The 5 Porsche 911s That Have Defined My Automotive Journey
After four decades immersed in the world of automotive testing, the Porsche 911 remains as captivating as the day I first experienced it. I still vividly recall that initial encounter: a gleaming white 3.0-liter Carrera, adorned with classic black Fuchs alloys, no rear wing, and no power steering. It was a testament to raw purity, a raw, mechanical experience that demanded focus, skill, and respect. Though its handling was admittedly less sophisticated than the contemporary 944 Turbo that I was testing alongside it—a car that could flatter even novice drivers with its effortless speed—the 911 possessed a magnetic charm that was impossible to ignore.
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The 5 Porsche 911s That Have Defined My Automotive Journey
After four decades immersed in the world of automotive testing, the Porsche 911 remains as captivating as the day I first experienced it. I still vividly recall that initial encounter: a gleaming white 3.0-liter Carrera, adorned with classic black Fuchs alloys, no rear wing, and no power steering. It was a testament to raw purity, a raw, mechanical experience that demanded focus, skill, and respect. Though its handling was admittedly less sophisticated than the contemporary 944 Turbo that I was testing alongside it—a car that could flatter even novice drivers with its effortless speed—the 911 possessed a magnetic charm that was impossible to ignore.
The Road Less Traveled: The Emotional Pull of the 911
The MotorTrend road test I conducted after that first experience encapsulates this duality perfectly: “After two days and 600 miles, 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 a decision I arrived at lightly. “The 944 Turbo is so competent, it can make a bad driver look good,” I wrote. “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.”
Since that first test, I have had the privilege of driving countless iterations of the 911. Apart from the 964 generation, which, in the early 1990s, seemed to suggest that the 911’s core concept was becoming obsolete, each successive model has demonstrated Porsche’s relentless dedication to refining its icon. It remains one of the few new cars I would still purchase with my own hard-earned dollars. Over the past 40 years, these are the five 911 models that have left the most indelible mark on me.
The Original 911 Turbo (930) – A Legend Defined by Balance
When I first tested the 3.0-liter Carrera, veteran road-test journalists spoke of the original Porsche 911 Turbo in hushed, reverent tones. It was a car that demanded the utmost respect when driven with intent. The legendary turbo lag, characterized by sharp, binary boost states, transformed the traditional 911 handling characteristics—a delicate tightrope walk between corner-entry understeer and corner-exit oversteer—into a job that required quick hands and nerves of steel. The 911 Turbo, they warned, did not forgive mistakes; it was uncompromising and unforgiving. It took me 35 years to finally get behind the wheel of an original 911 Turbo and discover the truth for myself.
The car I drove was one of the first 30 production Turbos ever built, now a cherished part of Porsche’s exceptional classic fleet. Aware of its formidable reputation, I approached it with extreme caution at first, easing into the throttle, feeling the surge of boost, and monitoring the tachometer to build a mental map of its power and torque curves. The engine proved remarkably tractable for its age, happy to purr along at 2,000 rpm in top gear at a gentle 45 mph. However, as the engine reached 3,500 rpm, a noticeable acceleration surge occurred as the turbocharger forced 0.8 bar of pressure into the induction system. Yet, the sledgehammer blow to the shoulders I expected never materialized in the manner I had been warned about.
I learned the secret to smooth and rapid progress in the original 911 Turbo was to maintain the 3.0-liter flat-six spinning at 4,000 rpm or higher. This strategy kept the turbocharger engaged and responsive. Yes, there is perceptible turbo lag—noticeable by modern standards—but it is manageable. Even after more than 50 years, this 911 remains an incredibly fast car by road standards. First gear effortlessly reaches 50 mph, second extends to 90 mph, and third pushes past 130 mph. This means it can conquer almost any winding country road using only second and third gears. And while it might only produce 256 hp, its curb weight of just 2,513 pounds ensures it is agile and responsive in corners. Half a century ago, this performance would have seemed otherworldly.
The 993-Generation Porsche 911 – The Perfect Fusion of Heritage and Modernity
For Porsche purists, the 993 represents the last true iteration of the classic 911. It is the car that still allows you to feel the air-cooled flat-six snarling behind you, with your knuckles practically grazing the dashboard. But back in 1994, when I first drove it, the 993 was the 911 of the future, the first to challenge the established laws of physics. While it still retained the characteristic 911 front-end behavior that demanded careful loading to hit the apex, and the rear end could occasionally feel unsettled on rough turns, the overall balance between the front and rear axles had improved significantly. The 993 still performed 911-like maneuvers, but within a much safer and more predictable margin.
The key to this evolution was a revolutionary rear suspension that replaced the old semi-trailing arms with a new multilink setup. This design allowed for very slight initial toe-out on corner entry, transitioning to progressive toe-in as lateral loads increased. It also drastically reduced the camber change that had been the Achilles’ heel of 911s since 1963. This was complemented by steering that, at 2.5 turns lock-to-lock, was 16 percent quicker, making the front end feel much more decisive. Furthermore, the new six-speed manual transmission fully exploited the 3.6-liter flat-six, which delivered its peak power of 268 hp at 6,100 rpm thanks to lighter internal components, an advanced Bosch Motronic 2.0 engine management system, and a redesigned dual-exhaust system.
Compared to the 964 it replaced, the 993 was a revelation. It wasn’t just the engineering upgrades, masterminded by Ulrich Bez (who later became the head of Aston Martin); the exterior redesign, led by design chief Harm Lagaay, corrected the visual issues of the 964, a car he felt was too tall at the front and too low at the rear. The interior was cleaner, too, with fewer buttons in scattered locations. The 993 was a faster, more forgiving, and ultimately more desirable 911. It signaled the dawn of a new era, a bridge between the raw emotion of the air-cooled past and the refined performance of the future.
The 996-Generation Porsche 911 – The Courageous Evolution That Saved the Company
At the time of its release, the 996-generation 911 was considered heresy by some. Porsche’s decision to install a water-cooled flat-six in the tail of the 996 was, to aficionados, the automotive equivalent of Bob Dylan swapping his acoustic guitar for an electric Fender Stratocaster at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. However, the 996, the first clean-sheet redesign of Porsche’s iconic sports car in 34 years, proved to be a revolutionary success for me. It was the 911 that saved the company.
Engineered and developed under the leadership of Porsche R&D chief Horst Marchart, the 996 was an exceptionally clever design. One of its greatest strengths was that it shared 38 percent of its components with an all-new, more affordable mid-engine roadster that the world would soon know as the Boxster. Visionary Porsche CEO Wendelin Weideking knew the Boxster was essential for dealers to maintain sales volume when the aging 928 and 968 models went out of production. “We did two cars for the price of one-and-a-half,” design chief Lagaay quipped with a smile after the company unveiled the 996.
While the media focused heavily on its relationship with the Boxster and the adoption of a water-cooled engine, the 996’s true story ran much 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: roomier, equipped with all the features expected of a late 20th-century sports car, yet still unmistakably Porsche’s icon. Most importantly, it still drove like a 911—only better. Yes, there was a new layer of sophistication to its operation, but the 996 retained the exquisite tactility and urgent responsiveness that had made the 911 a sports car unlike any other. Along with the original Boxster, it was a vehicle that rescued Porsche from the brink of extinction.
The 991.2-Generation