Porsche 911 Speedster 2019 UK review

Okay, let’s cut to the chase - the Speedster is absolutely flippin’ brilliant. Even in conditions where the temperature plummeted to zero degrees centigrade and with actual snow covering the road, the 911 simply shone. Even in the best of the weather our Pennine test route was never above five degrees, plus it rarely stopped raining. And yet, despite this, every mile travelled in the Speedster was one to savour.

First off there’s that magnificent drivetrain. In an age of instant turbocharged torque and blink-and-you’ll-miss-them twin-clutch gearshifts, the Porsche’s howling flat-six and snickety six-speed manual are welcome analogue tonic. It’s not as fast as a McLaren 600LT Spider or Ferrari 488 Spyder, but it’s gloriously precise and a proportional throttle response and that thick vein of easily accessible torque more than make up for it - maximum twist isn’t available until 6,250rpm, but much of it feels available at much slower crank speeds. 

Then there’s its intoxicating ability to growl, fizz and yowl all the way to 9,000rpm, which has you chasing the red line again and again, pumping the beautifully weighted clutch pedal as you flick the stubby gearlever up and down is tight, precise gate just to do the whole thing all over again. And, of course, with the roof off (a job that’s a bit of a faff and requires that you get out to lift the rear panel and fold the fabric away) you’re so much closer to that trademark hollow bark from the exhausts as it bounces off walls and tunnels. 

It’s a proper, spine-tingling motorsport-tinged soundtrack - no surprise, given that 4.0-litre is essentially the same unit as is used in the Carrera Cup racers. You can really play tunes with it, unleashing a deep baritone under load at low revs, through a whole mechanical orchestra and onto the screaming, rev-limiter-kissing crescendo. Petrol particulate filters usually rob engines of their vocal range. Not so in the Speedster.

The penalties in weight and torsional rigidity that you normally get when chopping the roof off a car have been kept to a barely noticeable minimum in the Speedster. In fairness, we were driving in borderline Baltic conditions and hardly pushing for tenths of a second, but even so, the 911 felt every bit as engaging and special as a GT3. There’s the same gloriously slick steering that imparts all the information you’ll ever need, and the same front end bite that inspires huge confidence to lean on the available grip - the rear steer helps here, rotating the car subtly to get you pointing into the corner.

Trick question, I’m afraid, because all 1,948 examples have already been sold. Search the classifieds and you’ll find that some speculating chancers are already trying to shift pre-loved ones for seven figure sums (it’s good, but not that good), but you’re essentially out of luck.

There’s potentially more bad news, because, much like the recent Ferrari F8 Tributo, there’s something of an end-of-days feel about the Speedster. Nobody is confirming or denying that the next generation 911 GT cars will all be turbocharged, but look at the demands being made of manufacturers to lower overall CO2 emissions and you'll quickly conclude that a naturally aspirated 4.0-litre flat-six putting out 317g/km isn’t the answer. 

So, what we could be looking at here is the last in a glorious line of naturally aspirated 911s with manual gearboxes. The next-generation cars will be cleaner, quicker and, hopefully, just as good to drive. But a little something - a crucial, soulful something - will be missing. If that is the case, then the Speedster is a wonderful and fitting way to go out in style, and will surely be remembered as one of the finest fast road cars ever, and one of the greatest Porsches (there are a few to choose from, mind) to wear those three famous numbers on its rump.

Porsche 911 Speedster specification

Where Northumberland, UK Price £211,599 On sale Now Engine 3,996cc flat-six, petrol Power 503bhp at 8,400rpm Torque 347lb ft at 6,250rpm Gearbox 6-spd manual Kerbweight 1,465kg 0-62mph 4.0 seconds Top speed 192mph Economy 20.6mpg CO2 317g/km Rivals McLaren 600LT Spider, Ferrari 488 Spider, Aston Martin DBS Volante Superleggera