Porsche has a long history of extraordinarily unique cars, and the 993-generation 911 Speedster holds a special place in that hall of rarities. See, Porsche only built two — one for Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, and one for Jerry Seinfeld. However, architect and industrial designer Luca Trazzi collects Porsche Speedster models, and thanks to the Sonderwunsch program, he was able to convince Porsche to build him a brand new-ish 993 Speedster.
It’s brand new-ish because this car actually started life as a 1994 911 Carrera Cabriolet before the Sonderwunsch team got their hands on it. See, with Porsche, there’s your normal set of options, there’s your pre-selected menu of Porsche Exclusive options, and then if you really want to go crazy, there’s Sonderwunsch. Historically, it’s been a program for one-off colors, trims, leathers, even flat-nose bodywork way back in the day, but Trazzi envisioned something greater.
Make no mistake, this 993 is a true Speedster. It only seats two, with the area normally occupied by a tiny pair of rear seats covered up by a tonneau cover. However, it’s not like the tonneau cover on the other 993 Speedster examples. Instead, it features a nod to the iconic 911 Targa bar, a black strip along the leading edge of the tonneau cover that gives a more finished appearance than the monochrome covers of the existing examples. Of course, the windscreen and its frame had to be cut down to not sit excessively proud of the tonneau, but that’s not all Porsche’s done here.
Bullet-style mirrors call back to the sports car’s golden era, new lighting looks to the future, and the front bumper and side skirts draw inspiration from the 993 Turbo. To match the signature Speedster stone guards, the door handles and wheels have been painted black, the latter with yellow striping to match the coachwork. Taking full advantage of the Paint To Sample Plus program, this one-off Porsche is bathed in a new color called Otto Yellow, named after Trazzi’s dog. It’s straight-up an excellent yellow, and it’s carried through to the interior with touches like yellow checkered seat inserts, yellow stitching, yellow gauge faces, and yellow text on the door sills.
Oh, but Trazzi and the Sonderwunsch division weren’t done there. Underneath the engine cover sits a 993 RS-specification 3.8-liter air-cooled flat-six engine, good for 296 horsepower. Considering a 1994 911 Carrera cabriolet normally would’ve come with 247 horsepower, that’s a useful improvement, enough to have fun on the street with but not so much as to get into serious trouble with.
Is having Porsche build a one-off 993 Speedster a bargain as far as Porsche restomods go? Well, that depends. The work certainly wasn’t inexpensive, but the result is a factory-sanctioned one-of-one with serious pedigree. Compared to something like a Singer, I can definitely see the appeal, even if the lead time was somewhat hefty. It took Porsche three years to build this car, but from the photos alone, it seems like it was worth the wait. It certainly made a splash at Monterey Car Week, and it looks like it’d be an absolute gem on a favorite backroad.
(Photo credits: Porsche)
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Interesting Porsche thought the market for cars with a side profile of Quasimodo was saturated with two units.
What a thoroughly hideous piece of kit.
“What colour would you like your car?”
“I want the exact shade of yellow as my dog’s piss on an August morning!”
“Errr, I think we’ll just call it ‘Otto Yellow'”
See, this is one of those things where I ask what exactly the point is that this becomes officially sanctioned. I’m one of those people who believes that asking for a blessing is nowhere near the same as being the original. To me this would be a replica, because while it was modified at the Porsche factory, it was not modified using the same tools, same materials, same staff, and in the same uninterrupted period as the original two. The CSX4000 Cobra is not an original 1960 A/C Cobra 427, despite following the same design because it’s not the same staff, tools, or materials and is separated by several interruptions in production. In that same way this car is not a true 1995 993 Carrera Speedster, merely a Sonderwunsch customized 993 Carrera Cabriolet.
Prestige seeking doesn’t make the car any more or less valid. It just has the possibility to inflate the value in your portolio. Let the cool custom 993 be a cool custom 993 and don’t try and give it a legacy it never had.
I’m also not necessarily sure that this would be worth more in 20 years than if he had just taken it to Singer to have the work done.
I dig this in general, however using body color on all accents, and especially rims, seats and dials is a no-no in my book. Have a bit more imagination to go with your money people.
But if you pay for the fancy color, YOU MUST USE THE FANCY COLOR!
I know what you mean but I think it works well on this car given the yellow color choice.
I do like how the yellow stitching pops against the seat and dashboard.
One begins to wonder at what point >50% of surviving air cooled 911s are Singers or similar. Or perhaps if we’ve already reached it.
Gotta find a way for your rare sports car to stand out at C&C among the 50 other 911!
Meanwhile, my home made 280Z turns heads and gets thumbs up everywhere she goes 🙂
Because 280Z looks good, something Porsche never managed.
The 911s don’t look bad but I feel like I have to force myself to like their looks.
That’s usually how it works with ugly things 😉