Sport Classic Photography courtesy Porsche
It was never a case of if, but when Porsche would get around to creating a new 911 Sport Classic. Boris Apenbrink, project manager of the original 997 Sport Classic and current director of Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur, says, “We had often heard the question from customers: ‘When are you going to do a Sport Classic again?’”
The answer is now, even if it feels like it’s been a long time coming. After all, the original Sport Classic was introduced back in 2009. Rumours of a new one had been circulating long before prototypes and development cars were first spotted out testing. Finally, Porsche’s worst-kept secret has arrived.
Its specification has come as a bit of a surprise, with the 992 Sport Classic not spun off the Carrera model line as previously, but instead being based on the Turbo. That, as much as any new 911 derivative introduction, means there are questions being asked of it. What the new car undeniably does is fit with Boris’s assertion that the Sport Classic is “a classic sports car with a manual transmission, rear-wheel drive, a performance-enhanced engine and typical Gran Turismo equipment.” Porsche’s design boss, Michael Mauer adds: “We like to say there’s no future without the past, and we are continuously working on new ideas that keep up with the zeitgeist without neglecting the heritage of the brand.” The Sport Classic, then, is Porsche’s own take of its history, interpreted in the contemporary, and we’re not going to deny that
