As an expansion of the Porsche-focused Luftgekühlt, the Air|Water spinoff event continues to grow. This year, auction house Broad Arrow is in on the action with a Porsche-exclusive auction that certainly won’t disappoint.
Porsche being Porsche, and Porsche owners being Porsche owners, you can also bet that Paint to Sample will be a highlight. Take for example this well-maintained and low milage factory special featuring paint-to-sample Light Yellow paint with color-matched Fuchs wheels. It’s also got Mahogany partial leather interior with matching top that make it truly unique, even amongst a run of just 825 speedsters built only in 1989.
Fans of air-cooled Porsche 911s will want to take note. A 964 Speedster is already a rare bird, but one built to an extremely choice specification such as this Maritime Blue (maritimblau; non-metallic UNI; 5MB; Porsche) example going available on the market is a truly special thing. We’ve just run across it available in the south of France (because of course) and wanted to make you aware.
While the Porsche Speedster became an icon during the early 356A portion of Porsche’s history, the idea of the low-slung windshield and lightweight take on Porsche’s mainstay sportscar didn’t return until the G-body 911 Speedster of the late 80s. And while those G-body cars were very cool with their wider Turbo fender flares, the Speedster would go back even more to its roots in the guise of the 964 when it went narrow body and took even further measures to emphasize light weighting.
According to the ad over on the website for the dealer Alsphalt Classics, only 936 examples of the Porsche 911 (type 964) Speedster were ever produced. That makes them rare, although not altogether unseen as they were federalized and sold in America as well. Even still, many of the ones you tend to see are a standard color such as Black or Guards Red, and when Paint to Sample was used they always seem to be some form of yellow.
Also popularized during the 964 era was a Porsche Carrera Cup color called Maritime Blue. One of many Porsche takes on classic French Blue, non-metallic Maritime Blue became a popular standard color on the 964 generation Carrera RS, often paired with blue interior accent such as color-matched Recaro Pole Position seats with Maritime Blue painted shells and gradients of blue leather on the seat centers.
No doubt whomever specced this 911 Speedster was influenced by the Carrera RS. The car makes use of the same gradient and color-matched Recaros, going several steps further with color-matched leather on the dashboard and one-piece shift knob with boot, plus webbing on the lightweight door pulls. It even gets the optional color-matched wheels also in Maritime Blue.
Interestingly, the background on the Alsphalt Classics website reveals this car to be a pre-production model with pre-series engine and gearbox. Given it’s a 1993, that’s more intriguing than it might be concerning as the 964 had been in production since late 1989 and with few changes. We’re guessing what would have made this pre-series was simply early production of the Speedster body style.
The dealer reports this car has spent its time in Spain and the South of France, while the clear side markers on the fender also confirm it’s not German market specification, as that would have no side repeaters just like North American models.
It’s logged 99,500 km, meaning about 60,000 miles. Looking at the excellent photos from the dealership, it appears to be in relatively original condition with some wear on things like door pulls. Priced at 244,900 Euros, it’s about what we’d expect for a rare and incredibly tasteful specification of the 964 Speedster. Also, being older than 25 years makes it a relatively easy import for any of our North American readers. Check out further details HERE.
When you think of a car as exclusive as the 2019 Porsche 911 (991.2) Speedster, you probably assume that anyone with the positioning to have had a build slot and the means to pay for the car more than likely would have commissioned their own unique specification… or at least a Paint to Sample finish. Well, if you’d assumed that you’d be wrong as we’ve gotten our hands on the 2019 model catalogue and were intrigued to see there was a standard color palette listed. In as much, it’ the latest in our weekly Color Chart series.
Frankly, we may have even been more surprised that in 2019 there was a product catalogue. Manufacturers have moved increasingly to better and better configurator tools on their websites, allowing you to simulate very specific option configurations and even some Paint to Sample simulations. That’s all remarkable of course, but when manufacturers like Porsche move on from an older generation car like the 991.2, the specifics of those configurations seem to get lost to time… at least those configurators become lost as a reference. In those cases you have to go old school and find a model catalogue, a task that’s getting harder and harder to accomplish given highly complex configurators are a lot cheaper to build and distribute than printed catalogues. Perhaps the happy medium then is the PDF catalogue.
For that we turned to one of our favorite references autocatalogarchive.com. There, amidst their seriously deep collection of Porsche catalogues, we found a 2019 Speedster book. Using that as a reference, we’re able to list the colors offered on the 2019 Speedster. See those below, or go directly to the MY2019 Porsche 991.2 Speedster catalogue HERE.
Colors Offered on the 2019 Porsche 911 Speedster Include:
Porsche 993 re-imagineer Gunther Werks has revealed their latest commission, and it plays upon Weissach’s pink heritage. Painted Paint to Sample Amethyst, the Mystique Commission boats bespoke touches throughout its widebody 993 Speedster form.
As a color, Amethyst is a two-stage metallic paint described as having intense travel in direct sunlight, with rich choma in darker light.
Given it is a Speedster, the client who commissioned Mystique also requested an exposed carbon fiber stripe with body color pinstripe. The Amethyst and carbon theme carries into the cabin as well.
We love forums. They’re where we cut our automotive enthusiast teeth- we dreamed, we learned, we maybe embellished a little, and we met some friends along the way. Some on the Tailored Driver staff were even fortunate enough to call forums and the sites associated their employer. With all this as context, Market Finds sourced via the forums like this one almost feel like somewhat of a homecoming.
Finished in Paint to Sample Albert Blue and hiding more than $32,000 in custom tailoring approved through Porsche’s Sonderwunsch program, this 911 Speedster (VIN: WP0CF2A96KS172707) represents the level of obsession that made forums the go-to for enthusiasts like us. So far as we can tell from the photos, Sonderwunsch tailoring is mostly in the form of (but likely not limited to) deviated brown extended leather on the dash, center console, steering wheel and upper door cards. For good measure, the owner also had Justin Placek create heritage seat inserts with additional lumbar pads to complete the package.
Speaking of the photos, they’re not great. And surprisingly enough, we’re also having trouble tracking down additional images from the usual suspects on Instagram like PTSRS, but that almost adds to the allure- a Tailored Driver, built for the Tailor themselves, and not for social media. So for this example we’ll forgive the less than ideal shots, because to have the vision and the funds to secure this build, the owner is clearly talented in other areas.
This Paint to Sample Albert Blue (albertblau; 325 / 1818 / 387; Porsche) Porsche 911 Speedster is currently for sale by owner in Scarsdale, New York at an asking price of $435,000. Find more information about this Tailored Driver on Rennlist, here.
Since 1954, Speedster variants have been part of the Porsche company history. They combine open driving pleasure with particularly expressive driving dynamics. The car is characterized by a two-seat layout, a unique cowl and shortened windshield. But there is a gap in the model history of the 911. Porsche offered 911 Speedster variants of the G-Series (second generation) and Type 964 (third generation), but with the exception of two one-offs and, much later, a model rebuilt as part of a factory restoration, there was no Speedster from the fourth generation of the 911, the Type 993, in the regular model program. So, Porsche enthusiast, designer and Speedster collector Luca Trazzi realized his dream of a Type 993 911 Speedster with help from the Sonderwunsch program. The result is a one-off car based entirely on the personal vision of the designer.
[source: Porsche AG]
Monterey, California. “At the start I looked around but couldn’t find the car of my dreams. So, I decided to build it myself.” Luca Trazzi has made this legendary statement from Ferry Porsche his own. And the successful designer from Milan didn’t just dream – he, too, took action. A 993-generation 911 Speedster was missing from the Porsche enthusiast’s extensive Speedster collection.
Luca Trazzi turned to the Sonderwunsch team at Porsche to realize his project. With their help, he made his dream car a reality. It took more than three years to create his one-off car based on a 1994 911 Carrera Cabriolet (Type 993). The two-seater with the characteristic rear cowl makes its world premiere this year at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering.
The creation process: A customer and designer working together
“As a young boy, I fell head over heels in love with the puristic Porsche Speedster. I had to work very hard to be able to afford my first Porsche, a Speedster 1600 Super from 1955. Ever since, I’ve managed to live my passion, or more precisely, my Speedster-mania,” says Luca Trazzi. “My dream was to complete my collection with a 911 Speedster of Type 993. Out of passion, I designed what this model might look like. I wanted the project to unify the stylistic elements of all previous Speedster models. Because although this body version has always continued to develop throughout its history, it preserved the elegance of its predecessors and stayed true to its beginnings.”
“In this form, and with this vast range of modifications, the 911 Speedster is our first Factory One-Off for a customer,” says Alexander Fabig, Vice President Individualization & Classic at Porsche. “This one-off car shows what’s possible with our Sonderwunsch program – based on a classic Porsche 911 (Type 993) from 1994.” The project team even built a true to scale design model of the Speedster.
“Having a designer as a customer was an exciting experience for me. Because Luca and I speak the same language, our collaboration was creative and focused,” says Grant Larson, Director of Special Projects Design. “He was also intensively involved in the project with very specific suggestions.”
The project began with a visit to the company archive to take a deep dive into the history of the Speedster and generate additional ideas. Luca Trazzi arrived at this first meeting with his own project book full of drafts and sketches and with a very clear and defined project idea on how he wanted to create his individual Speedster. This matched the philosophy of the Factory One-Off, namely that before the one-off car is finished, the focus is on the joint, creative car development process. The customer becomes an active part of the project team, closely following the implementation of their idea from the perspective of a project manager.
During the project, Luca Trazzi visited Porsche multiple times, making good use of the company ID issued to him for the project. Among other things, he witnessed his Speedster taking a bath in the cathodic dip-painting at the factory paint shop. This procedure is otherwise reserved for new cars undergoing the regular production process. Then began the complete manual coating cycle. The luminous yellow paint was not just developed as a color specifically for the customer – its name was also very personal, coming as it did from the customer’s own dog, Otto. During a meeting, the designer spontaneously named the paint after his four-legged companion, and ‘Otto Yellow’ was born.
“The rear lid with its concave and convex forms required a lot of work in the design, conception and production phases,” recalls Philipp Setter, Manager Sonderwunsch Customer Consulting. “But even here we managed to harmonize Luca Trazzi’s design visions with the Porsche processes and quality standards. After all, our Sonderwunsch credo is ‘You dream it. We build it.’”
Exterior and interior: Stylistic Speedster elements reinterpreted
The rear cover and the windshield follow design cues from existing Porsche Speedster models. They are bordered only by a thin black frame that intensifies their effect. Further striking exterior features include the black, conical exterior mirrors in the classic design of sports cars from the 1960s and the four-point daytime running light of modern Porsche models. Trazzi redesigned the bodywork line for the rear lid.
The 18-inch light alloy wheels in Turbo design are painted black, with the pinstripe in contrasting yellow. The black stone chip protection sheets in front of the rear wheels are functional design elements and striking features from other Speedster generations. They harmonize with the black door handles and the air intakes in the front spoiler. The Factory One-Off has a sporty look, with the Sonderwunsch experts taking the front spoiler, side skirts and rear quarter panels of the 911 Turbo (Type 993) as inspiration. The design of the indicators, taillights and light strip has been reinterpreted.
The interior is dominated by black leather with decorative stitching in yellow. The headrests feature an embroidered Speedster logo. The seat centers, which bear a checkered design in yellow and black, provide a visual highlight for the interior. It is a masterpiece of craftsmanship, with every check being tailored and sewn by hand. The same pattern appears in the leather-upholstered front luggage compartment, on the car cover, and on a matching touring bag. Carbon fiber elements on the dashboard, center console, handbrake, and gear lever further individualize the interior. The seatbacks are also made of carbon fiber. For the first time in a Type 993 Porsche 911, the carbon door sill trims are illuminated – in ‘Otto Yellow’, of course – and carry an individual logo.
State-of-the-art infotainment with navigation and Apple CarPlay is on board in the form of the Porsche Classic Communication Management (PCCM). These retrofitted devices extend the digital world to vintage and contemporary cars of the brand. The start screen is also personalized.
The switches for the power windows also underline the attention to detail, with the symbols redesigned to show the typical Speedster silhouette. A gilded ‘One-off’ badge on the dashboard bears witness to the car’s uniqueness.
The drivetrain: More power
The engine, chassis, steering and brake system are from the 911 Carrera RS (Type 993). At that time, the air-cooled six-cylinder boxer was the most powerful engine from Porsche, with a displacement of 3.8 liters generating around 300 hp.
To date, there are precisely two units of the 911 Carrera Speedster based on the 993 generation. The first was developed in 1995 by the Exclusive department especially for Ferdinand Alexander Porsche. The car is green with 17-inch light alloy wheels and a Tiptronic gearbox and is based on the Carrera body. This unit found its way back to the factory museum, on loan from the family. A second 911 Speedster (Type 993) – a silver Turbo-width 4S model with 18-inch wheels – was built in 2001 for a private customer based on one of the last 993 Cabriolets from 1998.
The Speedster presented here not only has a different origin story but is also differentiated from its predecessors by its unique design and its technical components. Following its premiere during Monterey Car Week, the car will return to Europe for final customer delivery.
The Factory One-Off: The most exclusive format of the Sonderwunsch program
Porsche is reinterpreting its legendary Sonderwunsch program from the late 1970s to enable individualized, one-off cars co-designed by the customer and realized professionally by Porsche. This individualization option is possible for street legal Porsche cars from any model year. Depending on the car, the work itself is carried out by either Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur or Porsche Classic experts.
There are three decisive milestones in the process of building a Sonderwunsch Factory One-Off as the ultimate format. The process begins with the customer’s idea, which they communicate to a Sonderwunsch customer consultant via their Porsche Center. If Porsche considers the idea to be feasible after an initial assessment, the customer attends a project meeting. In the concept phase, specifications are drawn up in collaboration with designers and experts from various departments within the company. In the end, the customer decides whether they will or won’t proceed with the project.
In the third phase, the components are developed, and the car is built. The design, engineering and development departments work closely with the mechanics, body builders and paint specialists at the relevant Porsche production facilities. If required, specialists from the Development Center in Weissach or other areas of the company can also be called upon, and test facilities such as engine dynos can be used. The dream car takes shape through manual craftsmanship with the constant involvement of the customer.
About Luca Trazzi
Luca Trazzi, an architect and industrial designer, was born in Verona in 1962. Awarded the Carlo Scarpa prize at a young age, he worked for 15 years alongside Aldo Rossi, of whom he was a close collaborator and assistant. Today he works in Milan and China. He is also one of the founders of designboom.com and designs for the most prestigious international brands. Luca Trazzi loves to draw objects that do not follow fashion. “Objects that are easy to use, to understand, beautiful to look at. Objects with simple, captivating shapes, lines that never go out of fashion”, explains Luca Trazzi. “Attention to detail is the characteristic that can be seen in my work. In parallel with design, I interpret places in an artistic way, through installations that represent the ‘staging’, almost in an open-air theatre, or my visions and thoughts.”
About Porsche Cars North America, Inc. | One Porsche Drive, Atlanta, GA 30354 USA
Established in 1984, Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA) is the exclusive U.S. importer of the Porsche 911, 718 Boxster, 718 Cayman, Macan, Cayenne, Panamera and Taycan. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, since 1998, PCNA is home to the first Porsche Experience Center in North America, which features two module-based 1.6 mile driver development tracks, a business center and Restaurant 356. The campus is also home to the U.S. headquarters of Porsche Classic. The company operates a second Porsche Experience Center near Los Angeles. That complex features a driver development track with eight educational modules totaling 4.1 miles, a business center, Restaurant 917 and the headquarters of Porsche Motorsport North America. PCNA supports 201 independently owned and operated Porsche dealerships in the U.S., three Porsche studios and six satellite stores in the U.S., including supplying parts, service, marketing, and training. They, in turn, work to provide Porsche customers with a best-in-class experience that is in keeping with the Porsche brand’s 75-year history of leadership in the advancement of vehicle performance, safety, and efficiency. PCNA is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Porsche AG, which is headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany.
At the core of this success is Porsche’s proud racing heritage that boasts some 30,000-plus motorsport wins to date.
