Exactly 70 years ago, the very first Porsche 356 ‘No. 1’ Roadster received its operating permit. To celebrate this momentous occasion, the German carmaker has unveiled a new special 911. Called the Porsche 911 Speedster Concept, it’s basically a GT3 with its roof chopped off and with styling elements that pay tribute the open top version of the marque’s first car – the legendary 356 Speedster. The Porsche 911 Speedster Concept’s development was handled by Porsche Motorsport in Weissach. The body of the concept comes from the Carrera 4 Cabriolet; although the windscreen is significantly shorter and steeply raked and the standard wings and hood has been ditched for carbon-fiber replacements. For further weight saving, the interior features carbon bucket seats, while the A/C unit and music system are missing.
The 911 Speedster Concept shares the chassis with the current 911 GT3. It even has the same 500-hp, 4.0-liter naturally aspirated flat-six engine and six-speed manual gearbox. In terms of styling, the concept wears a two-tone paint scheme of GT Silver and White that harks back to old Porsche racing cars. The 21-inch center-locking wheels are designed to look like old Fuchs and the side mirrors look like they have been picked straight out of the 365 Speedster. Porsche says a decision on whether to put the Speedster into production “will be made in the coming months.” However, the German marque in the past has built limited-edition Speedsters as final hurrah for a specific generation of 911. Since the next-generation 911, the 992, is soon going to be launched, this 70th anniversary 911 Speedster could very well be a way to celebrate the end of production of the current-generation 911.