Stuttgart - Porsche has found a remarkably fitting way to celebrate its 70th anniversary.
The 911 Speedster Concept, revealed at the “70 years of Porsche Sports Cars” anniversary celebration on Saturday, is a tribute to the original Porsche 356 “No. 1” Roadster of 1948.
The concept is essentially a modern 911 that’s been given a speedster-style retro makeover. It’s set apart by a lower windshield frame, a carbon fibre ‘double bubble’ rear decklid and two streamliners.
The Concept’s ‘GT’ silver and white exterior paintwork harks back to Porsche’s early race cars, as do the Talbot-shaped mirrors and bonnet-mounted fuel cap.
As with the original, the 911 Speedster Concept gets a lightweight tonneau cover in place of that traditional convertible top.
Weight saving is the name of the game here, which is why many modern luxury trappings such as the air conditioning, audio system and satnav, have all been removed. The driver and passenger sit on brown-leather-upholstered full bucket seats with weight-saving carbon fiber shells.
In keeping with its purist ideals, the 911 Speedster Concept’s chassis and engine are derived from the 911 GT3, meaning motivation via a 373kW normally aspirated flat-six that revs to 9000rpm, and mated to a good old fashioned six-speed manual gearbox.