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40 Years of Automotive Passion: The Most Memorable Porsche 911s Ever Driven For more than four decades, I’ve had the privilege of driving some of the most iconic sports cars on the planet. But for me, no car has ever commanded the same reverence as the Porsche 911. Since testing my first 911—a white 3.0-liter Carrera that instantly captured my heart, despite being overshadowed by a contemporary 944 Turbo—I’ve watched Porsche refine this masterpiece, keeping it relevant, exciting, and incredibly desirable. Four decades later, the 911 remains one of the few new cars I would purchase with my own hard-earned cash. Of all the models I’ve driven during this illustrious history, here are the five that stand out most in my memory. The Original 911 Turbo (930) When I first drove the 3.0-liter Carrera, the veteran road-test journalists of the time spoke of the original Porsche 911 Turbo—the 930—in awed, almost reverent tones. They described it as a car that demanded the utmost respect when driven with intent. Its power delivery, they claimed, was binary; a sudden, brutal surge of boost that transformed the driving experience from manageable challenge to perilous tightrope. These were the days when the 911’s reputation was built on the knife-edge balance between corner-entry understeer and corner-exit oversteer. The 911 Turbo was notorious for being unforgiving and intolerant of sloppy technique. The word “widowmaker” was often whispered in hushed tones. It took me a staggering 35 years to finally get behind the wheel of an original 930 and discover the truth behind the legends. The car I tested was one of the very first 30 production Turbos ever built, now a prized possession within Porsche’s remarkable classic fleet. Knowing its terrifying reputation, I approached the first few miles with extreme caution, carefully manipulating the throttle, feeling the turbocharger spool up, and slowly building a mental map of the power and torque curves. To my surprise, the engine was remarkably tractable. It idled happily at 2,000 rpm, allowing the 911 Turbo to glide along at a mere 45 mph in top gear. However, once the engine reached 3,500 rpm, there was a noticeable acceleration surge as the turbocharger pushed 0.8 bar of boost into the induction system. The sledgehammer blow to the shoulder blades I had anticipated never materialized. I quickly learned the key to smooth and rapid progress in the original 911 Turbo: keep the 3.0-liter flat-six spinning above 4,000 rpm to keep the turbocharger energized. Yes, there is noticeable turbo lag—by modern standards, it’s significant—but it is absolutely manageable. Even after more than 50 years, this 911 is an impressively fast car on the road. First gear tops out at 50 mph, second at 90 mph, and third nearly reaches 130 mph. This means the car can devour twisty two-lane roads using only second and third gears. And while its 256 hp might seem modest by today’s standards, it weighs just 2,513 pounds, allowing it to get into and out of corners with surprising agility. Half a century ago, its performance would have seemed otherworldly. The legend, I found, was largely true, but perhaps the reality was less terrifying than the myths suggested. The 993-Generation Porsche 911 For Porsche purists, the 993-generation 911 is the last of its kind—the final iteration of the authentic, air-cooled 911. It is the car that connects us directly to the snarling, metallic heartbeat of an air-cooled flat-six engine, with our knuckles grazing the dashboard as we drive. But back in 1994, when I first drove it, the 993 was the 911 of the future. It was the first model in the line that dared to challenge Isaac Newton’s laws of physics. While the 993 still exhibited the characteristic “pat-pat-pat” feel of the front end, requiring careful loading on corner entry to ensure precise apex tracking, and while the rear end still danced through rougher turns, there was a much greater sense of simpatico between the front and rear axles. The 993 still felt like a 911, but within a much tighter margin of error. The most significant engineering advancement was the revolutionary rear suspension. Porsche replaced the outdated semi-trailing arms with a sophisticated new multilink setup. This innovation allowed for a very slight initial toe-out on corner entry, which then progressively toeed in as lateral loads increased. Crucially, this setup dramatically reduced the camber change that had been the Achilles’ heel of 911s since their introduction in 1963. This breakthrough was complemented by a revised steering system, now offering 2.5 turns lock-to-lock—a 16 percent quicker ratio that made the front end feel significantly more decisive. A new six-speed manual transmission allowed drivers to make the most of the 3.6-liter flat-six, which revved more eagerly to its 268-hp peak at 6,100 rpm. This extra performance was achieved through lighter internal components, a Bosch Motronic 2.0 engine management system, and a revised dual exhaust. Compared to its predecessor, the 964, the 993 was a revelation. It wasn’t just the engineering upgrades, executed under the leadership of Ulrich Bez, who would later become the head of Aston Martin: The exterior redesign, masterminded by design chief Harm Lagaay, corrected the visual shortcomings of the 964. Lagaay had considered the 964 too tall at the front and too squat at the rear. The 993’s interior was also cleaner, featuring fewer buttons scattered in random locations. The 993 was a 911 that was faster and more forgiving than ever before. Most importantly, it was more desirable, too. It represented the perfect synthesis of traditional Porsche DNA with modern engineering, creating a car that felt both familiar and futuristic. For many enthusiasts, the 993 remains the pinnacle of the air-cooled era, a true driver’s car that perfectly bridges the gap between raw mechanical feedback and contemporary performance. The 996-Generation Porsche 911 At the time of its introduction, it was considered 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 six-string acoustic guitar for a Fender Stratocaster at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. But for me, the 996 was more than just a controversial redesign; it was a hero car, a turning point that ultimately saved Porsche. The 996 was the first clean-sheet redesign of Porsche’s indefatigable sports car in 34 years. Engineered and developed under the direction of Porsche R&D chief Horst Marchart, the 996 was a masterstroke of engineering and efficiency. Its genius lay not just in its water-cooled engine, but in its shared components with an all-new, less expensive mid-engine roadster that the world would soon come to know as the Boxster. Iconoclastic Porsche boss Wendelin Weideking understood that the Boxster was essential to give dealers something new to sell once the aging 928 and 968 models were phased out. “We did two cars for the price of one-and-a-half,” design boss Lagaay explained with a wry smile after the company unveiled the 996. While the media focused on the Boxster relationship and the 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, however, took just 60 hours to build. The modern 911 had officially arrived. It was roomier, equipped with all the features expected of a late 20th-century sports car, and yet it remained unmistakably a 911. Most importantly, it still drove like a 911—only better. Yes, there was a new veneer of sophistication in the way it handled its business, 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 rescued Porsche from the brink of financial ruin. While purists may never forgive the 996 for straying from air-cooling, history has shown that it was a courageous and necessary decision that secured the future of this legendary marque. For me, it was the 911 that saved Porsche, and I will always have a deep appreciation for its vital role in the company’s history. The 991.2-Generation Porsche 911 Carrera Of all the 911s I have ever driven, it was a base 991.2 Carrera that truly stole my heart. It stole everyone else’s hearts, too, judging