The Five Best Porsche 911s of the Last Half-Century
After four decades behind the wheel of Porsche’s icon, these are the 911 variants that truly defined the legend.
I still remember the day I first drove a Porsche 911. It was 1986, a white 3.0-liter Carrera with black Fuchs wheels, no rear wing, no power steering, and a five-speed manual. It was as pure as they came back then. The car was fast, but it wasn’t perfect. I’d just tested a 944 Turbo in Australia that cost the same—almost to the dollar—and it was faster, more powerful, and made less effort. Honestly, at that moment, I wondered what the fuss was about.
But the magic of the 911 is insidious. You don’t just drive it; you fall in love with it. As I wrote back then: “After two days and 600 miles, I’m certain. I know the 944 Turbo is the better car. But I also know that if it came to the crunch, that if it were me agonizing over how to spend my money, I’d take the 911 Carrera home.” The 944 was technically superior, competent enough to make a bad driver look good, but the 911… the 911 was different. It was imperfect, demanding respect, and it tugged at the heart. That’s why I’d take it home.
Since that first test, I’ve driven dozens of 911s. With every iteration—except perhaps the 964, which early on seemed to suggest the 911 concept was nearing its end—I’ve marveled at how Porsche has polished its icon, keeping it relevant, exciting, and utterly engaging. Even now, nearly 40 years later, it’s one of the few new cars I’d spend my own hard-earned dollars on.
From that pure Carrera to the modern-day, track-focused missiles, the Porsche 911 has evolved while remaining stubbornly, brilliantly itself. These are the five Porsche 911 models that stand out as the most memorable across half a century of testing.
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The Five Best Porsche 911s of the Last Half-Century
After four decades behind the wheel of Porsche’s icon, these are the 911 variants that truly defined the legend.
I still remember the day I first drove a Porsche 911. It was 1986, a white 3.0-liter Carrera with black Fuchs wheels, no rear wing, no power steering, and a five-speed manual. It was as pure as they came back then. The car was fast, but it wasn’t perfect. I’d just tested a 944 Turbo in Australia that cost the same—almost to the dollar—and it was faster, more powerful, and made less effort. Honestly, at that moment, I wondered what the fuss was about.
But the magic of the 911 is insidious. You don’t just drive it; you fall in love with it. As I wrote back then: “After two days and 600 miles, I’m certain. I know the 944 Turbo is the better car. But I also know that if it came to the crunch, that if it were me agonizing over how to spend my money, I’d take the 911 Carrera home.” The 944 was technically superior, competent enough to make a bad driver look good, but the 911… the 911 was different. It was imperfect, demanding respect, and it tugged at the heart. That’s why I’d take it home.
Since that first test, I’ve driven dozens of 911s. With every iteration—except perhaps the 964, which early on seemed to suggest the 911 concept was nearing its end—I’ve marveled at how Porsche has polished its icon, keeping it relevant, exciting, and utterly engaging. Even now, nearly 40 years later, it’s one of the few new cars I’d spend my own hard-earned dollars on.
From that pure Carrera to the modern-day, track-focused missiles, the Porsche 911 has evolved while remaining stubbornly, brilliantly itself. These are the five Porsche 911 models that stand out as the most memorable across half a century of testing.
The Original 911 Turbo: 1975
When I started driving, veteran road testers spoke of the original Porsche 911 Turbo (the 930) in hushed, awed tones. It was, they said, a car that demanded respect. Its turbo lag was legendary, turning the delicate tightrope walk between corner-entry understeer and corner-exit oversteer into a high-stakes dance requiring quick hands and a strong nerve. It did not forgive mistakes. It was, they said, a widowmaker.
It took me 35 years to get behind the wheel of an original 911 Turbo, and I found the reality was different from the myth.
The car I drove was one of the first 30 production Turbos ever built, now part of Porsche’s classic Porsche fleet. Aware of its fearsome reputation, I started slowly, feeling the throttle and watching the tach. The engine was remarkably smooth at low revs, willing to lug around at 2,000 rpm. But once the 3.0-liter flat-six hit 3,500 rpm, that famed turbo acceleration surged through the cabin, pushing 0.8 bar of boost into the induction system.
I expected the sledgehammer blow I’d heard about. It wasn’t quite there.
The trick to driving the original 911 Turbo smoothly is keeping the engine spinning above 4,000 rpm to keep the turbo energized. Yes, there’s noticeable turbo lag, but it’s manageable. Even today, the 930 is frighteningly fast on the road. First gear hits 50 mph, second reaches 90 mph, and third clears 130 mph, meaning a winding two-lane is obliterated using just two gears. At just 2,513 pounds and with 256 hp, it handles corners with precision. Half a century ago, this was otherworldly performance.
Today’s Porsche 911 Turbo models offer incredible power without the danger. But the raw, brutal nature of the original 930 remains a benchmark for driver-focused cars.
The 993-Generation Porsche 911: 1994
For Porsche purists, the 993-generation 911 is the last of the line—the last truly air-cooled 911. It’s the car you drive with your knuckles grazing the dashboard, the air-cooled flat-six snarling behind you.
But when I first drove it in 1994, the 993 was the 911 of the future. It was the first to challenge physics with serious engineering. It still had the pat-pat-patter of a 911 front end that demanded loading on corner entry, and the rear end still danced over bumps. But the front and rear worked in much greater harmony. The 993 still felt like a 911, but with a significantly improved margin of error.
The key innovation was the rear suspension: a new multilink setup replaced the old semi-trailing arms. It allowed for slight initial toe-out on corner entry and progressive toe-in as loads increased, all while reducing camber change—the Achilles’ heel of 911s since 1963. This was coupled with steering that was 16% quicker at 2.5 turns lock-to-lock, making the front end feel far more decisive. Plus, a new six-speed manual transmission was paired with a 3.6-liter flat-six engine that zinged harder to its 268 hp peak, thanks to lighter internals, Bosch Motronic 2.0 management, and a dual-exhaust system.
The 993 was a revelation compared to the 964 it replaced. It wasn’t just the engineering under Ulrich Bez (who later led Aston Martin). The exterior redesign by Harm Lagaay corrected visual problems with the 964, which he felt was too tall at the front and too squat at the rear. The interior was cleaner, with fewer randomly placed buttons. The 993 was faster, more forgiving, and more desirable than ever.
While the 993 Carrera is now a sought-after classic car, at the time it was the high-tech 911 that kept the brand relevant.
The 996-Generation Porsche 911: 1996
At the time, it was heresy. Porsche’s decision to put a water-cooled engine in the 996-series 911 was the automotive equivalent of Bob Dylan trading his acoustic guitar for a Fender Strat at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. To the purists, it was a betrayal. But to me, the 996, the first clean-sheet redesign of Porsche’s icon in 34 years, was a hero car.
It was the 911 that saved Porsche.
Engineered under the direction of R&D chief Horst Marchart, the 996 was a clever 911, not least because it shared 38% of its parts with a new, less expensive mid-engine roadster—the Boxster. Iconoclastic Porsche boss Wendelin Weideking knew the Boxster was essential to keep dealer showrooms busy when the aging 928 and 968 models were retired. “We did two cars for the price of one-and-a-half,” design boss Lagaay said with a smile after the unveil.
But while the media focused on the Boxster relationship and the water-cooled engine, the 996’s real story ran much deeper. In 1994, building a 993 took 130 hours; the 996 took just 60 hours. The modern 911 had arrived: roomier, packed with the features expected of a late 20th-century sports car, yet still recognizably a Porsche 911.
Most importantly, it still drove like a 911. Only better. There was a new layer of sophistication, but the 996 retained the delicious tactility and urgent response that made the 911 unique. Along with the original Boxster, it saved Porsche from extinction.
The water-cooled 911 might have been controversial, but the 996 Carrera proved Porsche was looking forward, not just clinging to the past.
The 991.2-Generation Porsche 911 Carrera: 2017
Of all the 911s I’ve driven, it was a base 991.2 Carrera that truly stole my heart. It stole everyone else’s too, judging by the feedback I got from colleagues who drove it at the time.
Most press fleets are stacked with high-spec vehicles loaded with options, presumably because PR folks think we’re impressed by such things. So Porsche Cars North America’s decision to include a base 9