The ‘Speedster’ name was first seen on a Porsche in 1954, when the Americans asked Porsche to build a lightweight convertible version of the 356 for under $3,000 for their market. This was back in the days when you paid less money for less car… Porsche take note! Since then we have seen another 4 cars don the Speedster badge, all of which were limited in number, some now being exceedingly rare and sought after. The Speedster badge became synonymous with open-top driving pleasure at its purest, so when this latest iteration was announced excitement in the automotive world and amongst Porsche enthusiasts was palpable.

Built to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Porsche as a brand in 2018, production has been limited to just 1,948 examples all of which were sold out to Porsche fanatics around the world before production had even started. We have all seen the tech-heavy vision for the future of the 911 with the 992 Carrera and Carrera S, this car however is still based on the outgoing 991 chassis and is intended to be a spectacular swan song for what has been a highly successful and much loved 911 platform.

Underneath that eye-catching body, the Speedster sits on a GT3 chassis and suspension setup with slightly softened dampers. In the powertrain department it gets the magnificent 4.0L flat-6 from the GT3 with higher injector pressures and new throttle bodies resulting in a power hike to 503bhp. This is of course fed to the rear wheels through a 6-Speed Manual transmission, which is the only transmission option for the Speedster, thank you Porsche! An improved auto-rev matching system, rear wheel steering and an auto-deploying rear spoiler all serve to maximise driver enjoyment and feel.

The Speedster's party piece however are of course its looks, with a GT3 front end, Carrera 4S rear bumper, and the rear apron pinched from the GT3 Touring you could be forgiven for thinking this would be a Frankenstein of a car. However, when combined with a hugely expensive lowered raked back windscreen and that exquisite ‘double bubble’ single piece carbon fibre rear deck, the 991 Speedster is one of the most elegant and best looking 911s yet. Overall the Speedster has got the name, the heritage and the rarity sorted, the fact that it’s got the underpinnings of one of the best sports cars of the century and is a uniquely good-looking convertible is really just a bonus.