While the Porsche Speedster has evolved considerably since it was first deployed in 356 guise in late-1954, the body style has remained an exciting and exclusive celebration of open-air performance. First envisioned by American importer Max Hoffman, the original Speedster appealed to fashionistas and have-a-go racers alike, with its removable windscreen and minimalist folding top. Porsche revived the nameplate for the 911-based Carrera 3.2 Speedster in 1989, and the tradition continues with new Speedsters launched periodically to this day.
For 1993, Porsche again reprised the Speedster badge for the 964-generation 911, splitting the difference between the Carrera 2 and the more hardcore Carrera RS. Fewer than 1,000 were built, each featuring a raked windscreen and manually raised cloth top intended for inclement weather only. The Speedster featured an air-cooled 3.6-litre flat-six engine rated at 247 horsepower. Both five-speed manual and four-speed Tiptronic automatic transmissions were available, and the Speedster could be ordered in either left- or right-hand drive.
The 1994 911 Speedster offered here was delivered new to AMAG Automobil und Motoren, the official Porsche dealer in Zürich, Switzerland, on 31 March 1994. The Porsche was finished by the factory in Black, which it retains today, with a black leather interior and soft-top. Optional extras included an electronically adjustable heated driver’s seat and air conditioning.
Spending its early years in Luztenberg, on the Swiss side of the Austrian border, the car’s first owner kept the Speedster until 2002, when it was acquired by The Carrera Collection. The accompanying Porsche service book attests to a life of routine main dealer servicing, with stamps from 1994 to 2018. At the time of cataloguing, the odometer read 81,130 kilometres and the 911 is offered for sale with a tool roll, space-saver spare wheel, and warning triangle.
With a short chain of ownership, attractive black-on-black specification, and comprehensive maintenance schedule, the comparative rarity of the 964-generation Speedster—being one of just 936 examples built—only adds to this car’s considerable appeal.