For Porsche, pushing the boundaries and evolving its portfolio is essential. Inevitably, that happens through a lot of experimentation and prototyping.
This story is about the Porsche 981 Bergspyder – a quirky-looking prototype that ultimately never made it past the validation stage.
The weight of modern cars is constantly increasing due to manufacturers adding safety and comfort features. In 2015, Porsche wanted to explore more lightweight designs, so it commissioned its Weissach factory to build a minimalist car.
They chose the 2015 Boxster Spyder since it’s already the lightest car in Porsche’s lineup. It was also equipped with the largest and most powerful engine used on a Boxster so far – a 3.8-liter flat-6 engine, producing 388 horsepower.
The goal was to use the modern Boxster platform and create a distinctive design which focuses on weight reduction, while keeping the existing power.
Porsche was inspired by their hillclimb racing cars from the 1960s, including the extreme 909 Bergspyder. It’s the lightest ever race car used by the company weighing unbelievable 849 lb. At the same time, it was powered by a 2.0-liter flat-8 engine producing 275 hp.
The car was dubbed the “plastic Porsche” and dominated hillclimb races in 1968. Thus, the name and design direction of the new car was chosen.
The car became a single seater with a lightweight cover extending over the passenger side. The passenger door remained functional, revealing a luggage compartment.
On the driver side, the seat and dashboard were taken from Porsche 918. There is just a small wind deflector.
981 Bergspyder underwent a strict diet, removing much of the insulation material and replacing parts with lighter versions where possible. The result was a car weighing 2,423 lb – 476 lb lighter than the original 981 Spyder.
With a power to weight ratio of 6.24 lb/hp, the 981 Berspyder performed better than most Porsches at the time – 0 to 60 mph in just over 4 seconds. Porsche projected a Nurburgring lap in 7:30 minutes, but they never went to test in real life.
The design was so radical, there were concerns that it would pass road regulations in some countries. So, Porsche abandoned the project and the 981 Bergspyder remained the only one of its kind.
Now, the company will show it to the public for the first time since its creation. The car will attend the 2019 Gaisberg Hillclimb near Salzburg, Austria.
