djcxxx

How true and how ironic. Porsche planned to sell 1500 CGTs but stopped at around 1200 due to slow sales. Two sat in our local Porsche showroom.

stout

One muffler—the center muffler. Basically, the OPFs have taken over for the previous side mufflers.

You are welcome—and I wish that had been pointed out to us in Sardinia. My take is that I would skip it unless I had time to play with a car with and without it before my order locked. The windshield header is low enough and there are visors...if anything, I find the top of the windshield in modern Porsches too low as it is. Not so much as a matter of visibility but as a matter of philosophy lost in the transition from the peaked windshield of the 901-993 and 914, which provided such a fabulous view into the world. And yes, also glare issues at two points in the day, which was why those cars had tall visors. If I had a shorter torso, I might consider the tint. All of the above offered with three grains of salt, as it's guesswork that a lot of buyers will face.

I think you should be just fine. Thing with human bodies is they're all so different and each of us use them differently. I am a classic craner—sitting fairly close to the pedals with the wheel back as far as I can get it, as I was trained to do by Wolfgang Weber a long, long time ago. Safest position, but more importantly best control (for me, anyway). Therefore, the way I sit may mean I fit well in something that someone of identical dimensions doesn't.

You're welcome. I'm not in the business of telling people what is or isn't a must have, as I'm not them. I can see where this car would be a "must-have" (none of these cars are musts in the purest sense) for someone who wants a convertible GT3 with that engine, or someone who has all of the Speedsters, or someone who has done a lot of track days and wants to enjoy a connection to those days in a car they will use on high days or holidays, or…someone who loved the 997.2 or 991.1 Carrera GTS Cabriolet and isn't into turbocharged engines. On that latter point, this Speedster would be a pretty special device, with no downsides in use and a lot of upsides in terms of engine, chassis, brakes, and "specialness."

All that said, I am not the buyer for this 911. As stated elsewhere, when it comes to 911s, I am after the roofline as part of the form factor. When it comes to convertible Porsches, I prefer 356s, 914s, certain 986/987/981s, and CGTs—this despite some standout open 911s when it came to driving dynamics and fun, among them the narrow-body 1989 Speedster, early 996 C2 Cabrio, 997 Turbo, 997 GTS Cabriolet, etc. etc.


Gotta be. One of the things the GT dept gets very right is no "modes" needed. You sit down, turn the key, and drive. The old "SPORT" button to enable rev-matching (and other functionality) has been replaced by a button marked BLIP. I skipped that gimmick...why let it have the fun, particularly in a package that makes it so easy to nail downshifts?

Early configurators are often full of them.

You are welcome...

Correct. IIRC, top to bottom on the left was Sport PASM, BLIP, a blank or two, and then ESC OFF followed be ESC + TC OFF. We ran with Sport PASM and ESC OFF most of the day as our preferred setup, but please be careful with ESC OFF...it's a good way for even a capable driver to have a bad day. That said, the Speedster proved to be vice-less when it came to handling. Grippy, predictable, and super well resolved in terms of chassis. I suspect customers are gonna love the way the car handles.

Back at you, Samuel...

Hard to say given the additional weight as a convertible and the possibility of some cost in ignition timing due to the fuel on Sardinia (this seemed to be, I want to stress, a VERY small issue), but the butt dyno suggests the torque is roughly the same to a GT3T in use. Rev quicker? Maybe a hair? I'd have to drive them back to back to make that determination...something that wasn't available there. But both rev quickly, and I will say the Speedster felt even easier to work with when it came to heel-toe...maybe some of that was less reciprocating mass with the new DMF while some of that was the "HD throttle response."

This is kind of the thing, isn't it? Speedster is a 911R/GT3T + the cost of developing a new body in white for 1,948 cars with lowered A-pillars and a stiffening brace, no small thing in modern legal culture.

My squirt in the 356 Speedster reminded me that Porsche is sorely missing a mechanical watch in its portfolio. The good news with all of these GT3 variants and strong sales in proportion to the Carrera-line cars is that the decision makers in the ivory tower can't ignore the messaging—people want focused drivers' cars, and are willing to pay up for them. Even if they're manual only, as with 911R, GT4, GT3T, Speedster, etc. Compare current sales to the 996 GT2/GT3 era and it's abundantly clear. Still, as Porsche sells more and more four-door vehicles, my sense is it needs something that underlines the core values behind that hood crest: More from less. Simplicity is its own elixir. I wish it was possible to lock some of the decision makers into a 356 Speedster in a beach town for a few days, or a 986 for a month, or a Fiat 500 Abarth. I also feel like we're at a juncture where it's time for a reset in terms of performance and simplicity. Perhaps EVs hold promise in this regard? Been on my mind lately. What's a RWD 901-sized coupe look like with rear motor and RWD (borrowed Taycan hardware) look like?

Still the high point for me in terms of emotion when it comes to modern Porsches. 997 RS 4.0 next, with 996.2 GT3 and 987.2 Boxster Spyder trailing a ways back. But how spoiled are we? We've had a lot of cracking cars over the last ~20 years, and every one of these models from Flacht (and many of the more "normal" 911s) adds to that library.

C5driver

As usual...thank you for your frank insight, Pete.

A couple questions regarding your comment:


Your description left me thinking of the GT4 derived Spyder.

1. Do you feel that PAG has either given Motorsport more leeway or have they been given marching orders to become more of a tuning house, developing softer, more "wine country cruising" options of their GT variants?

2. Also, do you think we will we be seeing a possible GT5 Cayenne Coupe or a GTx Macan, which arguably strays from the historical mission of Motorsport, much like the Spyder and now the Speedster, in order to manufacture additional customer niches?

Scrappy1972

Is there a base sound system in the Speedster or does one need to upgrade to the Bose system to have any sound at all? Is PCM only available with this sound system upgrade?

stout

You're welcome, and great questions....

Very hard to know, frankly—but I am pretty sure "wine country cruising" isn't an objective even if the Speedster is tuned for sunny days (which makes sense) rather than the purity/pure business of a coupe...if that makes sense? I think what maybe has happened is the GT dept has either earned the right to do more based on its sales success or been asked to do more based on its sales success. How that plays out with things the GT dept wanted previously but couldn't justify (i.e. special manual gearboxes for its own models) or entire models or new directions (911R, Speedster, etc) would be an interesting discussion topic all its own.

Hard to know. I am concerned about two traps for Porsche: 1) A platform-share race to mediocrity/ubiquity a la GM or VW (while the latter did it MUCH better than GM, it's still a valid concern), and 2) brand dilution a la BMW, which has gone from a company where every car it made was special (even an E28 528e or E39 525i) to a purveyor of cheap leases on cars I am no longer interested in. Local papers and digital ads are full of $150/mo leases (with big downs) for $50,000 3 Series.

While I see the Cayenne as a very good offering in its space, I have never liked the form over function "coupés" introduced by the CLS and Passat CC...and like the "four-door coupé" idea applied to an SUV even less. The X6 was bad enough as BMW's Aztek alongside a perfectly good looking X5, but the X6 M was a critical point along the decline of M for me—this despite its amazing turn-in—but that's just my view. YMMV, and BMW laughed all the way to the bank.

Oddly, I am not against a Cayenne or Macan from Flacht if it's sufficiently unhinged to be something more than a GTS+. I remember BMW M's crazy V12 (?) X5 for the Nürburgring, Renault's F1-spec Espace, Porsche's B32 Vanagons, and Lambo's LM002 fondly, but all of these skipped "chocolate-vanilla styling for the masses" in favor of killer mechanicals. They were something wild, and real. That's the stuff I like. If I had any say, the 4DR vehicle from Flacht that interests me is what we did a concept of for 000, calling it the Macan RC1 in honor of the rally category: A four-cylinder base Macan tuned to 350-400hp with a 6MT or 7PDK, Motorsport suspension, a brake upgrade (PCCB available), BBS FI-R wheels from Manthey, very subtle functional rear spoiler (think rally spec) and front lip, and not much else. Four LWBS for the hell of it and the show circuit. The execs don't seem to get that car, and they'd sell many more PDK than 6MT, but where do we enthusiasts go from the Golf R? The current answers aren't interesting to me, and I love the handling of the four-pot Macan. Such a vehicle at $65,000-$75,000 (or more, if nuttier) would be VERY interesting to me, and I suspect there are others.

Can't tell you this, as the one we drove was no PCM and no AC. From my experience with 991.2, however, and the lessened base radio, I'd get Bose. While not an amazing system, the 991.2 version is pretty good—and the weight penalty wouldn't bother me.

Needsdecaf

Thanks for the review Pete.

This is an interesting statement. I for one feel you guys did a great job with your hypothetical Macan.

Back while I still had my GTI, our Cayenne was in the shop and I had a Macan Sport edition loaner. It really reminded me of my GTI in terms of power delivery, feel, etc., just slightly taller and more luxurious. It really was the perfect progression on from the Golf R. Bigger, but not so much bigger that it didn't drive with the same sort of aplomb. The lightness of the engine (remember that the Macan is based on the old Q5 platform which has the engine COMPLETELY in front of the front axle-line) really made the chassis come alive in a way that no Macan S or even Turbo I have driven has. It really was a delight to drive. Of course, the near $60k price for a car with no nav(!) and pleather / alcantara seats was pretty galling. But it was a fun thing to toss around.

raclaims

Funny that you mention an early c2 996 cab stout...that was my first Porsche and what gave me the "bug"...I still miss that car!

Suitcase

$275-$375k. 964RS..... or if that seems unobtainable try a 981 Boxster Spyder for under $100k. At Luft I was told to try a 987 Boxster Spyder. But haven't driven it. Funny enough. Every new Speedster order I know has extensive CXX wishes. More is not enough. This is a far cry from the original Speedster concept or even my 964 Speedster.

evilfij

If you are spending $300k, the $9k for custom leather seats or even the $50k for LTS seems more reasonable than on a $150k GT3.

Also, the original speedster was the least expensive Porsche at the time.

mooty

wish to have met you at luft 6

yes, everyone now love CXX PTS LTS

hf1

I’ll just hold on to and drive the snot out of my “new” 987.1 Boxster S with PASM which I’m increasingly convinced may be THE best convertible sports car for my backroads ever. Just went the long backroads way to pick up ribs, steak, eggs, and two propane tanks for the grill in it yesterday. Feels like putting on a light, custom fit jacket. The fact that it cost less than 1/20 of the Speedster doesn’t hurt either.

Not into manual top dances, so will stay away from Spyders until they come with an auto-top.

Funny how I’ve come full circle after 14 years of driving all sorts of sports cars on and off the track, especially Porsches. My first Porsche was a new 2006 Boxster S which I sold in 2012 after 40k miles and 70+ track days, and have been missing ever since.

May not be a coincidence that both my street Porsches now ended up being 2005 models.

Suitcase

[QUOTE=hf1;15844322]I’ll just hold on to and drive the snot out of my “new” 987.1 Boxster S with PASM which I’m increasingly convinced may be THE best convertible sports car for my backroads ever. Just went the long backroads way to pick up ribs, steak, eggs, and two propane tanks for the grill in it yesterday. Feels like putting on a light, custom fit jacket. Not into manual top dances, so will stay away from Spyders until they come with an auto-top.

Yes. To me, this is what driving a Porsche is all about. Sorry I wasn't there to chase you and share the feast. I feel the joy in your post!

hf1

Yes, backroads are more fun with company or a friendly chase. I’m in NW CT (Limerock area) — ping me if you’re ever here. Steaks and grill are always ready, too.

stout

We gotta get LK out to the west coast for a drive, if he's game...

Guards Red C2/T with rubber dash is the new black

fbroen

Thank you for write-up, Pete. Really enjoyed that.