Porsche 911’s 70th celebrated with South Africa-bound Spirit 70

With the official commencement of the Shanghai International Motor Show today (23 April), Porsche used the Chinese showpiece to unveil a commemorative edition of the 911 South Africa will be receiving in limited numbers later this year.

Based on the 911 GTS Cabriolet, the Spirit 70 pays tribute to seven decades of the 911, and is the work of Stuttgart’s Heritage Design division, with production capped at 1 500 units worldwide.

No extra grunt

A departure from previous special editions often based on the coupe and the cabriolet, the Spirit 70 will exclusively feature the soft-top and derive motivation from the mild-hybrid T-Hybrid powertrain that debuted with the facelift 992.2 in May last year.

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As such, the combination of the brand-new 3.6-litre turbocharged flat-six engine and a 1.9-kWh battery pack that drives a 40kW/150Nm electric motor produces an unchanged 398kW/610Nm.

Sending the amount of twist to all four wheels is the eight-speed PDK gearbox, which also houses the electric motor.

Special touches outside

Focusing mostly, therefore, on aesthetics, the Spirit 70’s exterior differences from the GTS consists of 20-inch at the front and 21-inch at the rear grey-and-gold Sport Classic alloy wheels, gloss black stripes down the bonnet merging into a 911 decal, a gold 911 Spirit 70 badge on the engine cover, and gold Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur badges on the front wings.

On top of this, the engine grille cover gets a gloss black finish plus the Porsche Heritage logo, while a gloss black roundel with number 70 can be had on the doors, or deleted at the request of the buyer.

Completing the exterior is a black window frame to go with the black cloth roof, gold Porsche lettering with a galvanised plated surface, and a model bespoke body colour called Olive Neo.

Inside

Dynamically unchanged from the GTS, the Spirit 70’s interior changes involve a new seat fabric made from textiles and finished in a black/olive neo colour called Pasha.

Set in a tartan pattern, the hue carries over to the backrests of the front seats and, as an option, to the dashboard.

A gold 911 badge on the passenger’s side, Pasha stitch work, embroidery badging on the centre console glovebox and the Sports Chrono package rounds the cabin off.

Price

On-sale soon, Porsche South Africa has secured an undisclosed number of Spirit 70s priced from R5 056 000, which includes a three-year/100 000 km maintenance plan as well as a matching chronograph resplendent with a Pasha pattern on the inner dial.

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