OK, so I'm still learning about the 911's and understand the following:

78-83 = 911SC
84-89 = 911 Carrera

I'm not too sure how the 930 differs from the other models so that's still a mystery to me (although it looks like the SC or Carrera from the years above).

What's also still confusing to me are the model names/numbers from '90 to present. I see 964, Carrera 2, Carrera 4 (I assume some also refer to them as C2 or C4?), and 993.

Is there a website that shows or explains the model with what years they were produced and how they differ from each other? If someone instead would like to educate me on the differences please do. Any help is appreciated.

 

This will have all the info you should need regarding the different model numbers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_911

As for the 930, that refers to the 911 turbos they made from 75-89, some people incorrectly refer to the SC's and Carrera's as 930's or 930 style cars. Although they did share many parts with the 930 and the engines were actually branded with 930 engine numbers they are not in fact true 930's. The 930 numerical designation was for the turbos alone. The wiki article lists the model numbers in numerical order quite well. Some other things, Carrera translated from spanish to English means race, and RS stands for RennSport which translates from German to Race Sport. These were names that came up many times in Porsches history dating back to the 356 Carrera. The best way to identify the cars is there model numbers, the words were repeated many times and can get confusing. For example SC stands for supper carrera, which was followed by a plan old carrera in 84. That is why many people confuse them but the SC was a super version of the older carrera. The fact of the matter is they are all 911's and they are all great cars.

Hope this clears a little bit up
Dave

 

If you are serious about getting a overview of the 911, Pete Zimmermann's book is the way to go. It has an overview of the model changes and issues and strengths of each model year. Link at Amazon below.

 

Huh? None of what you say is untrue, but I have never heard anyone refer to any SC or Carrera as a 930 or "930 style" car.

 

@Ed
I have not heard it much but I heard people say it, they tend to think that all the 911's made from 78-89 were the 930

 

I dont know where you live, but it must be a local thing.

 

Well he cant live in Canada

 

I live in Westchester NY, unfortunately the typical Porsche owner where i am from bought it because his boss had one, as did his bosses boss, and so on. Thus most of the 911's where I am are less than 5 years old. They dont get any older because there owners trade them in for the new model before that can happen. Thus many of them assume that any pre 89 model is the 930 as when most of them were just starting out in business or law or how ever they made their money that was the dream car that their bosses had at the time.

On top of that none of them have ever so much as put air in their tires. What upsets me most of the time is that I have always firmly believed that if you are going to buy a car like a 911 you should drive it, a lot. Most of the 911's that are owned by the aforementioned people where i live, are never driven. It makes me quite sad me some times when owners like this dont know what they have. One of the things that made buying my porsche so special was that the previous owner loved the car and knew it was going to a good home and I have cared for the car as he did, and the owner before him. It was like passing on a piece of history from generation to generation. If you asked them if they had ever ordered any thing off pelican they will most likely reply with, "no i dont have a bird, now what were you saying about my Porsche"

 

I have heard a few people in Hong Kong refer Carrera as 930 too. So its not a local thing, its a global problem!!

 

I guess the California education system ain't as bad as I thought.

 

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the link, exactly what I was looking for! I feel a whole lot more knowledgeable now thanks to that page. Just when I thought I was set on buying another SC (maybe even the Carrera), I see the 993 Targa and yeah I think that's the car for me!

 

The 993 is a favorite of mine and I hope to own another someday. Regarding the Targa version of the 993 it's a personal preference but spend sometime researching and on the 993 board and you will find that the sun screen has some faults. Also with a 993 Targa you will get the towel bar (3rd brake light bar) regardless of year. The 993 Targa is basically a giant sunroof.

 

veleno,

Another good reference book for model years and production information is "Porsche 911 Red Book, 1965 - 2005" written by Patrick Paternie. It has a lot of detailed information regarding model years, production info, engines offered, color codes, etc.

It's a small sized paperback book. Can't recall where I got it, but just do a search and I'm sure you'll find it.

 

I posted this over on pelican a while ago, if you like the targa, any one of them, here is how i felt about my 78SC

Why the Porsche 911 targa is the greatest sports car they ever made...

When I was a little boy i saw a great deal of Porsche's wiz past me on the highway and around my town. As a young man i promised that one day i would be the guy wizing around in a Porsche. Call it fate but when i was 17 right after getting my drivers license a close family friend was getting rid of his non functioning 88' 924s. Days before it was to be junked i intercepted it, thus began my love affair with Porsches.
It took 3 months to get the car functional and running. Of course i though i was the coolest kid on the block I was driving a Porsche and i was in high school. Well despite all the wrench time i put in to make it work, the ladies were not to keen on the oil/gas/burnt clutch smell that commonly came from the car. Or the unpleasant engine heat in the summer months rolling off the engine. It still seemed as though all the boys with the new fancy mustangs, civics, etc. were getting all the ladies. I will admit the ripped upholstery and cracked dash board was not helping any thing.
Through out my ownership of this car i was in constant search of a new Porsche. Being young and stupid i wanted the loudest fastest most obnoxious car i could find. High school came and went, college arrived and still the 924s was not cutting it. I had less time to care for it and it was driven less as i did not have the car at school with me. As much as i wanted it i did not have the money for a black 930 with a straight pipe exhaust (as that was the dream car). None the less the search continued for any and all Porsche's from 914's to 912's to 911's of any year in any condition, in any color. Countless craigslist emails were sent out. Some with better responses than others but still nothing promising.
Sophomore year of college was winding down and the summer was fast approaching. It was in economics class that I received a very promising email from the owner of a beautiful 78SC Targa. At first i was turned off by the Targa, i heard bad things about the top not holding up well, the car not being as structurally sound as the hard tops etc. etc. The seller was very close to my home town and a very nice young guy, moving out to cali so he had to unload the car before he left. He was eager to sell it to a young engineer who would care for it and drive it, not just let it sit around and never use it.
So while home for easter vacation i took a drive over to the sellers house to take a look at the car. It was like a scene out of a movie The car was kept at his fathers house, the father also owned a boxter and i could tell that Porsches were a family thing with these people. Knowing the car was coming from a good home i already was inclined to buy it. However the targa top kept coming back to haunt me and i kept having doubts. To make a long story short I bought the car the next day after much hesitation.
I found out only a few days latter that there was a minor shift issue with the car. The PO thought it was a trans issue but it turned out that the shifter shaft had split and come off the joint where it meets the actual shift rod. 175$ worth of parts, and 4 hours of cursing later the new shifter shaft was in and the car was good as new. Now it was time to drive.
By this time I was home for summer break and had lots of time on my hands. So here is why the Targa in my opinion is the best car ever made by Porsche, a great deal of this is from actual experiences.
1) ladies love stars, I dont know why but they love stars
2) ladies hate getting there hair ruined in the wind for any reason
3) ladies love when you compliment them
4) Men love driving fast, especial with ladies in the passenger seat
Now we all know that classic convertibles can be miserably loud from the wind ( I have owned and been in enough to know this by now). We also know that it is enough wind to make a ladies hair go all over the place and thus upset the very lady you may be trying to impress. However we also know that one can see stars from a convertible.
Solution to the problem a Targa top. The ladies can still see the stars, the reduction in wind will keep there hair flowing but not to an uncontrollable point where they get upset about it. And to top it off the reduction in noise from wind will allow you to tell the lady how nice she looks in the moon light. All the while you are having a blast taking turns at 70MPH. Its not to hot form the engine and its not to cold form the wind. In the end of the day with a Targa every one is happy. Lets say it was a good summer.

"Porsche, accept no substitute"

Sorry for rambling i love telling the story.
Dave

 

Great story Dave, thanks for sharing.

I was thinking how cool it'll be to have a 993 Targa along side my 78 Targa. Just like a kid we always seem to want more!