The idea will soon celebrate its 40th birthday: the Porsche "Speedster" was born in 1954. The fact that this automobile has remained young is only partly due to James Dean who bought one of the first Speedsters back then. It is also due to the fact that there were only a few Speedsters: 4822 of the type 356 Speedster in the fifties, only 2100 of the 911 Speedster in the eighties And there will only be a small number of the Speedster of the nineties, which Porsche introduced in the spring of 1993 and offers to the end of this year: no more than 1500 cars.

Speedster -this is a car which seems modest but can do a great deal. This is especially true for the current Speedster, based on the previous 911 Carrera 2. Powered by the well-known, six-cylinder boxer engine of 3.6 liter displace ment and 184 kW/250 HP, this Speedster is fitted with either a five-speed manual gearbox or Porsche Tiptronic. With the power-shift Tiptronic transmis sion, fully-automatic shifts and manual ratio selection are combined for the first time - a sporting and simultaneously effortless form of driving.

Colors and fittings

Ample comfort is found in this car as well: electric window lifts, alarm unit with light diodes in the door buttons, an optional air conditioner, as well as the Porsche on-board computer. Passengers are securely held by bucket seats, familiar from the 911 Carrera RS. Whereas the leather upholstery is done to a special design, rears of these buckets are painted in the car color. Five exterior colors are offered: guards red, grand prix white, black, speed yel- low and maritime blue, each combined with an interior matched to the exter- nal color. In addition, of course, any color is available as an option, in con- junction with a black interior. Door panels are taken over from the 911 RS and fitted with pulls and release straps.

The top is opened and closed by hand, in keeping with Speedster tradition. Compared to the previous top version, operation is basically reworked and improved. The typical squat look of the closed Speedster with its low windshield has not changed. The open top disappears under a plastic cover whose latches are an entirely new design. With new lines, the twin humps, painted in the car color, project the typical feeling of open driving in a Speedster.

Naturally this remains a matter for two at the most, since the Speedster has no rear seats. Use of a grippy, three-spoke steering wheel in the basic version means there are no air bags for driver or front passenger.

Longlife bodywork

This new edition of the Speedster is a true Carrera 2 in performance, accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.7 seconds, with a top speed of 260 km/h. Servo steering and 17 inch wheels in Cup Design are standard equipment Wheels are painted in the car color just like the seat shells (silver wheels for cars painted black). The raw body, identical to the Carrera Cabriolet, is one of the best for rigidity and robustness. Thanks to hot-dip galvanizing and thorough corrosion protection, it also promises an extremely long life. Life expectancy stretches far beyond the ten-year warranty and should even exceed that of the first Porsche Speedster.