Porsche 911 Speedster: Out and about in the new open-air Porsche

S end with transfigured dreams, let's look the truth in the face: The Porsche 356 from 1954 and the 911 of today have so much in common like black and white televisions and satellite TV in 3D To send the Speedster outdoors exactly 356 times: His great-grandfather from 1953 with the good four-cylinder is a real classic from today's perspective. It was created under pressure from the US importer as a kind of inexpensive, barren monk cell for the wild boys in the Sunshine States.

Porsche 911 Speedster rejects any youngtimer cult

In contrast, the fuse of the Speedster concept, which is still in use today, was ignited at the beginning of the 1980s by Helmut Bott, who was head of development at Porsche. At the end of the 1988 model cycle, the Porsche 911 sawed as a Speedster with an air-cooled six-cylinder in the extra-wide rear.

All that's missing is the Porsche 964 Speedster - and we're already faced with the new in the here and now on the Côte d'Azur. Broad-lined and muscular, he rejects any youngtimer cult, evokes the Weissach spirit of modern times. In contrast, even the 250 hp predecessor looks rustic. What they all have in common, however, are low numbers and high collector's value. A recipe that the Exclusive department already used for the Porsche 911 Sport Classic - it too came with a performance-enhanced engine and Fuchs rims. Incidentally, the 408 PS would also be available in the cheaper Porsche 911 GTS, the classic rims in Porsche accessories.

Like a part of the body, the Porsche 911 Speedster almost reacts to thoughts

But now gone with the subjunctive, bring the Porsche 911 Speedster and down with the manually foldable roof. Unlike the fluttering dachshund garages of yore, apart from the rudimentary noise insulation, this one is perfectly suitable for bad weather and can be tamed easily by one person - even without dirty curses because of the blood blisters and abrasions that Porsche Speedster drivers of earlier generations recognized themselves by.

So, the fabric tent rests under the humped cover, we take a deep breath, as does the strengthened 3.8-liter boxer. His new resonance suction system with six individual flaps helps him with this. She plays terrific. The simple system of the Porsche 911 Carrera S, on the other hand, is like trumpets with mittens. Hair fineOrchestrated gas changes not only increase revving, torque and top performance, they also sharpen what defines a Porsche: its responsiveness. Like a part of the body, it almost reacts to thoughts, hangs directly on the pedal, eager for commands.

Poprsche 911 Speedster with more inclined windscreen

When he gets it, the boxer chatters, snorts, saws and roars away doubts about the competitiveness of his concept. To be more precise, in the air of the south of France, with which the Porsche 911 Speedster lavishly surrounds us during our driving appointment. It surges pleasantly over us, keeps us awake. Nobody needs attention or lane keeping assistants here, at most a hairstyle assisting device. Speed ​​and Roadster are a legacy - the Porsche 911 Speedster sticks to it. Its windshield, which has been shortened by 60 millimeters and sloped more strongly, lowers the roofline 40 millimeters. So deep that the rollover bars that pop out in an emergency break their way through the rear window with a thorn.

The press kit even states that the Porsche 911 Speedster has the most landscape-format ratio of vehicle height to track width of all 911s and a center of gravity of well below 500 millimeters. Hell knows how the guys measure it, emotionally the Porsche 911 Speedster is even lower. The sports seats create a direct form fit to the road surface via the chassis, which is fitted with adaptive dampers as standard.

Ceramic brakes and limited slip differentials are part of the series

At the front six millimeters, at the rear 34 millimeters wider track plus limited slip differential: It is clear that the tears of the wind on the serpentine stretches in the Porsche 911 Speedster sometimes flow sideways. Or splash forward, because the standard ceramic brakes not only reduce the unsprung masses that are important for handling, but also decelerate like an anchor. No pass can be so long that the surfaces seriously give smoke signals.

The Porsche 911 Speedster doesn't care whether it goes up or down - it drives its driver dizzy everywhere: braking late, turning dry, accelerating out powerfully. Of course, the Elfer-Luftikus can also roll around on the Croisette if necessary, while the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox diligently lowers the speed just above the local speed in the seventh. Sure enough, the clientele demands PDK, the equipment quota proves it; the shift times are super short in sport mode, the double-declutching is precise.

The Porsche 911 Speedster has a manual transmission

But let's be honest: the Porsche 911 Speedster has a manual transmission. Short distances, hard clack and a clutch that offers resistance. The stairlift can wait, in the Speedster dedicated pilots seek direct confrontation with the elements, communication with technology. Nobody needs a semi-automatic seven-course prompter. Though 356 hero James Deanwould probably take one by now.