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The Elite Five: A Four-Decade Journey Through the Most Memorable Porsche 911 Models For over 40 years, I’ve had the privilege of putting Porsche 911s through their paces. From the raw, visceral thrill of early models to the cutting-edge aerodynamics of today’s track-focused beasts, the 911 has never failed to captivate. Four decades later, it remains one of the few new cars I would still purchase with my own money. Of all the Porsche 911s I’ve driven, these five stand out as the most unforgettable. The Original Icon: The 1975 Porsche 930 Turbo Back in the day, seasoned road-test journalists spoke of the original Porsche 911 Turbo in reverent tones. It was a car that demanded respect, a machine where the line between corner-entry understeer and corner-exit oversteer was razor thin. It did not forgive mistakes, nor tolerate sloppiness. It was, in essence, the widowmaker the automotive world had built it up to be. It took me 35 years to get behind the wheel of one of these legends and discover the truth for myself. I recently drove one of the first 30 production Turbos ever built, a pristine specimen now part of Porsche’s esteemed classic fleet. Aware of its fearsome reputation, I took it easy at first, gradually easing into the throttle, monitoring the tachometer as the boost climbed. I was expecting a sledgehammer blow, a violent surge of acceleration, but it wasn’t there. The trick to smooth, fast progress in the original 911 Turbo is to keep the 3.0-liter flat-six spinning at or above 4,000 rpm. Yes, there is turbo lag—and it’s very noticeable by modern standards—but it’s manageable. Despite its age, this 911 remains an impressively fast car on the road. First gear tops out at 50 mph, second at 90 mph, and third reaches almost 130 mph. This means the car can devour winding back roads using only the second and third gears. While it only produces 256 hp, it weighs just 2,513 pounds, allowing it to attack corners with surprising agility. Half a century ago, its performance would have seemed otherworldly. The Final Air-Cooled Perfection: The 1996 Porsche 911 (993) For purists, the 993-generation Porsche 911 represents the last of its kind. It’s the 911 you drive with your knuckles grazing the dash, the snarling metallic clatter of the air-cooled flat-six engine right behind your ears. But when I first drove it in 1994, the 993 was the 911 of the future, the first generation to truly challenge the laws of physics. The front end still demanded precise loading on corner entry to hit the apex, and the rear end still danced on the edge of control on rough turns, but the relationship between the front and rear was far more harmonious. The 993 did what a 911 does, but within a much safer margin. The key to this transformation was a revolutionary new rear suspension that replaced the old semi-trailing arms with a modern multilink setup. This design allowed for slight initial toe-out on corner entry and progressive toe-in as lateral loads increased, significantly reducing the camber change that had been the Achilles’ heel of 911s since 1963. This was complemented by a new six-speed manual transmission and steering that was 16 percent quicker, making the front end feel far more decisive. The engine also received an upgrade, with a Bosch Motronic 2.0 engine management system and a dual exhaust system boosting the 3.6-liter flat-six to 268 hp at 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—who would later head Aston Martin—or the exterior redesign orchestrated by design chief Harm Lagaay, who corrected what he saw as the 964’s excessive front height and rearward rake. The 993 was a 911 that was faster, more forgiving, and—most importantly—more desirable than ever before. The Water-Cooled Savior: The 1996 Porsche 911 (996) At the time, it was sacrilege. Porsche’s decision to switch to a water-cooled flat-six engine for the 996-series 911 was, to purists, the automotive equivalent of Bob Dylan swapping his acoustic guitar for an electric one at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. But the 996, the first clean-sheet redesign of Porsche’s iconic sports car in 34 years, was a hero car in my eyes. It was the 911 that saved Porsche. Engineered and developed under the direction of R&D chief Horst Marchart, the 996 was a marvel of clever engineering. It shared 38 percent of its components with an entirely new, less expensive mid-engine roadster that would soon become famous as the Boxster. Iconoclastic Porsche boss Wendelin Wiedeking knew the Boxster was essential for giving dealers a product to sell when the aging 928 and 968 models went out of production. “We essentially built two cars for the price of one and a half,” design chief Lagaay quipped after the company unveiled the 996. While the media focused on the Boxster relationship and the water-cooled engine, the 996’s true significance lay 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: more spacious, equipped with all the features expected of a late 20th-century sports car, and yet still recognizably a Porsche. Crucially, it still drove like a 911—only better. There was a new level of sophistication to its performance, but the 996 retained the exhilarating tactility and urgent response that had always defined the 911. Along with the original Boxster, it saved Porsche from extinction. The Sweet Spot of Balance: The 2017 Porsche 911 Carrera (991.2) Out of all the 911s I’ve ever driven, a base model 991.2 Carrera truly stole my heart. It stole everyone else’s, too, judging by the feedback I received from colleagues who drove it. Most press fleets are typically loaded with high-spec vehicles, presumably because automotive PRs believe we are impressed by such things. So, Porsche Cars North America’s decision to include a base 911 Carrera among the lineup of new 991.2 models for our 2017 MotorTrend Car of the Year testing was a bold move. In reality, however, it was inspired. The 991.2 debuted a new 3.4-liter turbocharged engine, offering 370 hp in the base Carrera or 420 hp in the Carrera S. Even in the base trim, it delivered a broad torque curve and impressive efficiency. This Carrera also demonstrated that even with standard wheels and tires, the chassis was staggeringly communicative and adjustable. Visually, the 991.2 was a subtle refresh of the larger, skillfully reproportioned 991.1—a beautifully executed interpretation of classic 911 themes, both modern and elegant. The interior featured a new infotainment interface that looked great and worked smoothly. Porsche’s PDK dual-clutch automatic remains a benchmark in terms of its seamless, precise shifts. But the seven-speed manual transmission in the no-frills Carrera delighted with its silky, rifle-bolt action, reminding us all how much fun driving could be. MotorTrend’s testing director at the time, Kim Reynolds, summed up the Carrera’s visceral appeal perfectly: “When all cars but one are autonomous, please let this be it, the last human-driven car. For posterity’s sake.” It’s been years since I drove it, but I remember it vividly: Guards Red over black, with just one option, red seat belts. Every so often, I browse the used car listings, crunching the numbers and dreaming… The Track Day Predator: The 2023 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (992) RS. It stands for RennSport—literally “racing sport” in German. These initials first appeared on a Porsche 911 fifty years ago, adorning the legendary Carrera RS 2.7, a homologation special developed to allow Porsche to compete in Group 4 GT racing. Since then, the RS badge has been reserved for only the most driver-focused 911s in the lineup, and road-legal 911s don’t come much more focused than the 992-series GT3 RS. What makes the modern GT3 RS the most significant RS model of all is its intensity of purpose. While all previous RS 911s were road cars engineered to excel on the track, this one is