This One-Off Porsche Speedster Debuts Today at The Quail
“Sonderwunsch” is the German word for “special request.” At Porsche, Sonderwunsch is the division responsible for turning individual customer requests into reality, and since the 1970s, the program has created some memorable one-offs. At every step of the process, Porsche encourages customer involvement to make their dream car a reality.
“Every customer essentially becomes a part of the company itself, taking the role of project manager for their own vehicle,” says Eduard Reichert, manager of Porsche Classic product management.
The project manager for the bright one-off 993 Speedster seen here is Italian architect and industrial designer Luca Trazzi, who has been collecting Porsche Speedsters for decades. “As a young boy, I fell head over heels in love with the puristic Porsche Speedster,” says Trazzi. “I had to work very hard to be able to afford my first Porsche, a Speedster 1600 Super from 1955.”
Following the 356 Speedsters of the late 1950s, Porsche introduced limited-edition Speedster models in 911 guise during the model’s second generation (the G-Series of 1974–89) and third generation (the Type 964 of 1989–94). Trazzi, in an effort to fulfill what he calls his “Speedstermania,” called on Sonderwunsch to help him construct one on the 993 platform.
“Out of passion, I designed what this model might look like,” he says. “I wanted the project to unify the stylistic elements of all previous Speedster models.” We’d have to say he succeeded.
Trazzi’s 993 Speedster began as a 1994 Cabriolet, and he arrived at Porsche with a project book full of his own design ideas and sketches, with a fully formed concept of the car he wished to create. That vivid yellow hue, for example, “Otto Yellow,” is named for his dog.
Beyond the color, of course, the standard Cabriolet was completely transformed. The rear cover and the more aggressively sloped windshield adhere to design cues dating back through Porsche’s catalog of Speedsters. The black conical side mirrors and the black stone guards ahead of the rear wheels also recall earlier Speedster models. Tiny subtle exterior details abound.
The car’s interior features black leather with checkered yellow accents stitched by hand, a pattern that is mirrored in the front luggage compartment, on the car cover, and on a matching touring bag. Carbon fiber elements grace the dash, shifter, handbrake, and center console.
To give Trazzi’s custom Speedster more oomph, the standard Cabriolet’s 270-hp 3.6-liter engine was replaced by that of a 911 Carrera RS, a 3.8-liter six making 300 hp. The car’s brakes, steering, and suspension are RS as well.
Porsche says that to date, just two other 993 Speedsters exist: one built for Ferdinand “Butzi” Porsche, grandson of the company’s founder, which now resides in factory museum; and another based on a Carrera 4S that was custom-built in 2001.
Luca Trazzi’s Speedster makes its public debut on August 16 at the Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, as part of the Monterey Car Week goings on.
