Porsche Design, the design studio founded by F.A. Porsche, turns fifty this year, and the associated car maker is celebrating that birthday in style. The new 911 Edition 50Y Porsche Design is limited to just 750 examples worldwide, with each car based on the folding-roof Targa GTS model.
Designer look
Porsche says the new special edition is inspired by the creations of Porsche Design, which was established by Ferdinand Porsche's grandson. To that end, the Edition 50Y Porsche Design takes cues from the Chronograph I watch built in 1972, and is fitted with an all-black exterior, checked Sport-Tex seat centre panels and a red second hand on the Porsche Design Subsecond clock.
Otherwise, the car's specification will largely follow that of the Targa GTS, which comes with a sports exhaust, black exterior trim and black Porsche lettering on the taillight strip and Targa logos. The Targa roll hoop is painted in black, too, and even the headlights are tinted.
As standard, all 911 models come with 20-inch alloy wheels at the front and 21-inch rims at the back. There's also the Sport Chrono pack, which offers drivers a choice of driving modes that control the throttle response, steering and the suspension.
Flat-six power
The Edition 50Y Porsche Design comes with the same twin-turbocharged 480hp 3.0-litre flat-six engine as the standard Targa GTS. With an eight-speed 'PDK' automatic gearbox, that engine is powerful enough to accelerate the car from 0-100km/h in 3.5 seconds, while the optional seven-speed manual gearbox extends that to 4.3 seconds.
Although the manual is slightly slower than its automatic sibling, it's also marginally more efficient - not that we expect many 911 owners to worry too much about fuel bills. Where the automatic car burns through 10.9-11.3 litres of unleaded every 100km, the manual transmission cuts that to 10.8-11.1 litres/100km.
How much is it?
Porsche has confirmed that the Edition 50Y Porsche Design will be priced at €283,844 in Ireland, considerably more expensive than a Targa GTS, which already sells for €249,241.
Those who buy an Edition 50Y Porsche Design will get the opportunity to spend even more money, because Porsche will sell them a new edition of the Chronograph I timepiece from which the car takes its inspiration.
And if I prefer something older?
You're in luck. Porsche Classic has also spent the past two years working on a 911 2.4 Targa from the year Porsche Design was founded, 1972. Although the vehicle was originally in quite poor condition, the company upgraded the car to S specification with a revamped engine and chassis.
The car was then finished in the same colours as the Chronograph I watch Porsche designed in 1972, with black inside and out. The side stripes are finished in a satin platinum colour, while the Targa roll bar is lasered in the same colour.
Unfortunately, the car is a one-off that Porsche won't be selling, but it sits alongside the 911 Edition 50Y Porsche Design as a tribute to Porsche Design's golden jubilee.