Porsche does a lot of things well, but one area where the company does better than just about anyone else is this: special and commemorative editions of cars. Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for the company’s latest offering, the 2023 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet America Edition. That name may be a mouthful, but the only words you need to know are the last two: America Edition.
That’s right, this is our own star-spangled variant of the 992-generation Porsche 911. It’s built to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Porsche 356 America Roadster that debuted back in 1952 — and, by extension, the 30th anniversary of the 964 America Roadster, itself built to celebrate the 40th anniversary of that original 356.
The America Edition comes in just one color: Azure Blue 356, a modern take on the original blue of the first 356 America. Those with a keen eye will notice the white stripe along the sides of the car with an even smaller red stripe in the middle of that. Basically, they painted a Porsche red, white and blue. Fittingly.
At first, the wheels appear to be a simple white. Look closer: they actually have three different finishes on them, meant to make them pop and harken back to the silver wheels of the 356. Neato.
On top of that, the windshield surround is painted black to give this Cabrio a sleeker look — tricking the eye into thinking the structure is thin and dainty, like on the 356.
Inside, the star-spangled motif continues. The interior has a black base color, but is adorned with all sorts of red, white and blue accents. Well, technically it isn’t white. The company told us the color is actually Pebble Grey, because white would stick out too much. It’s all about subtlety, something the U.S. is known for.
Out back, the badges also have a bit of color to them. “911 Carrera” is written in white and “GTS” is written in Guards Red.
Little details can be found throughout the interior – a white tachometer and red shift pattern and deviated stitching are just a few. Porsche says it wants buyers of the America Edition to keep noticing new design aspects as they own and enjoy the car. Curiously, there’s no numbered badge denoting where your example sits in the limited-edition run. However, the word “America” is spelled out on the center console in traditional Porsche lettering
The doorsills also have the years 1952, 1992 and 2022 written on them to commemorate 70 years of America Roadsters. And the ignition key is color-matched to the car’s exterior.
At its core, the America Edition is a 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet, with a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter flat six making 473 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque, same as the non-America version.
That power is routed through a mandatory seven-speed manual transmission. You read that correctly: You cannot get the America Edition with a PDK dual-clutch automatic. Porsche says that decision was made based on the enthusiastic preference for manual transmissions among American 911 buyers.
PASM also comes as standard equipment. So does a sport exhaust and the Sport Chrono Pack. Porsche being Porsche, there are still options. You’ll have to pay up for rear-axle steering and carbon ceramic brakes.
You’ll also have to pay up for the “extended interior package.” According to the folks over in Stuttgart, that package gives you all the niceties in the interior you see. That includes things like the 12 o’clock marking in Guards Red on the steering wheel and Guards Red cross stitching on the inside edge of the wheel. It also adds the two-tone stitching to the shift boot and adds a gear pattern on the manual lever in Guards Red.
Additionally, vehicles speced with the extended interior package Sport Seats Plus with double stitching in Guards Red and Pebble Grey with “911” stitching on the headrests in Guards Red and the leather backrest release loops in the same color. The floor mats also get the same two-tone stitching in Guards Red and Pebble Grey. Finally, the vehicle key is painted in Azure Blue 356 to match the car, and a leather key pouch with two-tone stitching and “America” embossment completes the package.
So, if you really want to make your America Edition special, you best go for the extended interior package. It’ll cost you, but hey, what’s money when you’re buying a limited edition Porsche?
On the subject of cost, the MSRP of the America Edition is $186,370 (including $1,450 for destination). That means the America Edition commands about a $36,000 premium over the base GTS Cabriolet.
You can expect dealers to get the vehicles in late 2022, and while they aren’t spoken for quite yet, Porsche expects them to sell out rather quickly. All in all, 115 examples will be produced — 100 for the U.S. and 15 for Canada.
