Model overview

Late Porsche historian Paul Frère wrote, “As the price and sophistication of the 911 rose, an even stronger demand came up, especially from America, for a simpler and lighter open model, on the lines of the 356 Speedster…” As the 1990s approached, he continued, “…hardly as soon as the first Cabriolet left the assembly line, work started on a simplified model.”

Thus, an iconic model that had long been associated with Porsche was revived. The whole idea, recalled Frère, was to offer an open sports car that could be enjoyed by owners living in markets with fair weather; in fact, the original concept did not include a top of any sort. A prototype on a 911 SC chassis was finished in barely six weeks, and when it was unveiled at the 1987 Frankfurt Auto Show, response was so positive that the factory decided to make it part of the next-generation L-Program 964-based Carrera. When unexpected manufacturing delays stalled the 964’s launch, Porsche introduced the new Speedster. It first appeared in late 1989 and was on the 3.2-liter K-Series Carrera chassis, which was about to go out of production.

The 1989 Speedster was styled by Tony Lapine, and like its ancestor it featured a cut-down, sharply slanted removable windshield and a thin fabric folding “emergency” top. Also, echoing the lightweight 356, there would be no rear seats, as that area was now covered by a fiberglass tonneau. As usual, Porsche offered a lengthy list of factory-installed options, but the most popular check-off was probably the wide-body, “Turbo-look,” which gave this low and menacing convertible broadly flared wheel arches in the front and rear and was highlighted by the Turbo’s trademark wider (7J and 9Jx16) Fuchs forged alloy wheels and larger tires.