The Porsche 911 Sport Classic is the manual, RWD 911 Turbo you've been dreaming about

Porsche on Thursday lifted the lid on a special new 911 model. Limited to 1,250 examples worldwide, the 911 Sport Classic is basically a 911 Turbo stripped of its fancy all-wheel drive system and PDK transmission. This means that you get a slightly detuned 3.7l twin-turbo flat-six engine sending 405kW and 600Nm of torque to the rear wheels via a seven-speed manual gearbox equipped with an auto-blip function for smooth downshifts.

This makes the Sport Classic the most powerful manual Porsche 911 you can buy and in our minds a fitting successor to the infamous 930 Turbo that ruled the roost back in the 1980s. Except when it comes to heritage and styling chops, Porsche has instead chosen to fashion this newcomer after the 911 models of the 1960s and early 1970s. Indeed, its pièce de résistance — a fixed "ducktail" engine lid spoiler — is a throwback to the one first seen on the 1972 911 2.7 Carrera RS. Other deliciously retro design touches include a double-bubble roof and staggered (20-inch front, 21-inch rear) Fuchs-style alloy wheels.

According to Porsche the 911 Sport Classic comes licked in "Sport Grey Metallic" paint as standard. However, customers can also choose from "Black", "Agate Grey Metallic", "Gentian Blue Metallic" or paint to sample. Twin stripes painted on the bonnet, roof and rear spoiler in "Sports Grey" emphasise the car’s sporty design while the "Porsche" script running above the side sills is another stylistic nod to a bygone era. As with the 911 Targa 4S Heritage Design Edition unveiled in 2020, the 911 Sport Classic also has white "meatball" decals on the doors, which can be filled with numbers of the driver's choosing (these can also be omitted for a stealthier look). It inherits the same gold badging, a bonnet crest designed to look like the one Porsche used back in 1963 as well as Porsche Heritage badge attached to the rear engine grille. 

Climb inside the cockpit and you will discover old-school "Pepita" pattern upholstery applied to the seat centres and door panels — a fitting complement to the brown and black leather used throughout the rest of the cabin. Further enhancements come in the form of bespoke aluminium door sills, a unique dashboard badge and retro-styled instruments. 

On the chassis side of things the 911 Sport Classic comes fitted as standard with Porsche's sport suspension that lowers the car's ride height by 10mm. This is partnered by Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) which allows the dampers to adapt to driving conditions and surface changes in real time. What's also interesting to note is that the new 911 Sport Classic ditches the side intakes in front of the rear wheels on the standard 911 Turbo and Turbo S — a feature that meant Porsche had to develop new bodywork tooling to stamp out these sleeker rear quarter panels. To compensate for these missing ducts this limited-edition model uses extra air intakes around the rear spoiler. 

According to Porsche SA spokesperson and media liaison Christo Kruger, the 2022 911 Sport Classic will be available to order from all local Porsche Centre dealerships starting next week. Allocation and pricing is yet to be communicated for the SA market.

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