Porsche Bergspyder is an ultra-lightweight speedster that never saw the light of day


Every time Porsche showcases a concept car, the German automaker is quite literally bombarded with requests from its diehard fans to build a production variant. However, sometimes such projects are forced to be scrapped even before those concept models make their public debut and end up going to the crusher or banished to some corner of the manufacturer’s museum. A case in point is this beautiful 981 Bergspyder prototype that was built back in 2015. The story behind this Porsche Boxster-derived race car goes like this: In the 1960s, Porsche built a one-seater lightweight speedster called the 909 Bergspyder which was specifically for hillclimb races. Weighing just 847 pounds, it was the lightest car ever made by Porsche. In 2015 the legendary hillclimb car turned 50 and Porsche’s Executive Board commissioned a special car as a tribute to the 909 that was based on the then-current Boxster Spyder. Just like the Porsche 909, the 981 Bergspyder was a roofless single-seat racecar wearing an identical white color with green stripes and was stripped of as much weight as possible.

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As a result, the radical 981 Bergspyder was the modern interpretation of the 909 that weighed 2,423 lbs, 476 pounds lighter than the standard Boxster Spyder it’s based on. The prototype speedster features a 3.8-liter flat-six engine from the Cayman GT4. Porsche says the concept car can do the sprint from zero to 62 miles per hour in just over four seconds and lap the Nürburgring in 07:30. Although the concept was a working prototype and was discussed for production back in the day, it never got the final approval of Porsche due to the car not being able to be registered in many countries. The one-off was displayed in Weissach before being moved to the Porsche museum. However, it is finally coming out of hiding and will be present at the 2019 Gaisberg Hillclimb race.

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[Via:Autoblog]

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Sayan Chakravarty, a Senior Writer at Luxurylaunches, brings over 10 years of automotive journalism expertise. He provides insightful coverage of the latest cars and motorcycles across American and European markets, while also highlighting luxury yachts, high-end watches, and gadgets. An authentic automobile aficionado, his commitment shines through in educating readers about the automotive world. When the keyboard rests, Sayan feeds his wanderlust, traversing the world on his motorcycle.