[Murf993]

Can Porsche's 911 Speedster slow down time?

No, it's not literally a time machine, but it is metaphysically transcendent
by JONATHAN YARKONY

Scientists call it Tachypsychia.

No, it’s not a disease you pick up in the jungles of the Amazon or a fear of going crazy when you hit the redline in your expensive sports car. It might seem like a superpower or science fiction, but it’s simple. When you get excited enough, sometimes through fear or aggressiveness, your brain floods your body with a bunch of chemicals and hormones that improve your perception and processing speed, like a shot of nitrous for your brain and senses. In this state, you’re able to see the same things happening in greater detail, creating the sensation that time has slowed down. A couple common causes for this phenomenon are car accidents and violent confrontations, but many athletes also seem to be able to summon this superpower in high-intensity sports.

But for us mere mortal drivers, sometimes it doesn’t take a moment on the very cusp of 10/10ths. Sometimes, a car can be so transparent, so molded to your sensory receivers, that a highly complex act that must be executed within fractions of a second can suddenly blossom into its component actions in slow motion. As the corner arrives, you have the turn-in point in mind and look to the point on the road you will use as your apex. Your feet find the two left-most pedals and you plant the balls of both feet firmly through its travel. Your body strains forward into the seatbelt while it catches to prevent you from hurling forward into the steering wheel. Your right foot lightens its pressure. You roll your ankle and angle your foot so the outside of your foot finds the edge of the right pedal. You give a twisting jab of your right foot to send hydrocarbons and oxygen flooding into chambers that generate waves of explosions every second. Without even thinking, you are applying angle to the steering wheel to reach the point in the road you’re looking at. Your left foot eases off the clutch pedal and moves left to the dead pedal, the right foot lightens even more and slides over to the accelerator. There’s a moment of calm as you look ahead to where the road will take you. you are through the turn and getting back on the gas, and relaxing your hands and almost letting the car straighten itself as you unwind the steering and accelerate.

Was it a perfect heel-toe downshift? Probably not. I’m really not that great a driver. Was it two or three seconds of a feeling so transcendental that we spend our lives searching for it in the oddest of places? That it was.

Here’s the truth: You really don’t need a $300,000 car to find your perfect corner. But if you’re buying a rare, limited edition version of an exclusive sports car, you want it to be capable of those moments, and the 2020 Porsche 911 Speedster certainly accomplishes that. Chances are, however, that you have already missed your chance to buy this rare bird, as Porsche only produced 1,948 examples of it, in a nod to the original 1948 Porsche 356 Speedster.

The 2020 edition arrives at its magic stealing hardware from the 911 GT3, namely a six-speed manual transmission and 4.0-litre six-cylinder good for 502 horsepower and 346 lb.-ft. of torque on the way to its redline of 9,000 rpm. As with all 911s, the horizontally opposed six sits behind the driver, and only the rear wheels are driven for a very traditional roadster configuration.

Another nod to heritage that Porsche incorporates are the ‘streamliners’ as Porsche calls them, the aerodynamic humps that taper down from each headrest, a styling flair Porsche saves for only its most exclusive convertibles like previous 911 Speedsters and the Boxster Spyder. In this case, they’re crafted from a carbon fibre panel as part of the intensive weight-saving regimen that also eliminated motors for the roof retraction system, leaving you to do an elaborate dance of unlatching, lifting, stowing and making sure it is secured, but it is no doubt less complex and more secure than many roadsters of old. It’s not the paragon of modern convenience, but it’s really not that bad and well worth the trade-off for the spectacular aesthetics of the streamliners.

The roof system isn’t the only place Porsche saved weight to arrive at the Speedster’s 1,465 kilograms. Not surprisingly for this price point, carbon ceramic brakes are standard, saving weight and providing exceptional stopping power, and the standard feature list deletes air conditioning and stereo. The piece de resistance is a hood badge that is a sticker instead of a metallic crest.

Stickers and fancy brakes might make up its legend, but the 911 Speedster tells its story through the steering and suspension and transmission, and at the heart of it is Porsche’s mastery of suspension. The Speedster rides 25 millimetres lower than a Carrera S, on a chassis derived from the GT3 and all its attendant advanced chassis controls. The suspension itself is a MacPherson-type strut at the front, and five-link multilink setup at the back with steel springs and electronically controlled dampers that are governed by PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Magic, er, Management). PASM constantly and immediately adjusts damping at each corner on the fly, but the Speedster also has two predefined profiles: Normal mode, which is as stiff as anyone needs, and Sport mode, which is even better. It’s intended for the track, and it’s spectacularly stiff on any roads that aren’t brutally damaged — I envy Brian Harper’s access to the roads of Sardinia on the 911 Speedster’s first drive, but I took what I could find and enjoyed its complete mastery of curves on a few of my favourite roads outside the GTA.

Complementing the perfectly horizontal attitude of the chassis are dynamic engine mounts that counteract the vibrations of the engine (stabilizing as you corner hard) and rear axle steering that help tuck the 20-inch wheels into the apex you see in your mind. Coming out of corners, if you haven’t completely muffed the shift, the torque vectoring shifts power to the outer rear wheel, further helping you keep the front inside corner pointing where you want it. The final piece of the suspension in my mind is the seat; the sport seats in this one are as firmly mounted as the suspension and well bolstered to keep you in place, but with excellent contouring to provide suitable back support. The rest of the cabin wraps you in gorgeous tan leather and a modern infotainment system and controls that take some getting used to, but once familiarized, they provide quick controls of all the major functions.

The Speedster is the Porsche 911 living up to its full potential in convertible form, or looked at from another angle, the magic of the GT3 with open-air flair and a distinctive visual signature to make it immediately obvious to Porschephiles exactly what you’re driving. For some bystanders, it will be meaningless and they might be more impressed by the four-second sprint to 100 km/h, or the 310 km/h top speed, but Porsche devotees will see those humps and the gold Speedster badge, recognize it as a true purist’s machine, and respect that it was only available with a manual transmission and naturally aspirated flat-six. Even if you don’t care one bit what anyone else thinks and buy it just for yourself, well, you’re still stuck with our respect and one helluva car.

[yco]

i dont know about audience but i d feel more special in a GT2 or GT3 RS with less money its ok..

[quick]

Nope, lacks the speedster stance

[Murf993]

Originally Posted by yco

i dont know about audience but i d feel more special in a GT2 or GT3 RS with less money its ok..

I don't disagree that the Speedster wouldn't be my choice for that much $$ but, Porsche, There is no substitute.

[stein_325i]

This is a dream car of mine if money weren't a thing. I love the GT3 and I love convertibles, and mixed with the classic design this thing looks awesome.

[Humdizzle]

911 verts just look so strange to me.

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by Humdizzle

911 verts just look so strange to me.

Agreed, perfect way to ruin a good car.

[N54Yankee]

James Dean would be jumpin on this if he were alive today. I think I would also if I had the green burning a hole in my pocket. Not a vert guy but would make the leap for this one and I’ll take it in silver.

[Murf993]

Humdizzle, Red Bread and N54Yankee.

I agree, I've always thought the 911 verts had an odd look them. The fact is that most convertibles look like an after thought and just don't work for me. But the James Dean 550 Speedster has such history and this for me is a pretty kool car. Love it or hate it, that's ok. I just thought it was worth putting it up.

[Darth One]

Author's writing is

The speedster is great, but it's GT division's version of a heat check. Lemme see if I can truly charge whatever i want and people will pay it...

[c1pher]

I want the Turbo S.

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by c1pher

I want the Turbo S.

Will certainly have stronger depreciation.

[Funf6cyl]

I love the speedster. In person they just are perfection for a vert. The stance is so on point. Not normally a vert fan but man this knocks it right out of the stadium.

[c1pher]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

Will certainly have stronger depreciation.

Strong is good, no? Lol.

[Hegge]

Originally Posted by c1pher

Strong is good, no? Lol.

So does the 911 Turbo S have more deprecation than other 911's? Care to explain?

[c1pher]

Originally Posted by Hegge

So does the 911 Turbo S have more deprecation than other 911's? Care to explain?

I have no clue. It wasn’t my prognosis. I think the Targa and Carrera S hold value best. I’m not sure about the higher end versions.

[Humdizzle]

All the non-gt Porsches follow similar depreciation (including the turbo). And 15% of a 200k turbo is alot more than 15% of a 110k base Carrera.

Like the M3s, convertible 911s depreciate even faster.

The GT cars hold value better because they don't let everyone who has the cash for it buy one. This speedster however is very limited production. So it should hold value very well if not go up.

[Red Bread]

Exactly. Just saying that this car will have much better resale than a regular run 992 Turbo S.

[RM7]

Originally Posted by Hegge

So does the 911 Turbo S have more deprecation than other 911's? Care to explain?

Definitely. It's a 911, and it costs around 2x what a "normal" 911 does. A couple years down the road, it isn't worth much more than a "normal" 911 from the same year. I see Turbo Ss going for around 70K where "regular" S and GTS models from the same year are going for about the same price. The Turbo S isn't a truly rare variation AND it truly costs a lot more than the non-Turbo 911 models. That's a recipe for depreciation. A GT3 is a little removed from this, a GT2 even more, specialty models like Targa and Speeder even further.

[dgoldenz]

Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes

Definitely. It's a 911, and it costs around 2x what a "normal" 911 does. A couple years down the road, it isn't worth much more than a "normal" 911 from the same year. I see Turbo Ss going for around 70K where "regular" S and GTS models from the same year are going for about the same price. The Turbo S isn't a truly rare variation AND it truly costs a lot more than the non-Turbo 911 models. That's a recipe for depreciation. A GT3 is a little removed from this, a GT2 even more, specialty models like Targa and Speeder even further.

Where are you seeing Turbo S for same prices as S and GTS? Targa isn’t a specialty model.

[stein_325i]

Targa's aren't sold in super high numbers so they don't depreciate as much. I believe Porsche buff Nick Murray stated they actually depreciate the least of non-GT 911's due to the classic design and low production numbers. Turbo's 100% depreciate more than any other model, Carrera's always tend to hold their value better. There are a bunch of low milage (under 5k miles) Turbo's and a few Turbo S' for the price of a well equipped S or GTS around the $130-160 price point on websites like autotrader or cars.com, most low milage Turbo S' seem to be above $160 and below $170.

[Funf6cyl]

Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes

Definitely. It's a 911, and it costs around 2x what a "normal" 911 does. A couple years down the road, it isn't worth much more than a "normal" 911 from the same year. I see Turbo Ss going for around 70K where "regular" S and GTS models from the same year are going for about the same price. The Turbo S isn't a truly rare variation AND it truly costs a lot more than the non-Turbo 911 models. That's a recipe for depreciation. A GT3 is a little removed from this, a GT2 even more, specialty models like Targa and Speeder even further.

I’d love to know where you are finding a turbo S for around a regular Carrera S. In a national search, the cheapest 911 turbo I can find is a 2014 for 84k and it has nearly 60k mile on it. It’s new msrp was 175. So in 7 years 13k per year depreciation, but also crazy high mileage for a 911. You usually can expect 10-15k per year for about 5-6 years and then prices start to flatten. Even clean 996 turbos sell for 50-60k.

An m5 Competition, for example, will drop 40-50k the first year so overall the turbos seems not only more expensive but do hold a bit better. Mclarens drop 75-100k in the first year and god forbid you ever drove a Ferrari 60k miles they’d be worth practically nothing. My family used to own a Porsche dealership and specialized in many other high end exotics too so I’ve seen quite a bit.

I’ve done well with my 911s and even sold some for a profit, the most recent being a 991.2S in Miami Blue.

Targas also don’t depreciate much. GT cars are, besides limited Ferrari’s, are the best best you can make on modern day cars.