Porsche Vision 357 Speedster debuts at Goodwood
Electric convertible concept honours legacy of original Porsche 356 Roadster and points to future 911 CabrioletsPorsche has taken an eraser to its Vision 357 concept and debuted the new Vision 357 Speedster show car at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, indirectly previewing future generations of open-top Porsche 911s.
But while the Speedster may look like a convertible version of the previously seen coupe, it actually has very little in common with its 718 GT4 RS-based sibling and instead shares the bulk of its DNA with the all-electric Porsche 718 GT4 e-Performance customer motorsport racer.
Besides the obvious lack of a roof, the 357 Speedster features a much stouter windscreen than the coupe, while the driver’s floating head restraint is backed by an integrated rollbar element, behind which resides the powertrain’s charging port.
Homage is paid to the iconic Porsche 356 Roadster via the asymmetrical seating arrangement and rear deck, which only features one rollbar element – on the driver’s side – as opposed to two, given the passenger side of the cabin is obscured by a black tonneau, alluding to the removal of the front seat.
The interior itself is minimalistic and awash with carbon-fibre in the name of lightness, extending to the carbon-weave dashboard and the carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic seat shell and door trims.
The low-set bucket seat’s cushion is upholstered in Race-Tex (synthetic suede), while the instrument cluster is little more than a glass panel sitting atop the steering column with subtle virtual readouts.
Drivers control the vehicle using a motorsport-spec steering wheel wrapped in Alcantara and adorned with a blue 12-o’clock marker, as per the rest of the interior and exterior trim.
Other key design highlights include digital wing mirrors mounted to the front wings in a similar fashion to the 356’s original mirrors, 20-inch magnesium wheels inspired by the hoops on the 356 A and 356 B racers, and a raft of integrated lighting features as per the Vision 357 coupe.
“The Porsche Vision 357 Speedster embodies the essence of the brand,” Porsche chief designer Michael Mauer said.
“Driving pleasure and driving dynamics combined with an extremely purist form.
“As with the Mission X that we presented just a few weeks ago, this model demonstrates that even with fresh design genes, the Porsche DNA shines through.”
The 357 twins will be joined at Goodwood by more than a dozen icons of Porsche’s motorsport and performance car history, including the original 356 No 1 Roadster, a 928 Trigema, 959, 718 W-RS Spyder and 911 GT1.
Joining the party and making their first public appearances are the 718 Spyder RS and Mission X concept hypercar.
Related: All-electric Porsche Mission X hypercar unleashed
Related: 2024 Porsche 718 Spyder RS revealed and priced
Related: 2024 Porsche 718 Spyder RS revealed and priced
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