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40 Years Behind the Wheel: The 5 Porsche 911s That Defined a Legend After four decades spent behind the wheel of countless Porsches, there are a select few 911 models that remain etched in my memory—not just as cars, but as experiences that shaped my understanding of what a sports car can and should be. It’s a remarkable testament to the enduring genius of the 911 that after 40 years, it remains one of the few vehicles I would still choose to spend my own hard-earned money on. It’s a machine that demands understanding and respect, offering a pure, connected driving experience that is increasingly rare in today’s automotive landscape. The first time I experienced a Porsche 911 was behind the wheel of a white 3.0-liter Carrera with black Fuchs alloys. At the time, I was also testing a 944 Turbo. In Australia, these two cars cost nearly the same amount, but the 944 had the edge in power and torque, offering superior performance on the road with significantly less effort. However, despite the numbers, I found myself inexplicably drawn to the 911. As I wrote in my notes, “The 944 Turbo is undoubtedly the better car. Its soaring, searing performance is superbly counterbalanced by a chassis of astounding ability. But the 911 tugged at the emotions. The gloriously imperfect 911 Carrera is a sports car of a different age and reflects different values. It’s not tailored to meet the needs of most drivers. It demands understanding and respect. That’s why I’d take it home.” I’ve driven dozens of 911 variants since then, and with every iteration—with the exception of the 964, which I felt at the time suggested the 911 concept might be losing its way—I’ve been continually impressed by Porsche’s ability to refine this icon, keeping it relevant, exciting, and engaging for a new generation of drivers. From the raw, untamed aggression of the early Turbos to the clinical precision of modern race-ready machines, these are the five Porsche 911s that stand out above all others. The Original 911 Turbo: A Widowmaker in Name Only When I first began test-driving Porsches, veteran journalists spoke in awed whispers about the original 911 Turbo. They called it a “widowmaker,” a car that demanded ultimate respect and punished even the slightest hint of sloppiness. It was said to possess a binary boost characteristic that transformed a manageable corner-entry understeer into a catastrophic oversteer without warning. It took me 35 years to finally get behind the wheel of an original 911 Turbo. As one of the first 30 production Turbos ever built, it now resides in Porsche’s pristine classic fleet. Stepping into the low-slung cockpit, aware of its formidable reputation, I took it incredibly easy at first. I focused on throttle control, feeling the boost pressure build and watching the tachometer, trying to build a mental map of the power delivery. What surprised me most was how tractable the engine felt at low RPM. The 3.0-liter flat-six happily hummed along at 2,000 rpm in top gear, allowing for leisurely cruising at 45 mph. However, once the engine reached 3,500 rpm, the turbo spooled up, injecting 0.8 bar of boost and delivering a noticeable surge of acceleration. But it wasn’t the sledgehammer blow I expected. Instead, the power came on smoothly but addictively. The trick to making the most of the original 911 Turbo is to keep the 3.0-liter flat-six spinning at 4,000 rpm or higher, keeping the turbocharger energized. Yes, there’s noticeable turbo lag by modern standards, but it’s manageable. Even with over 50 years of development, this 911 is incredibly fast on the road. First gear reaches 50 mph, second reaches 90 mph, and third can hit close to 130 mph. This means the car can decimate twisting country lanes using only second and third gears. With a mere 256 hp and a weight of just 2,513 pounds, it remains surprisingly nimble and responsive through corners. Half a century ago, its performance was otherworldly. 993-Generation Porsche 911: The Last True Air-Cooled Icon For Porsche purists, the 993 is the last of the line—the final iteration of the classic 911 formula. It’s a car you drive with your knuckles grazing the dashboard, the snarl of an air-cooled flat-six echoing behind you. But when it was first introduced in 1994, the 993 was a vision of the future, the first 911 to truly challenge the laws of physics. While the 993 retained that characteristic 911 trait of requiring the front end to be loaded on corner entry, and the rear end could still dance through rough turns, the mechanical marriage between the front and rear was far more harmonious. The 993 still felt like a 911, but within a much wider margin of error. The key to this transformation was a revolutionary rear suspension. Porsche replaced the traditional semi-trailing arms with a sophisticated multilink setup. This provided a very slight initial toe-out on corner entry, which then transitioned to progressive toe-in as lateral loads increased. All of this was achieved while reducing the camber change that had been the Achilles’ heel of 911s since 1963. This new suspension was coupled with a quicker steering rack, turning 2.5 turns lock-to-lock—16% faster than the previous generation—which gave the front end a much more decisive feel. Furthermore, a new six-speed manual transmission allowed drivers to extract the most out of the 3.6-liter flat-six. Lightened internals, Bosch Motronic 2.0 engine management, and a new dual-exhaust system allowed the engine to zing harder to its 268-hp peak at 6,100 rpm. Compared to the 964 it replaced, the 993 was a revelation. It wasn’t just the engineering improvements, overseen by Ulrich Bez (who later became the head of Aston Martin). The exterior redesign, led by design chief Harm Lagaay, corrected the visual flaws of the 964, a car Lagaay felt was too tall at the front and pulled down at the rear. The interior was cleaner, too, with fewer buttons scattered in random locations. The 993 was a faster, more forgiving, and ultimately, more desirable 911. 996-Generation Porsche 911: The Savior of the Brand When Porsche transitioned to a water-cooled engine in the 996-series 911, the automotive purists cried heresy. It was the equivalent of Bob Dylan ditching his acoustic guitar for an electric Fender at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. But the 996 was more than just a controversial change; it was the 911 that saved Porsche. Engineered and developed under the direction of Porsche R&D chief Horst Marchart, the 996 was a brilliant move. It shared 38 percent of its components with an all-new, more affordable mid-engine roadster known as the Boxster. Porsche boss Wendelin Wiedeking knew the Boxster was essential to give dealers something else to sell once the aging 928 and 968 models were discontinued. As design boss Harm Lagaay put it with a smile after the unveiling, “We did two cars for the price of one-and-a-half.” While much of the media attention focused on the Boxster relationship and the new water-cooled engine, the 996’s true significance ran much deeper. In 1994, it took 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 still undeniably a 911. Most importantly, it still drove like a 911—only better. There was a new veneer of sophistication to the way it went about its business, but the 996 retained the delicious tactility and urgent response that had made the 911 a sports car unlike any other. Along with the original Boxster, it saved Porsche from extinction. 991.2-Generation Porsche 911 Carrera: A Modern Masterpiece Out of all the 911s I have ever driven, it was a base 991.2 Carrera that truly stole my heart. Its impact was so profound that it captured the hearts of my colleagues as well, judging by the feedback I received from those who also drove it. Press fleets typically feature high-spec vehicles loaded with expensive options, presumably because automotive PR firms assume we are impressed by such things. So, when Porsche Cars North America decided to include a base 911 Carrera among the roster of new 991.2 models for our 2017 MotorTrend Car of the Year testing