A few years ago, a team of innovative Porsche engineers were given the task of designing a new edition to the legendary Porsche Bergspyder from the 1960s. With the idea in mind to make a sports car as lightweight and minimalist as the 981 Boxster generation, combined with the original 901 Bergspyder, in 2015, the 981 Bergspyder prototype was born. Just recently at the 2019 edition of the Gaisberg Hillclimb, this one-of-a-kind prototype was released for the public to see for the first time.
With the reveal of this very unique Porsche model, it has left many sports car enthusiasts wondering why this model never went into production?
The Idea Behind The Porsche Bergspyder
The idea for the 981 Bergspyder was to come up with a design for a sports car that pushed the boundaries and had to be even more exceptional than the then brand-new Boxster Spyder. In order to achieve this, the 981 Bergspyder needed to be exceptionally lightweight combined with superior driving power. The lightest racing car ever made by Porsche was the 909 Bergspyder made in 1968. This legendary race car weighed in at 847 pounds. Since the new Porsche prototype took much inspiration from this model, deciding on a color choice was pretty easy. The design team settled on white with green touches, just like the 909.
To make the ultimate racing car, the design team focused on using the 981 Boxster as its base and transformed it into a single-seater sports car with no roof-top, windshield, or door handles. The passenger-side included no seat and was covered up, leaving room only for a helmet and a few other small items. This car truly was designed for someone wanting to live out their formula one dream.
To make the car as lightweight as possible, the interior of the car was fitted with a seat and dashboard from the 918 Spyder Hypercar, and the 3.8 litre engine of the Cayman GT4. This allowed the car to come to a grand ready-to-drive weight total of 2422 pounds, which is three times as much as the original Bergspyder. However, considering the modern approach of this model with its powerful engine and with the idea of putting it into mass production, it gleaned a rather impressive result. Porsche engineers forecasted a 0 to 60 miles per hour time of about 4.0 seconds with a Nürburgring time of under 7:30 minutes. These estimates would have made it the fastest Boxster or Cayman produced to this day.
Will The 981 Bergspyder Ever Be Put Into Production?
Once the prototype was brought to life, Porsche found itself at a bit of a crossroads. It turns out that there was a concern that the unique car wouldn’t be eligible for registration in a high number of European countries, which meant that the project needed to be put on hold. The one-off prototype remained on display at the Weissach development center for two years, where very little attention was given to its excellence and beauty. After that, it was transferred to the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, Germany. It was only in May of this year that the unique Porsche model was displayed for the world to see at the Gaisberg Hillclimb.
Perhaps what makes the 981 Bergspyder even more special and sought-after now is that it truly is a one of a kind. However, if the popularity of limited-edition race cars that are made for the track only, continues to increase, Porsche will be encouraged to put the 981 Bergspyder into production. If Porsche engineers could further re-design the model with the idea in mind that it is for the race-track only, it could make it even lighter. Now that would be something truly magnificent and worth waiting for.
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