“Leave Logan immediately or never see your child again.” Brooke kidnapped Beth B&B Spoilers

5 Porsche 911s That Defined an Era: A 40-Year Driving Chronicle For over four decades, I’ve had the distinct privilege of putting Porsche 911s through their paces. From the narrow-bodied, rear-engined marvels of the 1970s to the cutting-edge aerodynamic weapons of today, each generation has presented a unique evolutionary step. It’s a fascinating journey to witness, a constant refinement of an already iconic formula. My introduction to the 911 was in 1975, behind the wheel of a white 3.0-liter Carrera. It was stripped down: black Fuchs alloys, no rear wing, no power steering, and a five-speed manual. At the time, I was simultaneously testing a Porsche 944 Turbo. Both cars were similarly priced in my home country of Australia, yet the 944 felt more potent, faster with less effort. It was easy to dismiss the 911 as a relic. But looking back, that was the moment the 911 started to cast its spell on me. As I wrote then, “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.” It wasn’t an easy decision. The 944 was so competent it could make a bad driver look good. The 911, however, tugged at the emotions. It demanded understanding and respect—a car of a different age and different values. That’s why I chose it. Since that first drive, I’ve tested dozens of 911 variants. With the exception of the 964 generation, which in the early 1990s suggested the 911 formula was nearing obsolescence, Porsche has masterfully refined its icon, keeping it relevant, exciting, and engaging. Four decades on, the 911 remains one of the few new cars I’d still buy with my own money. Of all the 911 models I’ve driven over the years, these five stand out in my memory. The Original 911 Turbo (930): The Widowmaker That Demanded Respect When I first drove the legendary 3.0-liter Carrera back in 1975, veteran road-test journalists spoke of the original Porsche 911 Turbo in hushed, awestruck tones. They called it the “Widowmaker,” a car that demanded the utmost respect when driven aggressively. With its binary boost states, the 911 Turbo forced drivers to walk a tightrope between the trademark 911 corner-entry understeer and corner-exit oversteer. It didn’t tolerate mistakes or sloppiness. It took me 35 years to finally get behind the wheel of an original 911 Turbo and uncover the truth behind the legend. This particular car was one of the very first 30 production Turbos ever built and now resides in Porsche’s incredible classic collection. Aware of its fearsome reputation, I drove it very cautiously at first, playing with the throttle, monitoring the boost and the tachometer, and trying to build a mental map of its power delivery. The engine was surprisingly tractable. It happily hummed along at 2,000 rpm in top gear, allowing the 911 Turbo to trickle along at 45 mph without protest. But once the engine hit 3,500 rpm, there was a noticeable acceleration surge as the turbocharger injected 0.8 bar of boost into the induction system. However, the sledgehammer blow I expected never materialized. I learned that the trick to driving the original 911 Turbo smoothly and quickly was to keep the 3.0-liter flat-six spinning above 4,000 rpm to keep the turbocharger energized. Yes, there’s noticeable turbo lag by modern standards—very noticeable, in fact—but it’s manageable. Even after 50 years, this 911 remains an impressively fast car on the road. First gear reaches 50 mph, second gear 90 mph, and third gear nearly 130 mph. This means you can obliterate most winding two-lane roads using only second and third gears. And while it only produces 256 hp, it weighs just 2,513 pounds, making it nimble and responsive in corners. Half a century ago, its performance was absolutely otherworldly. The 993-Generation 911: The Last of the Air-Cooled Lineage For Porsche purists, the 993-generation 911 represents the end of an era—the last of the truly analog 911s. It’s the car you drive with your knuckles nearly brushing the dashboard, the metallic clatter of an air-cooled flat-six echoing behind you. But back in 1994, when I first drove it, the 993 was the Porsche of the future. It was the first model to truly challenge the laws of physics with its engineering innovations. Sure, the 993 retained the playful, almost twitchy front end that demanded to be weighted on corner entry to hit the apex. The rear end still offered that classic 911 rhumba through rougher turns. But the connection between the front and rear of the car was far more symbiotic than ever before. The 993 still performed all the things that made a 911 a 911, but within a much safer margin of error. The key innovation was a new rear suspension that replaced the semi-trailing arms of previous generations with a modern multilink setup. This design allowed for very slight initial toe-out on corner entry, which then transitioned to progressive toe-in as lateral loads increased. Crucially, it significantly reduced the camber change that had been the Achilles’ heel of 911s since 1963. This engineering breakthrough was combined with a new six-speed manual transmission and steering that was 16% quicker, turning at just 2.5 turns lock-to-lock. These improvements made the front end feel much more decisive. The 3.6-liter flat-six, with its lighter internals and new dual-exhaust system, revved harder to its power peak of 268 hp at 6,100 rpm, managed by Bosch Motronic 2.0 engine management. Compared to the 964 model it replaced, the 993 was a revelation. It wasn’t just the technical advancements, developed under Ulrich Bez (who later went on to lead Aston Martin); it was also a visual masterpiece. Design chief Harm Lagaay had corrected what he saw as the 964’s weaknesses, creating a lower, more balanced profile. The interior was also cleaner, with fewer buttons scattered randomly. The 993 was faster, more forgiving, and undeniably more desirable than ever before. The 996-Generation 911: The Revolution That Saved Porsche At the time, it was automotive heresy. Porsche’s decision to install a water-cooled flat-six in the tail of the 996-series 911 was, to the aficionados, the equivalent of Bob Dylan ditching his acoustic guitar for an electric Fender Strat at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. But the 996, the first clean-sheet redesign of Porsche’s indefatigable sports car in 34 years, was a hero to me. It was the car that saved Porsche. Engineered and developed under the leadership of Porsche R&D chief Horst Marchart, the 996 was an ingeniously clever 911. Its true genius lay in the fact that it shared 38% of its parts with a new, lower-cost mid-engine roadster that the world would soon come to know as the Boxster. Porsche’s iconic boss, Wendelin Wiedeking, knew the Boxster was essential to give dealers something else to sell once the aging 928 and 968 models were discontinued. “We built two cars for the price of one-and-a-half,” design boss Lagaay said with a wry smile after the company unveiled the 996. However, while the media fixated on its relationship with the Boxster and its water-cooled engine, the 996’s real significance ran much deeper. In 1994, it took Porsche 130 hours to build a 993-series 911. The 996, however, could be built in just 60 hours. The modern 911 had arrived: roomier, equipped with the features expected of a late-20th-century sports car, and yet still unmistakably a Porsche. Most importantly, it still drove like a 911. Only better. Yes, there was a new veneer of sophistication to its execution, but the 996 retained the delicious tactility and urgent responsiveness that had made the 911 a sports car like no other. Along with the original Boxster, it pulled Porsche back from the brink of extinction. It proved that the heart of the 911 could beat strong even with a modern, water-cooled pulse. The 991.2-Generation 911 Carrera: The Benchmark Base Model