The Crank: Are the new Porsche 911 specials too much of a good thing?

By John LeBlanc Trust me, there’s already a Porsche 911 for anyone who has enough of the dough re mi. Click on the 911-menu bar on the Porsche Canada Web site, and between the $94,100 345 hp Carrera and the $297,000 620 hp GT2 RS, you have the choice of 20 distinct models, all based on the same rear-engine chassis. Do you want rear-, or all-wheel-drive? Naturally aspirated or turbocharged engine? Hard-, glass-, or ragtop? Sports, track, or all-out race car? If that’s not enough variety, just wait. There’s even more 911s on the way. With the next generation due in late 2011 as a 2012 model, the German automaker is rolling out the 911 specials like wienerschnitzel during dinner time at the Weinstube Widmer-froehlich restaurant, in Porsche’s home town of Stuttgart, Germany. The latest 911 is the Speedster, above, a limited-production (356 examples worldwide, 15 for Canada) version of the new  Carrera GTS, left—itself a 911 special introduced just a week ago. If you don’t already know, the GTS’s 3.8-litre flat-six develops 408 hp: 23 hp more than the “cooking” Carrera S. Top speed rises by four km/h to 306 km/h, while naught to 100 km/h improves by 0.1 seconds, to 4.2 seconds. You also get the wider Carrera 4 bodywork, and special wheels exterior/interior trim. All for a $15,300 premium over the $109,300 starting price of a Carrera S. Oh, you can get a convertible GTS as well. This week’s 911 special, the Speedster, takes the GTS convertible and adds a shortened windshield, even wider rear fenders, “chopped-down” manual soft top, and the iconic Fuchs-style Sport Classic wheels…and costs $245,900—almost double the asking price of the similarly-powerful GTS, or about a Carrera S-worth over a GTS convertible. Now, at some point, the accountants back at Porsche HQ have crunched the numbers enough to sign off on these models with profits in mind. And, in truth, compared to most everyday cars, any 911 is special. But do you think this plethora of 911s helps or hinders the iconic sports car’s image? Do they make Porsche look like money-grubbing opportunists? Or can the world simply not get enough 911s? [Source: Porsche Canada]

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