A PORSCHE PILGRIMAGE: FIVE DECADES OF DRIVING THE ULTIMATE ICON
Forty years. Forty years since I first sat behind the wheel of a Porsche 911. The machine was a simple white 3.0-liter Carrera with black Fuchs wheels. No rear wing, no power steering, just a tight, pure 911 experience. It was fast, no doubt, but at the time, I was testing it against the 944 Turbo. In Australia, where I cut my teeth in the automotive world, those two cars cost roughly the same. The 944 had more power, more torque, and frankly, it was easier to wring out performance on any given back road. Yet, despite being logically outmatched, the 911 won my heart.
“I’m certain after two days and 600 miles,” I wrote back then, “that the 944 Turbo is the better car. But if I were agonizing over where to spend my money, I would take the 911 Carrera home.” It wasn’t a decision I reached lightly. I conceded the 944’s competence, praising its ability to make even a novice driver look good. Its “soaring, searing performance is superbly counterbalanced by a chassis of astounding ability.” But the 911 possessed a different kind of pull. It was “a sports car of a different age and reflects different values.” It demanded respect and understanding, and perhaps, that’s precisely why it was the one I’d truly want to own.
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A PORSCHE PILGRIMAGE: FIVE DECADES OF DRIVING THE ULTIMATE ICON
Forty years. Forty years since I first sat behind the wheel of a Porsche 911. The machine was a simple white 3.0-liter Carrera with black Fuchs wheels. No rear wing, no power steering, just a tight, pure 911 experience. It was fast, no doubt, but at the time, I was testing it against the 944 Turbo. In Australia, where I cut my teeth in the automotive world, those two cars cost roughly the same. The 944 had more power, more torque, and frankly, it was easier to wring out performance on any given back road. Yet, despite being logically outmatched, the 911 won my heart.
“I’m certain after two days and 600 miles,” I wrote back then, “that the 944 Turbo is the better car. But if I were agonizing over where to spend my money, I would take the 911 Carrera home.” It wasn’t a decision I reached lightly. I conceded the 944’s competence, praising its ability to make even a novice driver look good. Its “soaring, searing performance is superbly counterbalanced by a chassis of astounding ability.” But the 911 possessed a different kind of pull. It was “a sports car of a different age and reflects different values.” It demanded respect and understanding, and perhaps, that’s precisely why it was the one I’d truly want to own.
Since that initial encounter, I’ve had the privilege of driving dozens of 911 models. With every generation—with the notable exception of the 964, which in the early 1990s flirted with making the 911 idea obsolete—I’ve been astounded at Porsche’s ability to refine and reimagine its icon, keeping it fresh, engaging, and relevant. Even after four decades, the Porsche 911 remains one of the few new cars I would still purchase with my own hard-earned money. From the exhaustive list of 911s I’ve experienced, here are the five that stand out as the most truly memorable.
The Original 911 Turbo: A Widowmaker or Just Misunderstood?
Back when I was first testing the 3.0-liter Carrera, seasoned road-test journalists spoke of the original 911 Turbo in almost mythological terms. They described it as a car that demanded the utmost respect, a machine where a single misjudgment in a corner could lead to catastrophic consequences. The 911 Turbo was famously unforgiving, a true test of skill. For over three decades, I dreamed of experiencing it myself, waiting for the opportunity to understand the legend.
My chance finally came in the form of one of the first 30 production Turbos ever built, now preserved in Porsche’s exceptional classic fleet. Aware of its fearsome reputation, I approached the drive cautiously. I eased into the throttle, learning how the boost engaged and mapping the engine’s power delivery in my mind. To my surprise, the 3.0-liter engine was remarkably tractable at low revs, happy to cruise at 45 mph in top gear without complaint. However, once the revs hit 3,500 rpm, the turbocharger kicked in, injecting 0.8 bar of boost into the induction system. I braced myself for the expected surge, but it wasn’t the violent sledgehammer I anticipated.
I learned the secret to smooth, fast driving in the original 911 Turbo: keep the revs above 4,000 rpm. This kept the turbocharger energized and the power flowing steadily. Yes, there is noticeable turbo lag by modern standards, but it’s manageable. Even after more than 50 years, this 911 is an impressive machine. First gear reaches 50 mph, second hits 90 mph, and third extends to almost 130 mph, meaning a two-lane road can be devoured using just second and third gears. And while it only boasts 256 horsepower, its curb weight of just 2,513 pounds allows for nimble cornering. Half a century ago, its performance was simply otherworldly.
The 993-Generation: The Last of the Air-Cooled Legends
For Porsche purists, the 993-generation is the final chapter of the air-cooled saga, the last truly authentic 911. It’s the experience of driving with your knuckles grazing the dash, the metallic clatter of an air-cooled flat-six resonating behind you. But when I first drove the 993 in 1994, it felt like the 911 of the future, a machine that dared to challenge the laws of physics. The front end still demanded precise loading for apex hitting, and the rear end still responded to the road surface, but there was a new level of harmony between them. The 993 still felt like a 911, but within a much larger margin of error.
The key to this evolution was a groundbreaking rear suspension redesign. Porsche replaced the traditional semi-trailing arms with a new multi-link setup. This innovation allowed for very slight initial toe-out during corner entry, transitioning to progressive toe-in as lateral forces increased, all while minimizing camber change—the Achilles’ heel of 911s since their debut in 1963. This was combined with a quicker steering ratio of just 2.5 turns lock-to-lock, making the front end feel much more decisive. A new six-speed manual transmission allowed drivers to capitalize on the 3.6-liter flat-six, which now reached a higher power peak of 268 hp at 6,100 rpm. This performance boost was thanks to lighter engine internals, a Bosch Motronic 2.0 engine management system, and a new dual-exhaust setup.
Compared to the 964 it replaced, the 993 was a revelation. It wasn’t just the engineering upgrades, overseen by Ulrich Bez (who later headed Aston Martin); it was the exterior redesign led by design chief Harm Lagaay. He corrected visual issues he identified in the 964, which he felt was too tall at the front and disproportionately lowered at the rear. The interior was cleaner, too, with fewer buttons scattered randomly. The 993 was a faster, more forgiving 911. Most importantly, it was also more desirable.
The 996-Generation: The Unlikely Hero That Saved Porsche
At the time of its release, it was pure heresy. Porsche’s decision to install a water-cooled flat-six in the tail of the 996-series 911 was, for the aficionados, the automotive equivalent of Bob Dylan trading his acoustic guitar for an electric Fender Stratocaster at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. But the 996, the first clean-sheet redesign of Porsche’s indomitable sports car in 34 years, was a hero car in my eyes. It was the 911 that saved Porsche from financial ruin.
Developed under the direction of Porsche R&D chief Horst Marchart, the 996 was a remarkably clever car. It shared 38 percent of its components with an all-new, more affordable mid-engine roadster that would become known as the Boxster. The iconoclastic Porsche boss, Wendelin Weideking, understood that the Boxster was essential to provide dealers with something else to sell once the aging 928 and 968 models were phased out. “We built two cars for the price of one and a half,” design chief Harm Lagaay commented with a wry smile after the company unveiled the 996.
While the media focused on its relationship with the Boxster and the shift to water cooling, the 996’s true significance went much deeper. In 1994, it took Porsche 130 hours to build a 993-series 911; the 996 needed only 60 hours. The modern 911 had arrived. It was roomier, equipped with all the features expected of a late 20th-century sports car, yet still unmistakably a Porsche icon. Crucially, it still drove like a 911. In fact, it drove better. While it possessed a new layer of sophistication, the 996 retained the sublime tactility and urgent response that had defined the 911 experience. Along with the original Boxster, it pulled Porsche back from the brink of extinction.
The 991.2 Carrera: The Base Model That Stole the Show
Of all the 911s I’ve ever driven, it was a base 991.2 Carrera that truly captured my heart. And judging by the feedback from my colleagues at the time, it had captured theirs as well. Most automotive press fleets are typically filled with high-spec vehicles loaded with optional extras, presumably because PR teams believe these impress us. So, Porsche Cars North America’s decision to include a base 911 Carrera among the roster of 991.2 models available for our 2017 MotorTrend Car of the Year testing seemed risky. In reality, though, it was a masterstroke.
The 991.2 introduced a new 3.0-liter turbocharged engine, available with