This Porsche 911 Speedster Is the Only One of Its Kind

Special Find

The term "one of one" gets thrown around a lot in the automotive world, even though it can be applied to everything from a horrible hack job to an incredibly coveted and rare factory build, as well as just about anything in between. However, in the case of this 1988 Porsche 911 Carrera Speedster that recently hit the auction block at Car and Classic, one of one does in fact mean something pretty special, as it was built by Paul Stephens AutoArt as a special tribute to the 550 Spyder.

Photos: Car and Classic

Backdating

This particular car started life as a run-of-the-mill 1988 911 3.2 Targa, which was acquired by Stephens in 2010. He spent the next two years stripping it down to the last nut and bolt and rebuilding it in his own vision, even making new body panels from aluminum, a process that included designing a rear cowl with dual headrests. The result is a car that looks more like a '60s 911 than one from the 1980s.

Photos: Car and Classic

Proper Speedster

The most dramatic change, of course, relates to the fact that this car is now a proper Speedster, devoid of a roof or pillars - just a tiny windshield. The whole thing rolls on a set of classic Fuchs wheels, and is finished in the proper shade of silver with red accents that flows to the interior as well.

Photos: Car and Classic

Vintage Cockpit

The interior is its own work of art, as one might imagine from an open-top build, complete with an old-style dashboard with Spyder badging, a vintage steering wheel, and red bucket seats with harnesses, giving the cockpit a vintage race car feel for the street.

Photos: Car and Classic

Great Combo

In the rear, one will find the original 3.2-liter flat-six that powered this Porsche from the factory, which is obviously a good thing, as these engines are celebrated even to this day. It remains in stock condition and is mated to the equally beloved G50 manual gearbox, forming a great combination.

Photos: Car and Classic

Super Light

While that engine was only rated to produce around 250 horsepower in stock guise, it's worth noting that this particular car - with its aluminum bodywork - tips the scales at a mere 2,090 pounds, giving it a pretty fantastic power-to-weight ratio.

Photos: Car and Classic

Hard Valuation

With just 13k miles on the clock, this one-of-a-kind Speedster looks to be in fantastic condition, and the craftsmanship is obviously superb as well. However, it failed to meet its reserve price at auction, with a high bid of 96,000€, or just over $100k USD. We certainly aren't surprised by that result, however, given the fact that cars like this are hard to value - but not difficult to admire.

Photos: Car and Classic

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