Last month saw the reveal of the Porsche 911 Speedster Concept at Goodwood as a swansong for the current 991 generation before the next-generation 911 arrives next year. Porsche still hasn’t confirmed if it will go into production, but prototypes were recently spotted lapping the Nurburgring.
Now, sources close to Porsche have confirmed to Autocar that a decision has already been made internally, meaning that the 911 Speedster is highly likely to enter production next year. Only 1,948 examples will be built as a nod to the 70th anniversary of Porsche’s first production sports car, the 356 Speedster.
The source has also provided specification details ahead of the car’s official reveal. Unsurprisingly, the production Porsche 911 Speedster will be based on the current GT3 and will use the same 4.0-liter naturally aspirated flat six. Unlike the GT3, however, it will only be available with a manual gearbox.
The six-cylinder engine expected to produce over 500 hp to match the concept. However, it isn’t clear whether Porsche will upgrade the existing GT3 engine or use the more powerful unit from the GT3 RS, but it's expected to retain the same 9000 rpm rev limit.
To save weight, the 911 Speedster will have a lightweight tonneau cover rather than a convertible top and will be devoid of luxuries such as air-con, a stereo, or the sat-nav, audio and air-con systems. The bucket seats are also made of carbon fiber.
As for the design, the production version is expected to closely replicate the look of the concept, which was inspired by the original 356 1500 Speedster. The current GT3 starts at $143,600, so expect to pay a hefty premium for the limited edition 911 Speedster when it arrives next year to end the 991 generation.
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