Porsche’s New Sport Classic is a RWD 911 with a Stick-ShiftPorsche's new 911 Sport Classic is much more than just a stylish retro-looking sports car.
- Words Peter Corn
- Images Courtesy of Porsche
In a world charging toward increasingly technological dependence with abandon, there are few examples of us hitting the brakes on this obsession with progress. Like many high-end European automakers, Porsche not only remembers its heritage but is happy to reminisce at a moment’s notice to any who’ll lend a willing ear. The 2023 Porsche 911 Sport Classic isn’t exactly turning the clock back, but don’t be surprised if a few more willing ears turn up, ready to hear what this newest retro-inspired Porsche 911 has to say.
It’s been 13 years since Porsche released the first iteration of the 911 Sport Classic. Porsche wasn’t so sure its idea to make a Carrera 2.7 RS-themed version of the 997-gen 911 would be popular, so our German friends only made 250 examples for the European market. These cars sold like ice water in hell.
In the year of our Lord, 2023, Porsche is hip to the fact that its customers are hungry for these retro-inspired asphalt eaters and is wisely ramping up production of the new 992-gen 911 Sport Classic to 1250 examples.
The 2023 Porsche 911 Sport Classic continues the style cues of the previous SC; it still has the “ducktail” spoiler, Fuchs-style center-lock wheels, and the double-bubble roof for extra room for helmets. This throwback 911 also sports the widebody configuration otherwise reserved for the Porsche 911 Turbo models.
Like the first 911 Sport Classic, the designers of the new version were entranced by the Fashion Grey colorway from the early Porsche 356. The antique hue inspired the creation of the exclusive finish Sport Grey Metallic, used only for the 2023 911 Sport Classic. In classic German fashion, Michael Mauer, Vice President of Style Porsche, says, “Grey is never boring, quite often a statement and always cool.”
If the German’s love of grey doesn’t translate, the new 911 Sport Classic is also available in solid Black, Agate Grey Metallic, Gentian Blue Metallic, or Paint to Sample. The parallel racing stripes are painted in a nearly monochromatic moment of excellence in a light Sports Grey.
The interior follows suit with splashes of the iconic Pepita pattern found on the door panels and the center of the seats. This tastefully classic interior is finished in two-tone, semi-aniline leather upholstery in Black/Classic Cognac.
The 2023 Porsche 911 Sport Classic isn’t just a stylish retro-looking sports car. Porsche is more than willing to back up all these vintage-racing aesthetics with some real beef. For instance, that double-bubble roof isn’t just a kitschy style or ego booster for wannabe racers to use as a party trick; it is a carbon-fiber panel. The hood is carbon fiber, too.
The 2023 Porsche 911 Sport Classic isn’t the quickest Porsche model, but it’s close. The Sport Classic comes with the beloved 3.7-liter twin-turbocharged flat-six making 543 hp and 442 lb-ft of torque. The more exciting aspect of this vintage-inspired racer is that all that flat-six power is sent to the rear wheels via the only transmission Porsche offers for the Sport Classic, a 7-speed manual.
The 2022 Porsche 911 Turbo has the same engine but tuned to make 572 hp in the AWD configuration and an automatic gearbox. This means that the Sport Classic is the only way to get a stick-shift RWD 911 Turbo in the U.S.
The 2022 Porsche 911 Turbo has the same engine but tuned to make 572 hp in the AWD configuration and an automatic gearbox. This means that the Sport Classic is the only way to get a stick-shift RWD 911 Turbo in the U.S.
The Sport Classic doesn’t just have the 911 Turbo’s engine; it also has the Turbo’s rear-wheel steering, active anti-roll bars, and the 0.4”-lower PASM Sport active shocks, confirming that the retro-style is really only skin deep. Adding to its impressive spec sheet, the 2023 911 Sport Classic comes standard with Porsche’s Sport Chrono Package and carbon-ceramic brakes. Porsche also had to re-tune the front springs to account for the shift to RWD.
There simply isn’t much about the 2023 Porsche 911 Sport Classic not to like. It offers everything the modern Porsche enthusiast is about. It stands to reason that the only thing keeping enthused Porsche folks from this car is the currently unknown price tag. Aside from the limited number of examples, the 911 SC will likely start somewhere in the $150,000-$200,000 range.
One thing is certain; if nothing else, this car is guaranteed to be a hit thanks to the fact that it is the most powerful manual 911 available today. Porsche says Deliveries will start in July 2022 for the European market. Other markets will follow soon after.
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