive, slightly shorter, slightly faster version of
the Carrera S cabrio. Compared to the standard convertible, the Speedster's
windscreen has been chopped by 6cm and sits at a more raked angle. Under that
bulbous ‘double bubble' roof sits a folding soft-top - no Boxster Spyder-style
umbrella-thing here - operated by hand.
See more pics of the new Speedster
Power comes from the Carrera S's 3.8-litre flat six, tweaked for a bit of extra
power to deliver 408bhp. Which means the Speedster won't be slow: it'll hit
62mph in 4.6 seconds and run all the way to 190mph. Even with the roof down.
That'll be blustery, we should imagine.
So... the price. Right. Ready for this? The Speedster starts at £144,100, which
is £15,000 more than a 911 GT2. That's a lot of money. It'll be limited to just
356 examples, presumably because there aren't very many people in the world who
are prepared to shell out Lambo Gallardo Spyder money for a 911 Carrera S
cabrio with a stubby windscreen.
Or are we being too cruel on the Speedster? Cast judgment!
Open Car Bar
What do you think?
Want to comment on this?
Kirbdawg commented on this article
at 11:36 am on 21 September 2010
All these years, Porsche must have been laughing. They release so many iterations of the same car, which must cost comparitively far less than making something new, then charge more and more for each one. Every Porsche owner must feel the same pity that May felt when the 458 was deemed better than the F430 every time Porsche release a car. Except the 458 is actually very different. Porches aren't. Porsches are for ageing losers afraid to get contemporary *cough* Hamster's haircut *cough*
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HardlyNormal12 commented on this article
at 11:43 am on 21 September 2010
I can't actually see a point in this car. It's a slightly shorter, lighter, and more powerful carrera s with a name that harks back to the days of old style Porsche's; yet it's not really a reincarnation of it's namesake. Like Hammond said about the sport classic "It's as if they started with a price and then tried to justify it".
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ben10Topgear commented on this article
at 11:46 am on 21 September 2010
ugh looks like a Porsche Carrera Cabrio with a Huge @ss
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greba commented on this article
at 11:48 am on 21 September 2010
it's just too much money for so much less!
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flexn commented on this article
at 12:56 pm on 21 September 2010
I think they came up with the idea for this car after they found 250 suckers who bought the ludicrously overpriced 911 Sport Classic in less than 48 hours. But while I like the Sport Classic, because it looks absolutely awesome and is sort of the essence of the 911, this thing looks like it has a horrible disease and commemorates a car it has absolutely nothing to do with. The sad thing is, they will find 356 suckers to buy it from them in no time.
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