The Porsche 911The Porsche 911 had the tough job of carrying on from the Porsche 356, a job it did with style, charisma and extraordinary success. Exciting performance and handling, and a beauty that hasn’t aged, has made the Porsche 911 one of the all time classic sports cars. Replacing The Porsche 356In the late 1950s Porsche could see the end of the line for the 356. Their initial thoughts were to replace it with a genuine four-seater, and so a body and new six-cylinder engine were designed.Dr Porsche’s grandsons designed the new car, with Butzi Porsche doing the styling and Ferdinand Piech responsible for the engine. The new car followed along the lines of the 356 with a family resemblance in the styling, and a motor that was still horizontally opposed, air-cooled and hung out the back.
The car was now a 2+2, rather than a proper four-seater, the rear seats really only being good for children or occasional passengers. The car was designated the 901, but the Peugeot company objected, saying they had the right to all three digit model numbers to 0 in the middle. Porsche didn’t argue, they changed their model number to 911. The 911 has become the car that most people think of when the name Porsche is mentioned. The Porsche 911 had unitary body construction, the first Porsche to do so, it was available with a four or five speed gearbox, fully synchronised of course, four wheel disc brakes, and a new suspension that eliminated the dreaded swing axle handling problems. The Porsche 911 was first available in 1964 as a coupe with the six-cylinder engine displacing 1991 cc and having 130 hp on tap, the same power as the Porsche 356 Carrera 2. Top speed was 130 mph. The Porsche 912 An economy model of the 911 was brought out in 1965. The Porsche 912 as it was called was basically a not so well equipped 911 with a four-cylinder engine from the 356. It was cheaper to buy and cheaper to maintain than the 911. The engine was 1600 cc, 90 hp and could push the car to 115 mph. 0-60 times were around the 11 second mark. Fuel economy was quite good, 24 mpg around town and 30 mpg on the open road. The 912 came standard with a four speed gearbox, or a five speed box could be had as an option. The Porsche 912 quickly became a best seller, actually outselling the 911 by the end of 1966. It was discontinued in 1969 when the VW Porsche 914 started production.
With the 356 out of production and the Porsche 911 and 912 only available in coupe form, Porsche had no “wind in the hair” model. The chassis on the 911/912 wasn’t stiff enough for a completely open car, so Butzi Porsche solved the problem with a substantial roll bar. The roll bar was emphasised rather than disguised by making it in brushed stainless steel and calling the car “the world’s first safety convertible”. The top was a removable roll up canvas panel and the plastic rear window could be unzipped. Both could be stored in the front trunk. Body rigidity apparently was a problem with these soft window models having squeaks and rattles, and in 1968 a fixed glass rear window was substituted. Early ProblemsThe early Porsche 911 sports cars were good cars, but they just didn’t have the expected quality. It took a while for the quality of the bodywork to be exactly right, and handling wasn’t all it should have been. Tyres were skinny at first, and the engine was heavier than expected resulting in understeer at low speeds, switching to oversteer at high speeds. A quick fix was ballast; a 24 pound lump of lead behind each end of the front bumpers. A better fix for the long term was wider tyres and suspension mods.Other problems were a flat spot in the carburation, fixed by changing from Solex to Weber carbies, plugs that fouled all the time, (you were lucky to get 3000 miles from a set of plugs) partially solved by CD ignition, poor ventilation, later solved, and too much noise. More ModelsThe Porsche 911 S came out in 1966, with more power than the standard 911, 160 hp at 6600 rpm, resulting from bigger valves, increased valve timing and a stronger engine able to withstand higher revs. It also had upgraded brakes and suspension. And it got the now famous five spoke forged mag wheels. The Porsche 911 S was a fantastic performer, the best of the early 911s.1967 saw the Porsche 911 T for people who wanted a Porsche with its good looks and handling, but without its fussy and peaky engine. The engine was detuned to 110 hp with a lower compression ratio and decreased valve timing, there was less equipment and a four-speed gearbox was standard. 1968 wasn’t a good year for Porsche lovers in the United States. New emission standards had come in, and Porsche’s answer was to install air pumps on the 911 and 912 engines that were noisy and gave problems. People who bought them didn’t like the lower power and erratic running. The 911 E was brought out with fuel injection to meet the new emission standards. The 911 S wasn’t sold in the States that year because of the new emission standards. Instead, Porsche took the 911 S, put the standard 911 engine in it and called it the 911 L. The 911 S was reintroduced to the States in ’69 with Bosch mechanical fuel injection. 1968 also saw the Sportomatic Transmission option with a torque converter, automatic clutch and four-speed gearbox. It didn’t have a clutch, but you still shifted gears manually, giving the advantages of both a normal gearbox and an automatic. To prove that the transmission was suitable for sports cars, a Porsche entered 911 with Sportomatic transmission won the 1967 84 hour Marathon de la Route at Nurburgring. The Porsche 911was being used for racing and rallying with considerable success so the lightweight Porsche 911 R was developed, a 911 with fibreglass panels and the engine from the 906 Carrera 6. It raced by private owners as well as the factory. More Power, Better HandlingLike the Porsche 356, the 911 was continually improved and upgraded. It got much better handling in 1969, courtesy of three changes. The wheelbase was lengthened by 2 ¼ inches, decreasing the overhang of the engine by the same amount and giving a better weight distribution. The engine and gearbox were lightened by using magnesium instead of aluminium for the cases, which also improved the weight distribution, and the width of the wheels was increased.Engines ran better in 1969, and they started to get bigger and more powerful. The B series Porsche 911 got a 2.2 litre engine in 1970 and another increase to 2.4 litres with the E series in 1972. Compressions were lowered to meet the smog laws, but the 911 S still had190 hp and it could hit 145 mph. By now, four speed gearboxes were standard on all models. The Carrera and the TurboThe Carrera name, made famous with the 356, was brought back with a 2.7 litre, 210 hp top of the line model in 1972. It was intended to build 500 of the ducktailed Carreras as homologation for Group 4 racing but the car was so popular more than 1500 were built. The Carrera came as either a “standard” fully equipped version or as the RS model, specially lightened, 210 hp and 150 mph top speed. 1973 saw an RSR version, 3 litres and up to 330 hp.Two years later all 911s had 2.7 litre motors and the ducktail spoiler was optional on all models. Porsche created a sensation in 1974 – the Porsche 911 Turbo. While exhaust driven turbochargers are relatively common now, in those days very few road going cars had used them. The 911 was the car that made turbos respectable. The turbo car was called the 930 on its release in late 1974, however it was also sold in the U.S. as the Porsche 911 Turbo. Wheel arches were flared for wider wheels and the ducktail spoiler became a whale tail. Performance was impressive. 260 hp was available (racing versions had up to 500 hp. 0-60 mph took less than 6 seconds, and 0-100 less than 15 seconds. 1978 saw an even bigger turbo engine – 3.3 litres, 300 hp, and 160 mph. Beyond the 1970sPorsche had started production of front-engined water-cooled Porsche sports cars in 1976 with the 924, and the V8 928 in 1977 and it was naturally expected that the 911 would finally go the way of the 356. The 911 range was reduced to the SC Coupe, the Targa and the Turbo, with the Turbo disappearing from America in 1979 because of problems meeting the emission standards.But the Porsche 911 refused to die. In 1983, with a 19-year-old design and almost 20 years after the demise of the 356 Cabriolet, Porsche once more brought out another true cabriolet, the very attractive and best selling Porsche 911 SC Cabriolet. The Turbo returned to America in 1986 in coupe, cabriolet and Targa form. By 1995 the Turbo had 3.6 litres and 430 hp and could be had with four wheel drive as used in the 911 Carrera 4 the previous year. In 1997 there was an all-new 911 with a water-cooled six-cylinder boxer engine. The 911 had a hard act to follow. But it became the car that is Porsche, and it did it with style, excitement, charisma and character. Return from Porsche 911 to Porsche Pictures and Articles |
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