w00tPORSCHE

When you close your eyes and conjure up an image of the 911 several design cues come to mind. To name a few, the Fuch’s wheels, whale tail, flared wheel arches and my next icon: The all-red appearing rear reflector strip with the PORSCHE lettering. In life necessity plays a key role in the beginnings of new inventions. A unique demand led to the emergence of this next 911 icon which not only enhanced safety, but also provided a strong visual highlight and aided in brand recognition.

The rear reflector strip was born out of US regulations back in mid-70’s. Due to the requirement for cars to have impact absorbing bumpers, Porsche had to break up the neat looking rear below the engine-lid which traditionally housed the license plate flanked on either sides by the bumper overriders. The new rear impact bumper now had a narrow empty space in between the rear light units that had to be filled. This led to the creation of the rear reflector thanks to a stroke of genius by it’s stylist Wolfgang Mobius . Debuting on the 2.7 liter version of the 911 in 1974, the symbolic rear reflector stayed on until the end of the air-cooled era in 1997 although there were quite a few changes made to it’s design and the PORSCHE lettering through the years. The reflector strip has now made a comeback on the second gen 997's.....but it is still not the same.

How to keep it looking good: Improper wash techniques leave severe swirl marks on the reflector strip. I used a random orbital machine with the least abrasive polish to remove all the swirl marks on my '86 coupe's rear reflector. It now looks factory fresh.

Wow Factor: Rear is a thing of a beauty.

w00tPORSCHE

Just came back from India yesterday. Missed all of you very much this past three weeks. Was super busy all these days and did not check RL throughout the length of stay in India. Photoshoot with my '86 coupe for my icon series yesterday was hard given the jet lag following a 23 hour flight. But just had to do it.

Helios59

Welcome back!

Great shots.

ivangene

welcome back !!

cant wait to read this,no time this a.m.

GothingNC

Welcome back x3?

What color is your Carrera again?

I am baby-sitting an 84 that is very close to the color of your Carrera, I am now hearing strange noises in the garage at night...



John

bart1

Love these posts. I'll contribute a newer generation photo.

Ed Hughes

Nice!

You know, I was thinking of posting to ask where you've been.

rusnak

Woot, that is a thorough commentary and beautiful shots!!!!! You find the most flattering angles and take fantastic pictures. My appreciation to you for these Icons threads. We should link them and make the first one a sticky thread.

Carrera3.2LG50

Woo hoo, W00t's back!

Yet another excellent Porsche icon. The reflector on my '87 has red lettering against the red reflector background. I wish it had the black lettering for more of a contrast.

I want the uninformed to absolutely *know* what just passed them!

w00tPORSCHE

Ray, Ed, John, thank you for the warm welcome. Ed Hughes, you missed me. I feel moved. John, the color is white gold metallic and was offered for '85 and '86. Bart thank you for that nice picture of your 993's reflector. For the 993's, Porsche added those two small clear area reverse lights to break up the all red appearance (well demonstrated in your picture). Paul, the PORSCHE lettering became transparent with your model year. I also like the bold PORSCHE lettering look compared to the transparent one but would trade it for your venetian blue..oops I meant venezia blau exterior color in a heartbeat. Paul, if you get a chance, please post a picture of your reflector so that others on this board know what we we are talking about. Rusnak, thank you again for your appreciation and comments. The facts are taken from John Boggiano's (He is a great writer) article on total 911 and Tony Corlett's book on 3.2's.

GT9111

Along with the previous iconic Parts, great pics!

w00tPORSCHE

Here is a picture of my second gen 997 heralding the return of the red rear reflector strip.

Carrera3.2LG50

The PORSCHE script shows up differently depending on the angle and the light, but the text and the background are the same color so there is really no contrast. I like the earlier ones with the black on red lettering.

But I still love my iconic rear Porsche reflector!

Brett San Diego

Another nice post. I'm a little late to the party this time, but I seem to always have pics handy. Just a quick correction. The reflector strip came back with the 2002 996 C4S. The 996 strip maintains a beefy width. I think it's unfortunate that the 997 strip lost some visual heft.



Found a nice 996 C4S image


Brett

g-50cab

does it have to be red?