Porsche has unveiled a roofless Speedster version of its 357 concept car aiming to steal the show at Goodwood FoS 2023
Porsche is the official manufacturer of the 30th Goodwood Festival of Speed – and the German brand is trying to grab its share of the limelight with the Vision 357 Speedster.
The sister vehicle to the Vision 357 show car, which was revealed earlier this year as part of Porsche’s 75th-anniversary celebrations, the zero-emissions Vision 357 Speedster is based on the underpinnings of the Cayman GT4 e-Performance Prototype – so while no further technical information has been released, it’s likely to have four-wheel drive and up to 1.073bhp, along with a 65kWh battery.
The new creation has a single-seat layout, complete with a tonneau cover that harks back to classic open-topped sports cars. Michael Mauer, Porsche’s design chief, describes the 357 Speedster as “a nod to the first Porsche model line” and it definitely takes some cues from the 356. There’s a shortened windscreen and a two-tone colour scheme, with a darker shade of metallic grey on the front panel to protect against flying stones on race circuits.
The car also features a further evolution of the ’75’ graphics that were installed on the Vision 357, and a vertical grille pattern at the rear end – an additional nod to the 356. The wheels are 20-inch magnesium items, complete with carbon-fibre hubcaps and central locks, and there are front wing-mounted cameras instead of conventional side mirrors.
Inside, the entire dashboard is finished in carbon-fibre weave, and simple fabric straps are used in place of regular door handles. The instrument cluster appears to be projected onto a clear perspex panel.
There’s no immediate word on production plans but at the reveal of the hard-top Vision 357, Mauer told us, “Whenever we do a concept, it always has a pretty realistic base and they’re not just for the sake of doing something. We’re given the freedom to think how we would like to develop our design language and when we work on something like this, there are design elements that might make it into the future.”
Given the mix of Cayman chassis and all-electric underpinnings, it’s conceivable that some elements of the two 357 concepts could end up on Porsche’s forthcoming range of EV sports cars, due to arrive in showrooms in 2025.
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John McIlroy
Keyword: New Porsche Vision 357 Speedster: retro single-seater concept uncovered