Porsche 911 Speedster to be offered in manual form only

Porsche’s eagerly anticipated limited-edition 911 Speedster will be offered solely with a manual gearbox, according to reports.

An industry insider told Autocar that the German marque has decided to put the car into production next year, with just 1,948 units to be made available worldwide - all of which will have manual transmissions.

The 911 Speedster Concept was unveiled at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in West Sussex last month, to celebrate the German motoring giant’s 70th anniversary.

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The firm has been tight-lipped about the upcoming production car, but the inside source claims Porsche is ditching the paddle-shift system found in the hardcore GT3 and GT3 RS models.

If the Concept version reflects the final production model, the Speedster will be a completely roofless sports car, says Evo. This would help keep the car’s weight down, improving its agility through twisty bends and improving acceleration.

A bolt-on fabric cover will be provided to protect against rain, the motoring magazine adds.

The cabin, meanwhile, has also been stripped of luxuries such as satnav and air conditioning in order to save weight, but will still feature lashings of leather and carbon fibre, for a premium feel.

Under the rear bonnet, the Speedster is tipped to use the same 4.0-litre flat-six engine as the tracked-focused 911 GT3 and GT3 RS models, says US motoring blog Carscoops. This should produce close to 493bhp and rev up to a 9,000rpm red line.

Porsche is expected to lift the lid on the Speedster at the Paris Motor Show, running from 4 to 14 October, the blog reports.