Four years ago, Porsche built a lightweight sports car based on the 981 Boxster chassis to participate in a hill climb race. The vehicle had initially been scheduled for mass production as a modern reincarnation of the 1968 909 Bergspyder, but legal issues prevented it from ever leaving the prototype status behind.
The original Porsche 909 Bergspyder wore a white/green paint and weighed in at a minuscule 384 kilograms (less than 850 lbs). Its modern counterpart had been conceptualized as a ‘more radical and uncompromising, as lightweight as possible and minimalistic.’ This formula gave us the 981 Bergspyder Concept, a speedster with a removable soft top made of faux leather, a single seat, no windshield or door handles, and the ability to sprint 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in four seconds flat. The cabin was otherwise identical to that of the 918 Spyder.
As it turned out, legislations in some countries barred the Porsche 981 Bergspyder from ever becoming street-legal there, so the company decided to wrap up the project permanently. Sadly, it looks like the once promising one-seater will forever remain a prototype.
Photos: Porsche