“I’m pregnant with Deacon’s child,” Taylor said with a triumphant smile The Bold and The Beautiful

The Evolution of the Icon: A 40-Year Perspective on the Most Memorable Porsche 911s It’s almost surreal to realize that four decades have passed since I first got behind the wheel of a Porsche 911. My initiation involved a striking white 3.0-liter Carrera, adorned with classic black Fuchs alloys—a car defined by its pure, unadorned engineering. In those days, the 911 felt raw, fast, and, frankly, a bit raw. It was a challenging drive, especially when compared to contemporaries that cost nearly the same. In my native Australia, a 944 Turbo was the immediate rival, offering significantly more power and torque with far less effort. Yet, despite the 944’s raw competence, the 911 captured my imagination in a way the 944 never could. “After two days and 600 miles,” I recall writing, “I’m certain. The 944 Turbo is the better car. But if I had to choose, I’d take the 911 Carrera home.” This decision wasn’t easy. The 944 Turbo made even average drivers look good; its soaring performance was underpinned by an astounding chassis. 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 then, I’ve driven countless 911 models, and with every iteration—with the notable exception of the 964 in the early 1990s, which suggested the 911 concept might be losing relevance—I’ve been continually impressed by how Porsche has refined its icon, keeping it fresh, exciting, and engaging. Forty years later, the 911 remains one of the few new cars I’d genuinely consider spending my own hard-earned money on. Out of all the 911 variants I’ve tested over the past four decades, here are five that stand out. The Original 911 Turbo (930): The Widowmaker That Rewrote the Rulebook Even back in the era of the naturally aspirated 3.0-liter Carrera, whispers of the original Porsche 911 Turbo (930) circulated among veteran road testers with a mixture of awe and terror. They spoke of a car that demanded the utmost respect when driven aggressively. Its signature feature—the sheer brutal thrust of its turbocharger—created a razor-thin tightrope walk between corner-entry understeer and the explosive corner-exit lift-off oversteer that became synonymous with the 911. The 930 did not forgive mistakes; it did not tolerate sloppiness. It was often labeled the “widowmaker.” For me, it took 35 years to finally get behind the wheel of an original 930 and understand the truth behind its fearsome reputation. The specific car I drove was one of the first 30 production Turbos ever built, now part of Porsche’s legendary classic collection. Aware of its terrifying legacy, I approached it cautiously, slowly testing the throttle, feeling the boost build, and observing the tachometer to mentally map the power delivery. What struck me first was the engine’s surprising tractability at low RPM. Cruising at 45 mph in top gear, the 3.0-liter flat-six remained relaxed, almost purring. However, once the engine hit the 3,500 rpm threshold, there was a palpable acceleration surge as the turbocharger pushed 0.8 bar into the induction system. But the sledgehammer blow I expected never arrived. I learned that the secret to smooth, high-speed progress in the original 911 Turbo was to keep the revs spinning above 4,000 rpm, ensuring the turbocharger remained energized. Yes, there is noticeable turbo lag—remarkably pronounced by modern standards—but it is manageable. Even half a century later, this 911 remains incredibly fast on the road. First gear pushes to 50 mph, second to 90 mph, and third to nearly 130 mph. This means the car can decimate a winding two-lane road using only second and third gears. And while its output is a mere 256 hp, the car weighs only 2,513 pounds, allowing it to tackle corners with relative agility. Back in the 1970s, its performance would have seemed utterly alien. The Porsche 993: The Last of the Air-Cooled Era For Porsche purists, the 993 generation represents the zenith of the original 911 philosophy. This is the car you drive with your knuckles grazing the dashboard, hearing the snarling metallic cacophony of an air-cooled flat-six right behind you. But when I first drove it in 1994, the 993 was actually the 911 of the future, the first model to fundamentally challenge Isaac Newton’s laws of physics regarding rear-engine handling. Oh, sure, the 993 still featured the slightly delicate front end that demanded precise loading to hit the apex, and the rear end still danced through rougher turns, but the balance was vastly improved. The 993 still felt like a 911, but with a much broader margin for error. The key innovation was a revolutionary rear suspension that replaced the old semi-trailing arms with a sophisticated multilink setup. This system allowed for minimal initial toe-out on corner entry, which transitioned to progressive toe-in as lateral loads increased. Crucially, this dramatically reduced the camber change that had been the Achilles’ heel of 911s since 1963. This chassis advancement was coupled with a new, much quicker steering system. At 2.5 turns lock-to-lock, it was 16 percent faster than the outgoing model, making the front end feel incredibly decisive. Powering the 993 was a new six-speed manual transmission that maximized the performance of the 3.6-liter flat-six. Benefitting from lighter internals, a Bosch Motronic 2.0 engine management system, and a new dual exhaust, the engine produced 268 hp at 6,100 rpm, with an urgent surge of power that made the car feel significantly faster than its predecessor. Compared to the 964 it replaced, the 993 was a revelation, and not just in terms of engineering. Ulrich Bez, who later led Aston Martin, oversaw the technical development, while design chief Harm Lagaay addressed some visual criticisms of the 964. He felt the 964 was too tall at the front and too raked at the rear; the 993 corrected these proportions. The interior was also cleaner, with fewer buttons scattered haphazardly. The 993 was faster, more forgiving, and, perhaps most importantly, infinitely more desirable. The Porsche 996: The Water-Cooled Revolution That Saved the Brand At the time of its debut, Porsche’s decision to install a water-cooled flat-six in the tail of the 996-series 911 was akin to heresy among purists. It was the automotive equivalent of Bob Dylan trading his acoustic guitar for a Fender Strat at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. But the 996, the first clean-sheet redesign of Porsche’s enduring icon in 34 years, was a hero car to me. It was the 911 that single-handedly saved the company. Engineered and developed under the leadership of Porsche R&D chief Horst Marchart, the 996 was a marvel of intelligent engineering. The genius lay in its relationship with the all-new, less expensive mid-engine roadster the world would come to know as the Boxster. Porsche iconoclastic boss Wendelin Weideking understood that the Boxster was essential to give dealers something else to sell once the aging 928 and 968 models were discontinued. As design boss Lagaay famously quipped, “We did two cars for the price of one-and-a-half” after the company unveiled the 996. While the media obsessed over its partnership with the Boxster and the controversial move to water cooling, the 996’s real significance ran much deeper. In 1994, it took Porsche 130 hours to build a 993-series 911; the 996 was built in just 60 hours. The modern 911 had arrived. It was roomier and equipped with all the features expected of a late 20th-century sports car, yet it remained unmistakably Porsche’s icon. Most importantly, it still drove like a 911. Only better. There was a new veneer of sophistication to its operation, but the 996 retained the exquisite tactility and urgent response that had always defined the 911 experience. Along with the original Boxster, it resurrected Porsche from the brink of extinction. The Porsche 991.2 Carrera: The Base Model That Stole the Show Of all the 911s I have ever driven, it was a base model 991.2 Carrera that truly captured my