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"In the early 1950s New York Porsche dealer Max Hoffman petitioned his German supplier for an affordable entry-level sports car that could compete with all the Italian and British models tearing up American race circuits. What Porsche engineers spun out in 1954 was the cabriolet Speedster, built on their 356 American Roadster platform\u2014a 55-horsepower bullet so stripped down that it had no heater, no tachometer, no fuel gauge, and leather straps instead of door handles. It cost a weekend sportsman about $3,000 and won a lot of races.\n\nLeather sheathes even the smallest interior surfaces, from the gear-shift grip to the trim on the climate-control panel.\n\nTwice since that golden era, in 1989 and 1993, Porsche has resurrected the old Speedster for a new generation of enthusiasts and collectors. And this month the carmaker rolls out a fourth version of the vintage convertible: the 2011 Porsche 911 Speedster, a muscular, luxurious reimagining of a minimalist racer. Under the rear cover a six-cylinder, 408-horsepower engine propels the car from zero to 60 m.p.h. in 4.2 seconds, topping out at 190 m.p.h. The 2011 model comes with an automatic transmission (only), smoked headlights, LED taillights, and black trim delineating the air intakes and light frames. The interior is leather throughout, even in the smallest crevices, and Porsche offers a choice of two arctic-bright exterior colors\u2014pure blue and Carrara-white.\n\nPorsche Exclusive, the firm's high-end creative workshop, will produce the 2011 in a limited run of just 356; roughly 100 of those will be available in the States. The feathery Speedster of the '50s, with its bare-bones bucket seats and removable plastic windows, continues to inspire after nearly six decades. But at a robust 3,395 pounds (nearly twice the weight of the original), with a wealth of options included and a price tag of $204,000, you might say this reborn classic has come a long way down the road.\n\nClick here to see a gallery of 911 classics."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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