I am clearly feeling a yearning for Spring as I continue to come across open-top cars that attract my attention. Of course the Speedster is no standard Cabriolet, nor would it be the car to search out if one desires to spend any significant time enjoying top-down motoring. The Speedster has always been a valuable collector car and with those values increasing significantly over the past year a car such as this one is resigned to spending a significant portion of its life in a garage. The 911 Speedster marked the rebirth of this short-lived Porsche icon with multiple incarnations of the model having followed it. But it is this original re-release that stands as one of the more significant models produced and the 911 Speedster also did double duty as the send-off for the classic 911 in general. They aren’t as pure and no frills as the original 356 Speedster, but Porsche had progressed far enough that such an entry-level model was no longer necessary and these serve more as an homage than an attempt at a recreation. The particular example we see here is a Guards Red 1989 Porsche 911 Carrera Speedster, located in St. Louis, with Beige leather interior and 40,504 miles on it.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1989 Porsche 911 Carrera Speedster on eBay
Year: 1989
Model: 911 Carrera Speedster
Engine: 3.2 liter flat-6
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Mileage: 40,504 mi
Price: Reserve Auction
1989 Porsche Speedster
Description
ONE OWNER GUARDS RED SPEEDSTER!
40,504 original miles
One of 823 delivered to the US
Non-restored original condition
Numbers matching 3.2L Engine #64KD6202
Optional Limited Slip Differential
Delivered on 8/04/89 at Giganti Porsche Indianapolis, Indiana
Full documentation including all stamped service records
Original window sticker and copy of original bill of sale
Original owners manual, car cover and keys
Factory Fuchs wheels
Optional Air conditioning, speed control, CD player and amplifier
Only 2,104 examples of the new Speedster were built between January and September of 1989, and of that total, only 823 were delivered to the United States. The Speedster, option number M503, was the last variant based on the outgoing K-program chassis, which was soon to be replaced by the almost totally new Type 964. Porsche offered the new Speedster in both slant-nose and turbo-body variants in Germany, but only the turbo-look was sold in the U.S.The 911 Speedster was distinctively shaped by Porsche’s styling department, then under the direction of Tony Lapine. It offered a cut-down windshield reminiscent of the original, a minimal “emergency†single-layer fabric top, and a twin-humped fiberglass tonneau that covered the area where the occasional rear seats would have lived. The front quarter windows were eliminated, and the new side windows were manually operated. Like the original 356 Speedster, the new version was rarely seen with its top up.
But because it was designed pre-Carrera 4, it was not a Porsche 911 of the future. In fact, the ’89 Speedster would be the last 911 model built at the old Stuttgart factory. Starting with the 964 series, Porsche shifted 911 production to a modern new plant near its Stuttgart headquarters.
Like the rest of the immensely popular 3.2 Carrera line introduced in 1984, the Speedster was fitted with a rear-mounted, air-cooled SOHC flat-six (Type 930/25) of 3,164-cubic centimeter displacement. This engine, equipped with Bosch LE-Jetronic fuel injection, could produce 215 horsepower at 5,900 rpm. Maximum torque was 195 foot-pounds at 4,800 rpm, which was delivered through a Type G50 fully synchronized five-speed manual transaxle. Oil-fed chain tensioners, which were introduced on the Carrera-series engines, helped to make this a very robust and long-lived powerplant. Power-assisted and ventilated disc brakes were mounted at all four corners, with an 11.8-inch diameter in the front and a 12.1-inch diameter in the rear.
VIN is wp0eb0915ks173628 and the engine number is 64KD6202 The odometer reads 40,504 actual miles but mileage is exempt due to age, and is being sold on a clear title. Be sure to check out our video on the MotoeXotica YouTube Channel. What are you waiting for? GET OUT AND DRIVE!!!
Bidding on this Speedster remains curiously low (currently at $89,108) and that always gives me pause, though there remains plenty of time before this auction ends so perhaps that is just an early anomaly. Excellent examples of the 911 Speedster have sold for more than $250K recently so this auction clearly has a long way to go before reaching anything like that. I’d imagine that with its higher mileage (that being a relative term in Speedster world) that this car would not reach those heights, but we will have to see. The photos appear to have been touched up a bit, but there is nothing that particularly stands out to me as problematic. Both the interior and exterior look in very nice shape and it comes with a lot documentation, which is certainly a must for any car like this. As I said, the Speedster is not likely the best car to scratch an itch for some open-top motoring, but it remains a historically significant vehicle for Porsche with strong appeal for many.
-Rob
