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The Definitive Top 5 Porsche 911s: A 40-Year Perspective on an Automotive Legend For forty years, I’ve had the privilege of testing the Porsche 911, and in that time, the rear-engine icon has evolved, adapted, and proven itself as one of the most enduring sports cars in automotive history. When I first drove one – a crisp 3.0-liter Carrera with black Fuchs alloys, manual transmission, and no power steering – I remember being in the company of a 944 Turbo. In my native Australia, at the time, these cars were nearly identical in price, but the 944 was quicker, smoother, and generally more user-friendly. Yet, even then, there was a raw magnetism to the 911 that transcended pure performance metrics. “The 944 Turbo is undeniably the superior machine in terms of raw speed and capability,” I noted at the time, “But if I had to make the agonizing choice about where to invest my money, I’d choose the 911 Carrera.” It wasn’t a simple verdict; the 944 was “competent enough to make a poor driver look good,” boasting “soaring, searing performance balanced by an astounding chassis.” But the 911 spoke to a deeper part of me. “The gloriously imperfect 911 Carrera is a sports car of a different era, reflecting different values. It’s not made for the average driver. It demands respect and understanding. That’s why I’d take it home.” Over the decades since that first encounter, I’ve sampled countless iterations of the 911. Apart from the 964, which at one point in the early 90s made me question the 911’s long-term viability, Porsche has consistently refined this benchmark, keeping it exciting, relevant, and profoundly engaging. Four decades later, the 911 remains one of the very few new cars I would still purchase with my own earnings. After four decades on the track and the road, here are the five Porsche 911 models that stand out in my memory: The Original 911 Turbo (930) When I was testing that first 3.0-liter Carrera, older road-test veterans spoke of the original Porsche 911 Turbo with a mixture of awe and terror. They described it as a car that required absolute precision and nerve when driven hard—a machine whose binary turbo boost made the precarious tightrope walk between corner-entry understeer and corner-exit lift-off oversteer a task for those with quick reflexes and unwavering confidence. The 911 Turbo offered zero margin for error and absolutely no tolerance for sloppy technique. The stories were chilling; they called it a “widowmaker.” It took me 35 years to finally get behind the wheel of an original 911 Turbo and discover the truth for myself. The example I drove was among the first 30 production Turbos ever built, now a prized possession in Porsche’s heritage fleet. Aware of its formidable reputation, I was cautious at first. I gently worked the throttle, feeling the initial pressure build and watching the tachometer, trying to piece together a mental map of the power and torque curves. Surprisingly, the engine was incredibly tractable, content to lug along at 2,000 RPM in top gear, allowing the car to cruise at 45 mph with ease. But once the needle swept past 3,500 RPM, the turbocharger hit the induction system with 0.8 bar of pressure, delivering a dramatic surge in acceleration. Yet, the expected sledgehammer blow I’d anticipated simply wasn’t there. What I learned was that the secret to smooth, high-speed driving in the original 911 Turbo was to keep the 3.0-liter flat-six spinning above 4,000 RPM to keep the turbocharger engaged. Yes, there’s significant turbo lag by modern standards—very noticeable—but it’s manageable. Even now, more than 50 years after its introduction, this 911 remains a staggeringly fast car on the road. First gear hits 50 mph, second gear opens up to 90 mph, and third gear climbs almost to 130 mph. This means you can destroy most winding back roads using only second and third gear. And while it might pack only 256 horsepower, its weight of just 2,513 pounds ensures it can enter and exit corners with remarkable agility. Half a century ago, its performance would have been considered otherworldly. The 993-Generation Porsche 911 For purists, this generation represents the pinnacle of the air-cooled era—the last of the ‘real’ 911s. It is the 911 that feels raw, mechanical, and connected, where your knuckles brush against the dashboard and the snarling metallic clatter of the air-cooled flat-six echoes behind you. But when I first drove it in 1994, the 993 was envisioned as the 911 of the future, the first to boldly challenge the very laws of physics. It still possessed the classic 911 traits: a slightly ‘walkie’ front end that demanded you load it properly on corner entry to hit the apex, and a rear end that still had a tendency to shimmy through rough turns. However, the harmony between these elements had vastly improved. The 993 still behaved like a 911, but within a much more controlled envelope. At the heart of this transformation was a completely redesigned rear suspension. Porsche replaced the aged semi-trailing arms with a sophisticated multilink setup that offered minimal initial toe-out on corner entry, followed by progressive toe-in as lateral loads increased, all while drastically reducing the camber change that had long been the Achilles’ heel of the 911 since 1963. This breakthrough was coupled with steering that felt significantly more decisive thanks to a 16 percent reduction in turns from lock to lock. Powering the car was a new six-speed manual gearbox, effectively exploiting the 3.6-liter flat-six. This engine felt noticeably stronger thanks to lighter internals, the introduction of Bosch Motronic 2.0 engine management, and a new dual exhaust system. It pushed out 268 horsepower at 6,100 RPM. Compared to the 964 model it replaced, the 993 was a revelation. It wasn’t merely about the engineering upgrades, which were spearheaded by Ulrich Bez (who would later lead Aston Martin). The exterior redesign, directed by design chief Harm Lagaay, corrected visual flaws he perceived in the 964—specifically, a front end he felt was too tall and a rear that looked too heavy. The interior was also cleaner, with better-placed controls and less clutter. The 993 was faster, more forgiving, and, crucially, even more desirable than any 911 that came before it. It redefined what a 911 could be without sacrificing its soul. The 996-Generation Porsche 911 At the time of its launch, this move was considered heresy. Porsche’s decision to install a water-cooled flat-six engine in the rear of the 996-generation 911 was, to purists, the automotive equivalent of Bob Dylan abandoning his acoustic six-string for a Fender Strat at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. However, for me, the 996—the first ground-up redesign of Porsche’s indefatigable sports car in 34 years—was an absolute game-changer. This was the 911 that saved Porsche. Engineered and developed under the leadership of Porsche R&D chief Horst Marchart, the 996 was a masterpiece of intelligent design. It was brilliant not least because it shared 38 percent of its components with an all-new, lower-cost mid-engine roadster that the world would soon recognize as the Boxster. In a bold strategic move, Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking knew that the Boxster was essential to give dealerships a secondary product to sell once the aging 928 and 968 models were discontinued. “We ended up building two cars for the price of one and a half,” design chief Harm Lagaay later remarked with a smile after the company officially unveiled the 996. While the automotive press fixated on its relationship with the Boxster and the water-cooled engine, the 996’s true impact ran much deeper. In 1994, it took Porsche 130 hours to assemble a 993-series 911; the 996 required only 60 hours to build. The modern 911 had officially arrived: larger, more comfortable, and equipped with all the features expected of a late 20th-century sports car, yet unmistakably remaining a 911. Most importantly, it still drove like a 911—only better. There was certainly a new level of refinement in how it performed, but the 996 retained the sublime tactility and urgent response that had defined the 911 as a sports car like no other. Along with the original Boxster, it was the 911 that single-handedly rescued Porsche from the brink of extinction. The 991.2-Generation Porsche 911 Carrera Among all the