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The Pantheon of the 911: A Four-Decade Journey Through Porsche’s Icon For over forty years, I’ve had the privilege of piloting Porsche’s most iconic machine. Forty years of engine growls, tire-shredding acceleration, and the pure, unadulterated thrill of a car that still refuses to be tamed. When I first got behind the wheel of a 911, a stark white 3.0-liter Carrera with classic black Fuchs wheels, I was skeptical. It lacked the power and raw torque of its contemporary, the 944 Turbo. Yet, I was instantly captivated. “I know the 944 Turbo is the better car,” I wrote back then, “but if it came down to it, I’d take the 911 Carrera home.” It wasn’t a decision made lightly. The 944 was a car that could make any driver look good. Its performance was breathtaking, matched by a chassis that performed with astounding precision. But the 911? It was a different kind of animal. It didn’t cater to every driver; it demanded respect, understanding, and a willingness to be challenged. And that, I realized, was its magic. In the years since that first test, I’ve driven countless iterations of the 911. Apart from the 964, a model that at the time seemed to question the very future of the 911 concept, I have been continually amazed by how Porsche has refined this icon. It remains relevant, exciting, and undeniably engaging. Four decades later, it’s still one of the few new cars I would happily spend my own hard-earned money on. Of all the 911 models I’ve had the pleasure of driving over the years, these are the five that remain etched in my memory. The Legend: 1975 Porsche 930 Turbo For decades, veteran road testers whispered tales of the original Porsche 911 Turbo in hushed, reverent tones. It was, they said, a car that demanded the utmost respect when driven with intent. Its binary boost delivery meant that walking the traditional 911 tightrope between corner-entry understeer and corner-exit oversteer required quick hands and nerves of steel. The 911 Turbo did not forgive mistakes. It was, in essence, a widowmaker. It took me 35 years to get behind the wheel of a true original 930 to discover the truth for myself. The car I tested was one of the first 30 production Turbos ever built, now a prized piece of Porsche’s classic fleet. Aware of its formidable reputation, I started cautiously, easing into the throttle, monitoring the turbo’s boost, and learning the engine’s power curve. The 3.0-liter flat-six was remarkably tractable at lower revs, happily ticking along at 2,000 rpm in top gear at 45 mph. However, once the engine hit 3,500 rpm, a significant acceleration surge kicked in as the turbocharger delivered 0.8 bar of boost. Still, the brutal, head-snapping blast I expected never materialized. I soon discovered the trick to mastering the original 911 Turbo: keep the engine spinning at 4,000 rpm or higher to keep the turbocharger engaged. Yes, there’s noticeable turbo lag—noticeably slower than modern turbos—but it’s manageable. This 911, even with more than 50 years on the clock, is still an impressively fast car on the road. First gear tops out at 50 mph, second at 90 mph, and third at nearly 130 mph. That means you can navigate most winding roads using only second and third gear. And while it may have a modest 256 hp, its curb weight of just 2,513 pounds makes it agile and responsive in corners. Half a century ago, its performance was nothing short of otherworldly. The Perfect Balance: 1996 Porsche 911 (993) For purists, the 993 represents the last of the line, the final pure iteration of the 911. It’s a car you drive with your knuckles grazing the dashboard, listening to the snarling, metallic clatter of an air-cooled flat-six. But back in 1994, when I first drove it, the 993 was the 911 of the future, a car that dared to challenge Isaac Newton’s laws of physics. Sure, the front end still had the classic 911 tendency to feel a bit light at turn-in, and the rear end still had a rhythmic bump-steer tendency on rough corners, but there was a new harmony between the front and rear. The 993 still felt like a 911, but within a much broader, more forgiving envelope. The key to this transformation was a revolutionary rear suspension. Porsche replaced the old semi-trailing arms with a new multilink setup. This allowed for a very slight initial toe-out during corner entry and then progressive toe-in as lateral loads increased. Crucially, it drastically reduced the camber change that had been the Achilles’ heel of 911s since their introduction in 1963. This engineering breakthrough was paired with a quicker, more responsive steering rack (2.5 turns lock-to-lock, 16% faster than its predecessor) that made the front end feel much more decisive. It also introduced a new six-speed manual transmission that capitalized on the 3.6-liter flat-six. Thanks to lighter internals, Bosch Motronic 2.0 engine management, and a new dual exhaust system, the engine produced 268 hp at a higher 6,100 rpm. Compared to the 964 it replaced, the 993 was a revelation. It wasn’t just the engineering improvements, led by Ulrich Bez (later the head of Aston Martin); the exterior redesign by chief designer Harm Lagaay corrected the visual imbalance of the 964, a car Lagaay considered too tall at the nose and too weighed down at the tail. The interior was cleaner, too, with a more intuitive layout of buttons. The 993 was a 911 that was faster and more forgiving than ever. And, most importantly, it was more desirable. The Icon Reborn: 1999 Porsche 911 (996) At the time, it was heresy. Porsche’s decision to install a water-cooled flat-six in the tail of the 996-series 911 was, to the aficionados, the automotive 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 legendary sports car in 34 years, was a hero car to me. It was the 911 that saved Porsche. Engineered and developed under the direction of Porsche R&D chief Horst Marchart, the 996 was an ingenious 911. Its brilliance lay in the fact that it shared 38 percent of its components with an all-new, more affordable mid-engine roadster the world would come to know as the Boxster. Iconoclast Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking recognized that the Boxster was necessary to give dealers a new product to sell as the aging 928 and 968 models were phased out. “We did two cars for the price of one-and-a-half,” design boss Lagaay said with a smile after the company unveiled the 996. But while the automotive press focused on its relationship with the Boxster and its water-cooled engine, the 996’s true significance ran much deeper. In 1994, it took Porsche 130 hours to build a 993-series 911; the 996 took just 60 hours. The modern 911 had arrived. It was roomier, equipped with all the features expected of a late 20th-century sports car, and yet it remained recognizably the 911 icon. Most importantly, it still drove like a 911. Only better. There was a new veneer of sophistication to its operation, but the 996 retained the delicious tactility and urgent response that had made the 911 a sports car like no other. Along with the original Boxster, it saved Porsche from extinction. The Purist’s Delight: 2017 Porsche 911 Carrera (991.2) Of all the 911 models I’ve driven, it was a base 991.2 Carrera that truly stole my heart. Judging by the feedback I received at the time from colleagues who drove it, it stole everyone else’s too. Most press fleets tend to be loaded with high-spec vehicles, presumably because automotive PR departments think we’re impressed by such things. So Porsche Cars North America’s decision to include a base 911 Carrera among the roster of then-new 991.2 models available for our 2017 MotorTrend Car of the Year testing seemed a bold one. In truth, though, it was an inspired move.