Is The Porsche 911 Speedster Concept The 991’s Last Hurrah?

Porsche has unveiled the 911 Speedster Concept, which many say could be the last hurrah for the 991-era 911s. It is Porsche’s way of celebrating its 70th birthday and the Stuttgart-based manufacturer says the concept “offers a glimpse of a potential series-production that may not be presented until 2019.”

The 911 Speedster Concept features the body of a Carrera 4 Cabriolet, while the chassis is effectively the same as the GT3. The standard wings and bonnet have been thrown in the bin for lighter carbon-fibre parts. Porsche says the cabriolet is powered by a 6-cylinder engine that makes “over 500hp and reaches speeds of up to 9000rpm”, mated to a 6-speed manual. Our guess is that it could be the same 4.0-litre screamer from the stock GT3.

In terms of design, the concept gets a short and steeply raked windscreen apart from chopped side windows. It also gets a special ‘double-bubble’ rear cover made of carbon-fibre. The Fuchs-style 21-inch alloy wheels add a dose of nostalgia, while the cabin is finished in ‘Cognac 356’ leather and gets carbon-fibre bucket seats. However, it lacks a radio, navigation and air-conditioning to save weight.

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Other highlights include ‘Talbot-shaped’ wing mirrors, a central fuel-filler cap, cross-patterned headlights that look like they’ve been taped to go racing and the silver-white paint job. Whether the Speedster Concept makes it to production remains to be seen. However, considering the popularity of Porsche’s limited-run GT cars, we’re sure it could sell every single one of these Speedsters in no time.

However, the 911 Speedster Concept has forced us to question why we’ve never had a GT3 Cabriolet before. Such a version would slot perfectly between the grand tourer-like GT3 Touring and the track-focussed GT3, wouldn’t it?