Background
If it’s actually possible to own a sensible supercar then the Porsche 911 must surely be it. Since its inception in 1963 it’s become the go-to for those who like their performance cars a little more Teutonicly screwed together than our Latin friends sometimes manage.
The history of the Porsche brand begins in 1948, and the existence of the sports car manufacturer is the life's work of Professor Ferdinand Porsche, which his son Ferry continued. Ferdinand was already designing ground breaking innovations in car construction at the beginning of the last century. With the Lohner-Porsche, he built an electric vehicle with wheel hub drive in 1900 and, a little later, the world's first all-wheel drive passenger car on this basis. Also in the same year he provided a template for hybrid vehicles with the development of a gasoline-electric mixed drive. In 1931 Ferdinand Porsche founded his own engineering office in Stuttgart. With the Berlin-Rome Car in 1939, he laid the foundation for the idea of a sports car with the name Porsche. However, World War 2 brought an abrupt end to his plans, and it was his son Ferry who realized that dream in 1948 with the Porsche 356.
The 356’s successor, the Porsche 911 was designed by Ferry Porsche's son Ferdinand Alexander, and it was this car that put Porsche firmly on the map as a maker of fine performance cars. Since 1963 the 911 has become a legend.
The original 911 was based on the Porsche 356 and would have been called the 901, were it not for the fact that Peugeot claimed the rights over that name. The new car maintained the 356's fastback design, and had an air-cooled flat-six that produced 130bhp.
Once production of the 356 finally ceased in 1965, Porsche used the 356's four-cylinder engine in the 912, a visually similar but cheaper four cylinder version of the 911 that was only produced between 1965 and 1969.
Porsche introduced the innovative and patented Targa in 1965 – the prominent, protective rollbar defined this design, and the roof panel between it and the windscreen could be removed, creating an open air experience for those who wanted the wind in their hair.
1966 saw a power bump up from 130bhp to 160bhp, and in order to handle this extra 30bhp, the chassis and brakes were improved, and newly designed lightweight Fuchs wheels were fitted. However, the rear engined character of the 911 remained, making it challenging to drive at the grip limit.
Porsche upped the displacement of the 911's engine in 1970 to 2.2 litres, while at the same time the cars were lightened through the use of aluminium in the engine lids and bumpers.
In 1972 the Porsche hiked the displacement again, this time to 2.4 litres and the S version was now making 190bhp. It was quick, and the lightweight body (approximately 1050kg) made it extremely agile.
On the ten year anniversary of the 911 in 1973, Porsche introduced the famed Carrera RS. Designed as a race car for the FIA Group 4 class, the flat-six was bumped up to 2.7 litres. It made 210bhp and had mechanical fuel injection and the famed ducktail spoiler. The name Carrera came from the Carrera Panamericana Race in Mexico during the early 1950s. A year after the Carrera RS was introduced the flat-six in the entire 911 range was also enlarged to 2.7 litres.
Development of a turbocharged engine began in 1972, and in 1975, Porsche launched the first 911 Turbo. It was an immediate hit. The Turbo made 260bhp from a 3.0 litre force fed engine. People were drawn to the car's wide hips and big rear wing. At the time, it was the fastest production car in Germany.
In 1976 the 2.7 litre engine was replaced for good by a 3.0 litre, favoured because of its increased reliability and potential for tuning. More torque made it more enjoyable to drive, and by 1980, all models (except the American-spec ones) made 204bhp.
For 1978, Porsche bumped the Turbo's displacement up to 3.3 litres to make 296bhp. It was also fitted with an intercooler that required the rear of the car to be redesigned. As a result, the tea-tray tail was implemented.
In 1984, the SC's 3.0 litre engine was replaced with a 3.2 litre engine and the Carrera 3.2 made more power and had better brakes. Customers could also spec their Carreras with the more aggressive Turbo's spoiler and wide body. The 3.6 litre 964 Carrera had floor-hinged pedals and roared with flat-six air-cooled brilliance.
A turbo version of the 964 was introduced in 1990. The 3.3 litre engine was upgraded to make 315bhp. Toward the end of the 964's run, sales slowed down as buyers anticipated the debut of the 993 in 1993.
Porsche introduced the first Turbo S in 1992. It was geared for performance, and the S featured a more spartan interior and a lowered stance. It made 376bhp and in the only year of the Turbo S's production run, approximately 80 cars were produced.
In 1993 Porsche launched the new Turbo 3.6, which had a new turbocharged engine that produced 360bhp. It was only produced for one model year.
The last of the air-cooled 911s, the 993 generation featured new front and rear ends, which resulted in a smoother and more aerodynamic look. Suspension was improved through the use of a multilink rear system. The Carrera's engine was a 3.6 litre flat-six that made 268bhp and it was the first 911 to offer a six-speed manual transmission, as opposed to a four or five-speed.
Finally, in 1999 the liquid cooled Porsche 911 996 took over, and 36 year reign of the mighty air-cooled 911 came to an end.
