Porsche has announced a new limited-edition 911 S/T model to celebrate the rear-engined sports car's 60th birthday. The new model is based on the GT3 Touring, but Porsche has lightened the car and given it a power hike, creating what it calls a "unique driving experience within the 911 GT portfolio." In honour of the 911's big birthday, just 1,963 examples will be built.
Race pedigree
The S/T takes its inspiration from the 1969 911 S models that were stripped out and used for racing. Internally, they were known as the 911 STs, and they offered modified suspension, engine and body features. Now, Porsche says it's applying the same thinking to the modern 911.
Essentially, the 911 S/T is a GT3 with the Touring package, a no-cost option that deletes the massive rear wing that comes as standard and adds leather interior upholstery. The S/T, meanwhile, comes with a few tweaks, including reduced soundproofing, magnesium wheels and a lithium-ion starter battery, as well as lightweight glass. And all that sits under a lightweight body made largely from carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP), while the roll cage and rear-axle anti-roll bar are also made from CFRP. And there's now a new Gurney flap on the extending rear spoiler.
Porsche has fitted a lightweight clutch, too, and done away with the rear-wheel steering system, further reducing the S/T's kerb weight. Inside, lightweight bucket seats are fitted as standard, but four-way adjustable sports seats are offered as a no-cost option. As a result, the S/T weighs just 1,380kg - 40kg less than a standard GT3 Touring - making it the lightest of the current crop of 911s.
Increased power
That lightweight clutch is combined with a single-mass flywheel, improving the responsiveness of the 4.0-litre flat-six engine, while Porsche has also shortened the six-speed manual gearbox's ratios. And the engine itself has been tuned, upping the output by 15hp to a total 525hp. All that power goes to the rear wheels, where it's transmitted to the road by wide 315/30 ZR 21 tyres. That means the S/T will get from 0-100km/h in 3.7 seconds before heading on to a top speed of 300km/h.
Porsche has tuned the suspension, too, accounting for the fact this is the only 911 of the current generation to come with a double-wishbone front axle design and a multi-link rear axle, but no rear-axle steering.
Heritage Design Package
Prices for the 911 S/T start at €436,793, which makes the S/T more than €160,000 more expensive than the GT3. And customers can pay more if they wish because the 911 S/T is also available with an optional Heritage Design Package, celebrating the 911's 60-year history.
The package allows customers to choose Shoreblue Metallic paint and the Ceramica wheel rim colour if they so wish, while a starting number from 0 to 99 and decorative foil can be applied on request. The Heritage Design Package also includes a classic Porsche crest on the nose, wheel centres and steering wheel, as well as gold exterior lettering, but the big changes are inside. There, there are cloth seat centres in Classic Cognac with black pinstripes, while the leather upholstery is two-tone Black and Classic Cognac, and there's perforated roof lining.
Porsche Design is also offering S/T customers a special watch available only to owners of a 911 S/T. Featuring a titanium case, uncoated and blasted for weight-saving reasons, the exclusive watch has a flyback chronograph function and costs €11,950.