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The Icons: A Veteran Tester’s Top 5 Porsche 911s of All Time It’s hard to believe it’s been over four decades since I first got behind the wheel of a Porsche 911. I still recall that first encounter vividly: a crisp, white 3.0-liter Carrera, riding on classic black Fuchs wheels. It was lean, pure, and stripped down—no rear spoiler, no power steering, just a five-speed manual. This was the raw, unfiltered 911 experience. Back then, I remember it being deceptively fast, but at the time, I was also comparing it to a 944 Turbo. In my home country of Australia, these two cars cost almost the same, and frankly, the 944 Turbo was the quicker, more effortless machine. But despite the 944’s superiority in pure metrics, the allure of the 911 was irresistible. I wrote about that experience, acknowledging the 944’s competence—how it could make even a less skilled driver look heroic, with its scorching performance and near-flawless chassis. Yet, the 911 captured my heart. I recognized it as a car for a different era, a machine that demanded understanding and respect. It wasn’t built for the masses; it was a demanding partner on the road. That’s why, when the chips were down, I chose the 911. Since that day, I’ve driven countless 911 variants. With the exception of the 964, a model that in the early 1990s unfortunately suggested the 911 formula was losing its magic, I’ve been consistently impressed by Porsche’s ability to refine and revitalize this iconic sports car. Decades after my first drive, the 911 remains one of the few new cars I would still purchase with my own money. Out of all the incredible 911 models I’ve tested over the years, here are the five that have left the deepest impression. The Original Widowmaker: 1975 Porsche 911 Turbo Back in the days when I was just getting acquainted with the 911 Carrera, the original 911 Turbo was the stuff of legend among road testers. They spoke of it with reverence—a true driver’s car that punished anything less than perfect technique. The concept of its “binary boost” states was terrifying; it pushed the traditional 911 tightrope between corner-entry understeer and corner-exit oversteer into the realm of high-stakes surgery. This was not a forgiving machine. It tolerated no mistakes, no sloppy inputs. It was, in short, a legendarily dangerous car. It took me 35 years to finally get behind the wheel of an original 911 Turbo and see for myself what all the fuss was about. The car I drove was one of the very first 30 ever produced, and it belongs to Porsche’s legendary classic collection. Knowing its fearsome reputation, I was incredibly cautious at first. I eased onto the throttle, testing the boost response and watching the tachometer closely, trying to build a mental map of its power band. To my surprise, the engine was remarkably tame at low RPM. Cruising at 2,000 rpm in top gear, the 911 Turbo was just meandering along at 45 mph. However, once the revs hit 3,500 rpm, there was a tangible surge of acceleration as the turbocharger kicked in, pushing 0.8 bar of boost into the intake. It wasn’t the brutal sledgehammer blow I had braced myself for. I soon learned the secret to smooth yet swift driving in the original 911 Turbo was to keep the engine spinning above 4,000 rpm. This kept the turbocharger energized and ready. Yes, there is turbo lag—significant lag by today’s standards—but it’s entirely manageable. Even after 50 years, this car remains astonishingly fast on the road. First gear reaches 50 mph, second gear 90 mph, and third gear nearly 130 mph. This means you can tackle almost any winding two-lane road using only second and third gear. While its 256 hp output might seem modest now, at just 2,513 pounds, it accelerates and corners with impressive agility. Half a century ago, its performance was nothing short of otherworldly. The Last Air-Cooled Icon: 1996 Porsche 911 (993 Generation) For many Porsche purists, the 993 is the ultimate distillation of the 911 formula. It represents the final chapter of air-cooled engineering, a raw driving experience where your knuckles graze the dashboard and the glorious, metallic snarl of an air-cooled flat-six engine fills the cabin. But when this generation was first released in 1994, the 993 was the 911 of the future. It was the first model to fundamentally challenge Isaac Newton’s laws of physics when it came to Porsche’s rear-engine layout. Sure, the 993 still had the distinct “tippy-toe” steering that demanded weight transfer to hit apexes, and the rear end still danced through rough corners. However, there was a newfound harmony between the front and rear of the car. The 993 was undeniably a 911, but with a significantly improved margin of error. The breakthrough was a revolutionary rear suspension design that replaced the old semi-trailing arms with a new multilink setup. This system allowed for a very slight initial toe-out on corner entry, followed by a progressive toe-in as lateral load increased. Crucially, it reduced the camber change that had long been the Achilles’ heel of 911s since their inception in 1963. This engineering masterpiece was combined with a completely new steering system. With just 2.5 turns lock-to-lock, it was 16 percent quicker, making the front end feel far more decisive. The 993 also debuted a new six-speed manual transmission that made the most of the 3.6-liter flat-six. Thanks to lighter internal components, a Bosch Motronic 2.0 engine management system, and a dual exhaust, the engine revved harder to its 268-hp peak at 6,100 rpm. Compared to the 964 model it replaced, the 993 was nothing short of revolutionary. This was more than just engineering innovation—led by Ulrich Bez, who would later head Aston Martin. The exterior redesign, orchestrated under design chief Harm Lagaay, corrected the visual flaws of the 964, a car he considered too tall at the front and too squat at the rear. The interior was also cleaner and more ergonomic. The 993 was faster and more forgiving than any 911 that came before it. And most importantly, it was exponentially more desirable. The Savior of the Brand: 1996 Porsche 911 (996 Generation) At the time of its release, it was automotive heresy. Porsche’s decision to install a water-cooled flat-six engine in the rear of the 996-series 911 was, for the purists, the equivalent of Bob Dylan abandoning his acoustic six-string for a Fender Stratocaster at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. But the 996, the first clean-sheet redesign of Porsche’s enduring sports car in 34 years, was a true hero car. It was the 911 that saved Porsche. Engineered and developed under the direction of Porsche R&D chief Horst Marchart, the 996 was a masterclass in intelligent design. Its brilliance stemmed partly from its shared architecture with an all-new, less expensive mid-engine roadster that would become known as the Boxster. Iconoclastic Porsche CEO Wendelin Weideking knew the Boxster was essential to give dealers new inventory to sell once the aging 928 and 968 models were retired. As design chief Lagaay wryly commented after the unveiling, “We did two cars for the price of one and a half.” But while the media frenzy focused on the Boxster connection and the controversial water-cooled engine, the 996’s true significance ran far deeper. In 1994, it took Porsche 130 hours to build a 993-series 911; the 996 took only 60 hours. The modern 911 had arrived. It was roomier, equipped with the technological features expected of a late 20th-century sports car, and—crucially—still unmistakably a 911. Most importantly, it drove like a 911, only better. A new layer of sophistication dressed up its performance, but the 996 retained that delicious tactile feel and urgent response that had defined the 911 experience. Along with the original Boxster, it pulled Porsche back from the brink of financial ruin. The Benchmark of Purity: 2017 Porsche 911 Carrera (991.2 Generation) Of all the 911s I have ever driven, it was the base 991.2 Carrera that truly captured my heart. And it seems I wasn’t alone—judging by the feedback from colleagues who also