Porsche 911 Spirit 70 Is A Sexy 1970s Retro Roadster You Have To See
Porsche has just announced the Spirit 70—a limited run 911 (based off of a GTS Cabriolet)—that hearkens to the, you guessed it, 1970s era. The car features retro elements that could make it quite desirable to collectors, such as the stretched 911 decal on the hood and return of Porsche's Pasha checkerboard pattern throughout the interior, both popular adornments back in the day. Only 1,500 of these groovy units will be produced, so better get your order in before the jig is up, ya dig?
As a child of the 70s and 80s, I can get behind Porsche's retro 911 Spirit 70. Even though Porsche calls the car a "callback to the disco era," there's gratefully a mere smattering of throw-back cues, rather than a psychedelic fest of colors and questionable patterns. Of course, the Spirit 70 continues Porsche's tasteful decadal homage to the 50s-80s, following in the footsteps of the 911 Targa 4S Heritage Design Edition (representing the 50s and 60s; 992 unit run) and the 911 Sport Classic (for the 60s and 70s; 1,250 unit run).
The Spirit 70 has its roots in the hybridized rear-wheel drive 911 GTS Cabrio that mates a 532 horsepower/449 lb-ft of torque 3.6-liter flat six (with electric turbo) to an electric motor. On the outside though, the package adds a snazzy Olive Neo green paint job and blacked-out windshield frame, black elongated "911" decal on the hood (popular in the 70s, natch) that stretches onto the soft-top roof, and finished off by prominent round racing numbers and Porsche branding on the doors. If the decals are too much, there's apparently a customer delete option as well. Since there was no 70s version of the Porsche crest, the car settles for a 1963 version on the hood.
Perhaps the biggest visual addition is in the interior. The seat upholstery, door panels, dashboard, and even inside the glovebox are adorned with hard-to-miss Olive Neo-colored Pasha fabric. This fine velour material was quite popular during the 1978 to 1984 run of 911s, 924s, and 928s, featuring staggered arrangement of rectangles that resembled a checkered flag waving in the wind. For the completists, there's even a Pasha mat for the frunk as standard.
Other Heritage Design mods include staggered center-locking Bronzite wheels (20 inches front, 21 inches rear), customized digital instrument panel, and honestly way-out-of-it puddle lights under each door that project "Heritage Design" and "Icons of Cool" (puke, puke) on the ground.
It's probably safe to say that the 1,500 units of the Spirit 70 are already sold out, but just in case something opens up, the car starts at $243,000 with cars reaching U.S. shores in late summer.
