Tim checks out the only Porsche 911 Speedster currently resident in New Zealand and, just for good measure, tests the car alongside its more illustrious ancestor — the 356 Speedster.
Ten years before it actually happened, the rear-engined Porsche was already sentenced to death. Those in charge of the company viewed the 911 and its derivatives as an anachronism for a company devoted to providing Germany’s best sports cars. As such, most development efforts were concentrated on front-engined V8 and four-cylinder models.
However, Porsche had reckoned without three things: the determination of certain members of its board that the 911’s flat-six engine still had many years of sales potential; the reluctance shown by 911 owners to ditch their favourite Porsche; and one major outside influence — a rampant economy in its major markets, which saw the 911 become an icon, not as a sports car, but a status symbol.
It was ‘the look’ and ‘iconic’ status that was selling Porsches, just as much as their technical excellence
The constant success of the 911 on race tracks ensured that it was never out of the spotlight and remained in almost continual development. So, unlike many evergreen sports cars such as MG and Triumph that were allowed to wilt on the bush, the 911 always remained ‘current’ — a fact which certainly helped when the Porsche board capitulated and gave the 911 a reprieve.
As we know, the car went on to even greater things and is still, in much modified form, a sought-after production and racing car today.
Yuppie express
In 1988 Porsche was focused on different things to the 911’s road competence and race success. It had captured the ‘yuppie’ market hook, line and sinker. Porsche could have released an absolute sow of a car, and as long as it looked flashy and carried the Zuffenhausen nose-badge and the accoutrements that the rich expected, it would have always had a waiting list.
Once the death sentence had been lifted, the new city rich were buying Porsches in truly big numbers, creating revenue which could be sunk into the rear-engined concept in a constant struggle of development over design. It was a battle which Porsche won most impressively. Whilst most are agreed that having a pendulum behind the rear wheels is not the ideal start point for good road manners, Porsche not only suppressed the wild tendencies of the layout but ensured the 911 was amongst the best handling cars in the world.
Listen and learn
Having learned the lesson of listening to its loyal customers, Porsche was amongst the first to plough the furrow of retro design — the prevailing fashion of the ’90s — having realised the importance of motoring icons. The 911 was a renewed success more because it was an icon than because of its technical brilliance. Porsche realised that heritage was its market, and started delving into its own company history, reviving revered names from the past — such as Carrera. Having celebrated 20 years of 911 production during 1984, the SC 3.0 was replaced by the new G-series Carrera with a 3.2-litre engine.
Although the bodywork, suspension, and most of the interior were taken from the preceding SC, the Carrera had more power, better brakes and was more luxurious. The funds for front-engined car development were now being used to produce 911s that appealed to a wider market. Porsche’s master-stroke had been the Turbo, which achieved iconic status nearly immediately — being stunningly fast and therefore stunningly important to have parked outside your office or wine-bar. Porsche, again listening to a new breed of customers, made it possible for the new Carrera and Turbo to be ordered in either cabriolet, Targa or coupe form.
The newly iconic wide-body Turbo look was important to customers, but not everyone wanted the grunt so the Carrera became available in 1984 with the wide body and spoilers of the Turbo. It was an instant hit, even though it wasn’t as fast as the standard car because of the bewinged body’s increased aerodynamic drag and rolling resistance.
It was ‘the look’ and ‘iconic’ status that was selling Porsches, just as much as their technical excellence, and tapping into motoring heritage was becoming trendy. In Porsche’s all-important American market the most famous person to be associated with Porsches actually died in one, a fact which seemed to have been conveniently forgotten. James Dean, the rebel without a cause, was inextricably associated with Porsche.
The details of the story are lost on the great unwashed, but Dean died in a Porsche Spyder sports racing car, even though his name is forever associated by the public at large with what they know as the Porsche Speedster, a car the short-lived cult movie star had previously owned and raced with enthusiasm.
Short cut
Dr Helmuth Bott, one of Porsche’s highly respected engineers, had in 1982 put forward a concept 911 (not for any other reason than to make a super-light and simple 911) in the same mould as the original Speedster, as used by many club racers — including James Dean in 1950s.
Porsches have always retained a great following because of their solid indestructibility and practicality for everyday use
The use of the ‘Speedster’ name up until that time had been highly verboten, but it was clear where Bott was coming from; his car was totally stripped of parts unnecessary for speed or competition; it had no roof, only two seats and a tiny aero screen without windscreen wipers. Peter Schutz, the Porsche boss at the time, was sufficiently impressed to have one of the pure two-seaters made for himself, complete with a low-line hard-top. However, it wasn’t considered worthy of production until the now market-savvy Porsche management saw an opportunity in Bott’s concept — a tangible link to the Speedster name and its iconic past. Not dwelling too long on Bott’s super-light theme, Porsche product planners requested a retro-look 911, based on the cabriolet version’s chassis, which was duly introduced at the Frankfurt Show in 1987, ready for production in 1988.
The new car had 80 millimetres cut off the windscreen, which had five degrees more rake than standard, and was surrounded by a clever, high-strength aluminium extruded frame. There were no quarter windows, and it had a rudimentary manual hood that folded beneath a fibreglass cover. It didn’t have electric windows or seats, and went without many comfort fittings, all of which shed 70kg. But because of the cabrio’s extra weight over the coupe, that advantage was reduced to 40kg — and reduced to nothing if the wide-body look was ordered.
The need to appeal to the US market meant that, unlike Bott’s concept, things like windscreen wipers had to be included and be effective, as well as many of the safety and emissions fitments the market demanded. For some unexplained reason the Speedster has a front spoiler that is different to any other Porsche model. The 1180kg, 1988 911 Speedster was no track-day car as we would know it today, or as Bott’s concept had envisaged, let alone what the original Speedster had been.
The crash
Even the then-current Club Sport Coupe was lighter at 1172kg, and the pukka 911 lightweight, the 1973 2.7RS coupe had tipped the scales at 975kg. The new Speedster was definitely not aimed at the same bunch that had bought the original Speedster in the 1950s, it was more a fashion item designed for those lucky enough to live in the sunny climate of North America’s West Coast. Another fashion of the cash rich ’80s was that of investment automobiles, and cars achieved huge values due to their rarity. Porsche targeted this market with the Speedster, and made it known that there would only be 2000 made. Of the 2065 actually built, only 170 didn’t have the Turbo-look wide body. Eight hundred and twenty-three 911 Speedsters went to the USA, and only 139 examples were made for the right-hand-drive market.
Porsche wasn’t to know, and neither were its buyers, that this investment frenzy would end abruptly with a worldwide economic crash; the bottom dropped spectacularly out of collector’s cars, making the last of the G-Series Porsche Speedsters difficult to sell. The Speedster made a brief reappearance in 1993 with the 964 model, now the rarest of them all, with only 936 cars produced. Based on the Carrera 2 floorpan, and only produced with non-turbo width bodywork, 427 went to the US with only 14 right-hand-drive cars constructed.
Porsches have always retained a great following because of their solid indestructibility and practicality for everyday use. Without the latter, the Speedster wallowed a little in terms of value, but it has now returned to become a firm favourite with collectors because of its rarity, and often, because of it’s impracticality, they were bought as an investment but had very little use.
Collectors’ pieces
Neil Tolich and Paul Halford are both well known to us at NZ Classic Car, being popular Dunlop Targa competitors, and each having had their other classics on the cover of the magazine in the recent past. Neil and Paul have a taste for the unusual and the exotic, which is probably why both own the most cherished of Porsche production cars — the Speedster — albeit 32 years apart.
Neil has owned his 1956 356 Speedster for some years now, and uses it regularly on the road even though it is in beautiful condition and worth a mint. What prompted us to get Neil to wheel his Speedster out in front of our cameras was the news that Paul Halford had just imported what we believe is only one of a few 911 Speedsters in the country. To our knowledge there are only three genuine 356 Speedsters in New Zealand, so we arranged a meeting of these two rare beasts.
The older Porsche is basically a pure tub, with wheels tucked way inside, whereas the more modern wunderkind has curves, flares and bulges everywhere
Paul’s 911 Speedster is a very low mileage example, and when you drive it, it is obvious that it has not even been run in yet, 16 years after leaving the factory. The whale-tail spoiler was a optional fitment on Speedsters and appeared on most wide-body or Turbo-look cars of the time, so it doesn’t look out of place. Indeed, the flat box on the engine cover which supports the wing (and normally houses the intercoolers on a Turbo version) actually serves to understate the beetle-back fibreglass hood cover, a controversial piece of styling unique to the 911 Speedster.
The folding roof carries a disclaimer from Porsche with regard to its weather-beating capabilities, and it would only be any real use to keep most of the weather off the car’s upholstery when standing still. Not the work of a moment to erect, it is clearly not intended for regular use. The low-line Porsche looks super-cool with the roof down, but fabulously sinister with its blue cape in place.
Same difference
So, having brought the two together, what do they have in common? A name, huge collector status, an engine behind the rear axle, pedals that sprout out of the floor and next to no visibility with the roof up.
Looks? No, apart from both looking more like a beetle than a VW Beetle with the roof down (it occurred to me that if it had black spots the 356 Speedster would look like a ladybird), the older Porsche is basically a pure tub, with wheels tucked way inside, whereas the more modern wunderkind has curves, flares and bulges everywhere. It looks pure muscle.
Noise? No, not really, but both do make an absolutely superb noise when working hard. Many would expect the little ladybird to make a noise like a Volkswagen, but it is nothing of the sort, refined all the way through its rev range, from a warble to a shrill hard blare. The 911 sounds better from the outside than inside; at idle and low rpm there is a collection of sounds like an orchestra warming up, but once all the instruments come together on hard throttle they hit a primordial scream, a combination of octaves which hit you right there. There is nothing quite like a 911 on full song.
The performance? Well they were both quickish in their day, but neither is gor-blimey fast. What brings these two cars together is the feel of total integrity through the controls, whether it be the steering, the throttle or the brakes. The newer car’s steering is quite heavy by comparison with the oldster, but both pass uncorrupted messages straight through to the driver, which makes you feel totally in touch with the road.
The brakes are heavy on the 356 and light on the newbie, but both pull you up with total fidelity, stability and reassurance. Both gear changes are light and precise in a diffident fashion, and given this confidence and reassurance you feel, it is possible to push both cars along very smartly with a total sense of security. A sense of security which is misplaced, I am led to believe by some, but if you drive to the instructions they are both hugely rewarding.
It is this warm sense of Porsche integrity and security — encapsulating Porsche ownership across the world — which bridges the generation gap between these two Speedsters.
1956 Porsche Speedster 1600S
Engine: Flat four (Type 616/2)
Capacity: 1582cc
Max power: 56kW (75bhp) at 5000rpm
Max torque: 117Nm (86lb/ft) at 3700rpm
Fuel system: Twin Zenith 32NDIX
Transmission: Four-speed manual
Brakes: Drum/drum
Suspension: Front: Independent by transverse torsion bars, trailing arms, dampers and anti-roll bar; Rear: Independent by swing axles, transverse torsion bars, radius arms and dampers
Wheels: 15×4.5-inch pressed steel
Tyres: 1450
DIMENSIONS
O/all length: 4051mm
Width: 1692mm
Height: 1231mm (top down)
Wheelbase: 2128mm
Track F/R: 1318/1285mm
Kerb weight: 650kg
PERFORMANCE
Max speed: 177kph (110mph)
0-60mph: 10.0secs
1989 Porsche 911 Speedster
Engine: Flat six
Capacity: 3164cc
Max power: 172kW (231bhp) at 5900rpm
Max torque: 284Nm at 4800rpm
Fuel system: Twin Zenith 32NDIX
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Brakes: Disc/disc
Suspension: Front:Independent by longitudinal torsion bars, trailing arms, dampers and anti-roll bar; Rear: Independent by semi-trailing arms, transverse torsion bars, dampers and anti-roll bar
Wheels: Fuchs forged alloy
Tyres: 205/55-16 (F), 225/50-16 (R)
DIMENSIONS
O/all length: 4291mm
Width: 1650mm (Turbo look: 1829mm)
Height: 1292mm
Wheelbase: 2271mm
Track F/R: 1389/1405mm (Turbo-look: 1432/1500mm)
Kerb weight: 1327kg
PERFORMANCE
Max speed: 240kph
0-100kph: 6.2secs
