​Porsche 911 Spirit 70 review: Pure high-octane racing theatre

Then of course that opens the doors to a raft of more powerful alternatives including 911s with reassuring four-wheel drive systems, or motorsport-based rear-wheel drive white knuckle rides like the GT3 or GT3 RS. Sitting somewhere in the middle of the 911 range sits the GTS, available in both coupe and cabriolet versions. Right, stick with me. The base 911 GTS Cab is £155,900. That’s an already eye-watering amount of money. And to test one would be an occasion in itself. But on these pages we can do better than that. How about the special edition 911 Spirit 70? Price? Well, it certainly isn’t any cheaper than the GTS Cab, and we’ll come to the price much later. But is it worth the extra money? Six days behind the wheel would certainly let me find out.

Ok, so what exactly is the Spirit 70? In basic terms it’s a 992.2 Porsche 911 Cabriolet GTS T-Hybrid. The Spirit 70 benefits from no mechanical changes whatsoever. It is however the third in a line of ‘Heritage Design’ 911s, following on from the Targa 4S Heritage Design Edition of 2020 and the Sport Classic of 2022. The former was styled to look like a car from the 1950s or early ’60s, while the beautifully majestic latter was based on a Turbo Coupe and evoked the appearance of the 1960s and early ’70s. At its core styling was the legendary Carrera 2.7 RS. Restricted to just 1500 units worldwide, the Spirit 70 reflects the design and feel of the Seventies, and in doing so also celebrates the era of the cabriolet. It also celebrates … decals. First-up the car is available only in the exclusive shade of Olive Neo. Now when I first laid eyes on it, I couldn’t decide whether it was green-based or brown-based; what was the dominant hue? Plus the colour changed in different light. I also couldn’t decide whether I liked the colour or not. And as you’ve probably spotted, it’s almost smothered in decals. There’s a big ‘70’ decal on the doors, plus three big, bold black stripes which roll down the bonnet before morphing into an unmissable ‘911’ emblem at the front. Look carefully, and there’s also a 1970s Porsche crest rendered predominantly in gold. And there’s more. The surrounds for the centrally-mounted Sports exhaust tailpipes at the rear, plus the front air-intakes area are resplendent in a grey-gold shade Porsche calls Bronzite. It’s actually pretty cool and sits nicely alongside the Olive Neo. As for the wheels, they’re stunning Fuchs design and are offset in size, being 20in at the front and 21in at the rear. Finally, there are badges. They don’t shout. They’re discreet (unlike the rest of the car, I hear you say). On the engine cover there’s a subtle offset-mounted Heritage Design round button, also at the rear the 911 legend is followed by flowing ‘Spirit 70’ script. It’s neat. Plus on the front wings there are two discreet ‘Exclusive Manufaktur’ emblems.

Power and performance Honestly? Breathtaking. If you really believe you need any more performance from a car on UK roads than the 911 GTS T-Hybrid delivers, you probably aren’t planning of keeping hold of your licence for too long. This car is brilliant … but bonkers. You don’t even need this level of performance. But once you have it, boy it’s good. The car’s T-Hybrid drivetrain marked the beginning of a new part-electrified era in the 911’s story. The Spirit 70’s 3.6-litre turbocharged flat-six petrol, mated to the T-Hybrid 400-volt system, delivers 541hp and 610Nm of torque. That results in a jaw-dropping 0-62mph time of 3.1secs, and carries on to a max of 194mph. And remember, this is a 1.75-tonne car – one of the heaviest 911s in history – plus that power, via a super-smooth and quick eight-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic ‘box, is sent solely to the rear wheels.

C’mon, what’s it like to drive? Fast, versatile, impressive, fast, relaxed, explosive … and did I say, fast! And remember, all that can be said equally for the RWD GTS Cabriolet, as the Spirit 70 has exactly the same technical spec. I can think of no other high-end cabrio which delivers a driving sensation even close to that of the GTS soft-top. In terms of torsional rigidity, it’s as rigid and stiff as a coupe. You’d never know you don’t have a roof over your head. From the split second you press the starter button and the engine delivers its reassuring mechanical sounds behind your head, lifting the revs before it calms down before you can drive, you can just sense the wonderment of the car. In my time with the Spirit 70 I covered just under 300 miles, including local A- and B-roads, a cross-country route to Thruxton followed by a not-too-slow sprint along the M3 and the M25 to Crawley, before heading back cross-country to Porsche GB at Reading. Average fuel consumption: 32.7mpg. It’s a majestic thing to drive. There’s a beautiful sense of body control and balance, enhanced further by the superbly weighted steering. It oozes refinement and comfort. For a 911 it’s big and, as I said earlier, heavy, but despite that there’s an agility and deftness, allied to impressive levels of grip and traction which allow you to, at times forget it’s rear-wheel drive. Ok, in the heavy rain I had on the M3, at the forefront of my mind at that moment was the rear-wheel drive and 610Nm of torque they were dealing with. Wet conditions certainly sharpens the mind. Plus there’s also a ‘Wet’ setting in driving modes. Yes it’ll gobble up the motorway miles, but it’s unquestionably at its best when you head to the A- and B-roads. Here it becomes a hoot to drive. Dynamically it’s excellent, even with the fast-folding roof down; the Spirit 70 also includes Porsche’s clever electrical mounting system for the rear wind deflector (which nestles behind the rear seats when it's down). My preferred choice: all four windows and deflector down, head for the hills and enjoy the way the car’s aerodynamics deflect the air away from the cabin. Joyous. And, oh the sound. The soundtrack is something you’d be happy to pay over the odds for a ticket to listen to it at the Usher Hall in town. At low revs there’s a real guttural growl to it, but allow the engine to get anywhere close to the redline and you’re rewarded with a heartening shriek. I know, but it had to be done once!

And what’s it like inside? Not surprisingly, as with any 992.2-generation 911, the interior is stunning, especially when it comes to basic, simple things like the layout of the switchgear and controls. Everything is instantly intuitive. Wherever you think the control function for anything is, move your hand without thinking and it’s there. It’s almost as if the car sends you mental messages without you realising it. It just happens. As you would expect, the tech works exactly as it should, and within seconds you’ll find your perfect driving position. It’s one of these cars – and remember this is essentially the RWD GTS – which you don’t need to spend minutes in getting to know everything before you set off. It’s all just there. It’s a cabin, even with the roof down, which completely envelops you. Hugs you. You know when you read reports where the writer says, “you feel at one with the car”, and you laugh because you think it’s nonsense. Well guess what? I don’t think I’ve ever felt more at one with a car than this GTS. Driving fast, driving slow, gobbling up motorway miles, pootling in town, sweeping through country bends, or even just standing looking at it, me and the GTS just gelled. Ok. Back to the interior. The standout star of the interior, which sets it apart from the ‘standard’ GTS is the Pasha upholstery. Porsche aficionados will remember it from the cars of around 50 years ago, but back then it was usually a black & white check pattern. In the Spirit 70 the white has been replaced instead by the Olive Neo of the bodywork. And boy does it work. Not only is it on the seat centres but it runs across the dashboard and into the door cards. Open the glovebox and it’s inside there too. It also forms the carpet in the front storage area. At first I thought: “Oooh, this is a bit psychedelic”. But over a short period of time it grew on me. In the end I loved it. I’m sure there will be folk who would prefer the original black & white, but this colour scheme ties in perfectly with the body colour and rounds the whole palette off. Elsewhere inside, the Spirit 70 dials located in front of the driver in the digital cluster have white markers complemented by green numerals. The same colour is also seen on the Sport Chrono dial which sits high up on the dash.There’s also a gold plaque on the passenger-side fascia that lets you know the number in the 1500-strong run of Spirit 70s you're sitting in.

Does it have any storage? Hmmm. It’s a 911 cabrio. So what do you think? Front occupants are looked after in majestic style with as much room as you’re ever going to need, and the perfect seating position thanks to the 18-way-adjustable Adaptive Sports Seats Plus. Yes, soft-top 992.2s get the rear ‘+2’ seats as standard, but when it comes to practicality it becomes something of a challenge. You certainly need to learn to travel light if you’re planning that longed-for grand tour to the South of France. There’s a 135-litre front boot – Porsche sells a lovely piece of Rimowa luggage which fits the slot perfectly – plus a 163-litre ‘open’ luggage space behind the front seats. Essentially that means you need to put your bags on the very small, but stylish back seats. Soft, squishy bags are the order of the day.

Verdict The Spirit 70 is, without question, a very special car. Yes its colour scheme might divide opinion, but I grew to really like it. And it certainly attracted attention, the vast bulk of it positive. Of course, logic says we need to take a step back. At its core is the ‘regular’ 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet. The Spirit 70 is technically identical. And that core tech is brilliant. As I said at the beginning, you can have one of those for £155,900. Price of the Spirit 70? £187,700. And my press car had a number of options, including the ‘must have’ front axle lift at £2033 and surround view with active parking (£1298), all contributing to the total price of £197,298. Wow! You might have guessed, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Spirit 70, and I can fully understand why deep-pocketed buyers who not only have a penchant for the Seventies but have a craving for the cargo pant colour and standout decals, will buy one. But perhaps the main point of this review is simply to highlight the outstanding strength and appeal of the 992.2 GTS cabrio. It is truly exceptional.

The facts

​Porsche 911 Spirit 70 Price: 911 GTS Cabrio from £155,900, Spirit 70 as tested, £197,298 Powertrain: 3.6-litre turbocharged flat-six petrol with T-Hybrid 400-volt system, rear-wheel drive with Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus electronically controlled limited-slip Power/Torque: 541hp / 610Nm Transmission: Eight-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic incorporating e-motor Top speed / 0-62mph: 194mph / 3.1secs (Sport Chrono with Launch Control) Fuel Consumption 26.2-26.5mpg (WLTP)