This is what most of you can associate this number
with but to me, a huge petrolhead 911 is something more than just a emergency
number – it is a gigantic piece of history in the world of automobiles. I would
like to present you a brief history of the most famous model number among cars,
Porsche 911. To some it is only a VW Beetle, as the original model was based
upon the little German car’s chassis, but to others it is one of the most
fantastic cars ever made. Being developed for over half a century it is said to
be the best combination between technological advancement and loyalty to
history – every generation of that model is poised to redefine what is
possible. Throughout the years the 911 has ignited the kind of passion in
drivers that only a Porsche can. It has gained appreciation among car fanatics,
race car drivers and superstars.
The first model
was born in 1963, its chassis number was 901. Unfortunately Peugeot claimed the
rights over 901 moniker as it is the only car producer that can use zero in
their three-digit wide range of models. That is how the car evolved to 911. It
was equipped with two-litre engine which had humble 130 horse power. During its
first decade of development it grew to famous 2.7 Carrera RS model which had
210 horse power and started at the GT racing. The car owed very much to its
older brother which was built in 1967 to later win Tour de France Automobile
and Tour de Corse – two very prestigious races at that time.
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| 911R |
Next significant milestone in the history of 911 was
introduction of second generation of the car in 1973 – the 930, first 911 with
a turbocharged engine and a huge spoiler known as “whale tail”. Due to the fact
that turbochargers at that time were a very inchoate project and engineers
still were unable to tame that technology, the 930 was nicknamed as the
“widowmaker”. The car had a very huge turbo lag which can be explained, in its
simplest form, as the time between mashing the throttle pedal and feeling the
rush of torque from engine to the wheels. This factor combined with a
rear-wheel drive and poor weather conditions usually resulted with a big crash
and death of the driver. The car was replaced in 1989 making it the longest
produced generation of the 911.
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| 930 Turbo |
The next generation which was codenamed as the 964,
came lately in 1989. It didn’t change much visually comparing with the 930 but
it acquired many technological gadgets which resulted in huge upgrade in terms
of safety and comfort. It got Anti-Lock Braking System, power steering, airbags
and finally four-wheel drive introduced for the first time in history of the
brand. But you can mostly place it as the car that was driven by Hank Moody in
Californication TV Series.
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| Hank Moody's 964 |
The 90’s came with introduction of fourth generation of the 911 – 993 which is regarded as the prettiest and the most drivable of all of the currently available generations, a pinnacle of 911. But what is most important about this generation is the introduction of the GT2 model. The most advanced, most outrageous, most wanted car that Porsche has ever made. Because of its power, track-honed reliability, status as one of the final air-cooled 911 and the fact that only 57 units were built, the first GT2 commands a massive premium at car auctions. Last year at RM Sotheby’s London auction it was sold for 2.4 million dollars!
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| 993 GT2 |
The later generation – 996 didn’t gain that much respect as the previous one. It was the first water-cooled 911 with a rather unwanted design which caused a huge shitstorm among Porsche die-hards. Comments such as “loss of character” were on the daily basis. Its tear-shaped headlamps caused a huge disappointment and grumbles among petrolheads.
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| 996 |
The last two generations – the 997 and 991 didn’t gain
huge acclaim as well. Because of introducing softened suspension the car is
said to lost its driving abilities becoming less “feelsome”. Not long ago
Porsche also announced that almost every car currently available will soon
create their power with the help of forced induction. On the other hand it is
also time when producer introduced a double-clutch gearbox with paddles which
is famous for its speed of reaction and fast gear changes.
As you can see it is time when Porsche has to face its ups and downs but still it is regarded as a fantastic car. Right now it has 22 models available to configure and order at your nearest Porsche dealer – from the simplest and less powerful 911 Carrera through roofless Targa version and mile-consuming 911 Turbo up to latest 911 GT2 which is currently deemed as most advanced track-focused Porsche ever made.
I strongly persuade to visit Porsche webpage where you can configure your own Porsche and then you can leave the result of your imagination in the comment section below. The link is here: http://porsche.pl/konfigurator/911/ . I want to sum up this article with a quote - “It is a funny thing about this car – there is a moment you know you want one, there’s the moment you first own one and for the truly afflicted, there’s a decade or two that passes in between.” – I think this is what Porsche is all about.
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Questions:
- Are you interested in cars? Do you consider yourself as a petrolhead?
- Which generation of 911 did you like most? Why?
- What do you think about the future of cars? Do you think car manufacturers should keep developing one model to make it perfect or design various models which differ from each other?
Sources:
Comments
I find newest series of Porches 911 most exciting, I'm not sure why. It just look cool and as I think it has a lot of gadgets in it.
It's hard to predict what will happened in future. I think that every company will start making electric cars due to fact that oil is not a never ending source and not everyone remembers about it. Aim of specific company depends of it's needs, so it's hard to say if company A should focus at mastering one model or maybe designing new one every year.
I like the most Porche 911, probably becasue of modern design that 'talks to me'.
I think that developers should do both: to develop something that everyone knows, so they can show their ideas of change but they also should do new models, so they can show a variety of their skills and ideas. Both ways can show skills, what is appreciated by audience and fans.
I think car manufacturers should have different models in their offer. Not too much, but not too little either, so everybody can pick one out of several available models designed for various different people and their characters, as we're all different and we don't all like the same things, even though it's important to find that "sweet spot" where it's still worth it to actually produce and design those, and no longer a content-filler with no real reason that only drives profits down.
Generally I’m not a biggest fan of Porsche but I think that 997 was the one that I liked most. I didn’t have opportunity to drive this car so I can only say that this was the generation that was the most beautiful for me.
In my opinion manufacturers like Porsche or other supreme cars should keep developing one model to make it perfect. There are other manufacturers like Skoda, Opel, Volkswagen etc that may try to design various models and make each of them disappointing.
2. My favorite one is the 930. It just looks monstrous, fast and dangerous. That's what I want from a sportscar!
3. I personally hate the fact, that all the manufacturers recently decided to make all the kinds of cars. Nearly every manufacturer has a small hatchback, a bigger hatchback, a small sedan, a bigger sedan, a small estate, a big estate, a smaller sports coupe, a bigger sports coupe, a small luxury sedan, a big luxury sedan, a small SUV, a big SUV, a sporty SUV, a luxurious SUV and more. I really think the cars lost their souls, and while it is very profitable for the car manufacturers to do that, it is just boring when all the cars nowadays look the same and never impress as much as they used to. The days when a car make actually meant something are over. Nowadays you sometimes struggle to differentiate a Mercedes from a Reanult (example - the rear ends of laguna coupe and s-class coupe). This was unthinkable 15 years ago, and for me it is just a pity. Also the quality of premium brands gets lower, and all the regulations are not helping for that matter (e.g. eco-leather, which is more ECO, but makes you sweat after driving for half an hour). Nowadays there are just a few car makes that make nice cars, keeping their style and what even more important - their quality. Unfortunately, they are not affordable at all.
I'd rather see manufacturers focusing on what they do best (like Ferrari or Koenigsegg with their sportscars or Rolls Royce with they luxury cars) instead of experimenting with differentiating their product ranges.
Actually I'm not a car freak, but I like to watch and listen to beautiful cars ;)
When I was in primary school, my dad asked me what car would I like to have when I will be an adult, and I said 'Porshe Carrera GT, daddy'. So actually I consider Carrera or Panamera as my ideal car. When it comes to 911 I think I like the newest generation. I've always preferred smooth and streamline cars than those old edgy ones.
I think car manufacturers should produce many different models so that everyone could find something ideal.
I don't have my favourite generation of Porsche 911. If I had to pick the most beautiful Porsche I would say that is a 930. But if today I had an opportunity to buy one of them, I would buy 991, because the technology inside this car is excellent.
I really like that Porsche company offers you many models of 911, because you can pick the model that suits you the most.
I think I like the blue one the most but I'm giving this opinion based on the picture you placed in the article, so it could be different if I saw more photos of them.
I believe that future of cars should be to improve safety. Unfortunately, it looks like it's full of empty marketing phrases and fancy, futuristic design, so it's nothing really interesting.
1. I am really into cars but I think that I am not a real petrolhead as I can’t afford any fancy or legendary car and drive dead boring diesel ��
2. I have never driven any Porsche so it is really hard to tell which is my favorite. I can imagine that 993 Turbo could by the one as it is last air-cooled 911 with incredible sound of flat engine supported by twin turbocharger and of course with 6 speed manual transmission. Even after 20 years its performance data looks good compared to today’s supercars, e.g. 0-100 km/h in around 4 seconds.
3.Unfortunately, future cars are definitely contradicting the definition of the petrolhead’s perfect car. The trend of using electricity instead of fuel is inevitable because of the smaller impact on the environment that electric cars have. In my opinions manufacturers should balance number of models they offer. On one hand they have to respond to clients different needs and increase market share. On the other hand they should be consistent with their spirit and avoid destroying their reputation by offering cars in segments that are not really their target, e.g.: I can’t imagine Porsche offering popular, small, cheap car.
In my opinion, car manufacturers should make a lot of models because everybody deserve to find the best design and with subgroups for them :)
I like mostly the Porsche 911 Turbo S Exclusive Series and you have to check this link if you want to know why:
http://porsche.pl/modele/911/911-turbo-s-exclusive-series/
I think that the future of cars is called Tesla. I have tested this car and trust me - this car is full of technologies. The most awesome is a feature that this car can yo without a driver.
To be honest, my opinion is based only on the appearance of the car, so I think, I like the most the latest generation of 911.
Obviously, future cars will be self-driving and all-electric. I believe, that car manufacturers should keep developing several models to make them more or less perfect like Tesla which has only 3 models.
3rd is kinda hard. However new mondeo is called mondeo or new passat is called passat it doesnt look like some boring cab. On the other hand we have new Civic which is just average there is nothing special and nothing that makes me think honda did its lesson while creating it.
Someone allow them to patent the use of digit 0 in the name of car models? Why? And why not all the other digits?
The best 911 for me is the previous one than the current - newest one. I cannot say why, I think it looks the best for me. I don't know the detailed specification sadly so i'm looking at the design only.
I hope the future of the cars is electric cars like Tesla. This is confirmed by the newest Tesla Roadster model which would be produced at 2020. But we'll see how Tesla will fulfill his promises.
2. I've always felt the porche's looked a bid weird. But I guest, that's what people liked about it. Personally I always preferred the Carera GT with the more square back. I also love the looks of the more recent 918 which also doesn't have the traditional slanted back.
3. Self-driving electric cars are the future, no doubt about it. But people needing to get where they need to go constitute only one segment of the automotive market. Another big part of it, are people who buy cars, because they love the experience, the sound and the feel of them. And those people aren't going anywhere, nowhere soon.
I like cars and are interested in them, but I do not think myself as petrolhead.
The prettiest porsche it's a 930 targa. It is not the newest one, but the boxer engine provides a lot of fun while driving.
In the future, cars will be powered by electricity and will also be self-driving. Manufactures should improve their own solutions striving for perfection.
I believe manufacturers should try to make cars more ecological, first of all. And about looks - I think, as in 911 case, the general idea is what makes this car THIS car. I believe if they changed the 911 look it wouldn't be the same car at all. I think if each brand had just one model they would just go bankrupt. Each brand should develop different models so that everyone can find something for them.
Most of all I liked the 930 Turbo models and several generation models of recent years. Since all these magic characteristics I do not understand, then I just think they are the most beautiful and sexy.
The future of cars is hidden from me. I do not know what will be best for them. I would really like to see new models with more advanced and insane design. But the old ones, too, must be improved. But this can go on forever because the creator always wants to fix his creation after a while.
Cool topic. About Proshe I really like it but I choose other car in this price, simillar class. Why? because Porsche for me has been the same for many years and every model after 911 looks the same. I know that they cling to traditional line and I respect it but for me it isn't enough. Now all models look the same. 911 I can understand but model Cayenne I don't understand. Averge Kowalski doesn't know on the street that this is new model. The same situation is with Panamere model. In the past Porshe had situation with fallen dwon but fortunatelly they made SUV Cayenne. I hope that this story won't happen again
I never drove a Porsche, but I saw this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5DRCTW-Q7o
So, if next generations kept this trend of infinite LC, then I'd go with anything (of course, if I could squeeze in LPG tank, as I'd have to trade it for money xD).
While one model is good for engineers to perfect it, its bad for the brand itself- compare the amount of 911s sold, to, for example the "pleb and common" Cayenne. While 911 is awesome, it wouldn't keep the whole brand afloat- this way many other car producers went almost bankrupt- by making only one model that, while being awesome, didn't sell. Even Bugatti, just as Porsche itself, is part of VW group...
There need to me some plain-for-masses models, if the company isn't funded by charity, so those mass models can sustain the more luxurious ones production and R&D, as even if you sell 200 $150k models, its still less than 10000 of $20k models, which are usually repetitive and their R&D cost less.
I think that every generation of 911 has its own charm. I would say the the most desired one is the 993. As you said it is last oil-cooled 911, which cause it to be very expensive on a market. That cause some positive aspect - a lot of people bought used 996 for a small amount of money, which caused 911's even more popular. 996 dropped its value very fast.
Personally I love 911 because it is the model which is proud of its legacy and its evolution is all about small steps without big changes getting 911 even closer to perfection in many different aspects.
I think they should do both and Porsche is a perfect example of brand doing so. The other one could be Mercedes introducing new models, creating new niches, but still offering a G-Class :)