Mike Mullins

The seven generations of the Porsche 911 (Part 1)

The original 911: the masterpiece from Zuffenhausen

On 27 November, the eighth generation of the Porsche 911 will celebrate its world premiere in Los Angeles – 55 years after the debut of the original 911 model. This is reason enough to take a look back at the previous seven generations:

A legend is born at the International Motor Show Germany (IAA) in Frankfurt. It’s 12 September 1963: Porsche proudly presents the eagerly anticipated successor to the 356. The new sports car, originally known as the 901, is following in great footsteps. To reflect the ambitions of the brand, Porsche is now playing in a higher league with the new model: a flat engine with six instead of four cylinders and air-cooled in the best traditions of the company, but delivering 130 PS straight away. When the new model came onto the market in 1964 it was called the 911 – the result of a discussion about naming rights with the automotive manufacturer Peugeot. The 911 is quickly accepted as a “genuine” Porsche because the performance of the new sports car exceeds all expectations. The stage is thus set for an unrivaled global career.

The expansion of the 911 model range then continued apace. In 1965, Porsche responded to a discussion in the USA that had branded cabriolets as dangerous in a typically pragmatic way: the company presented the 911 Targa as the first-ever “safety cabriolet”, featuring a roll-over bar that was a good 20 centimetres wide, a removable roof section and rear mini soft top. This was known as the soft window. This was followed shortly afterwards by a panorama rear window with heatable glass. The name of the open-top variant – “Targa” – was derived from the Targa Florio endurance race in Sicily, which Porsche had already won four times.

In 1966, another design icon celebrated its world premiere along with the 160 PS 911 S: the Fuchs wheel. Probably the most famous wheel in automotive history entered new technological territory: being forged from one piece made it much lighter.

Additional model variants were ready in autumn 1967: the 911 T with 110 PS rounded off the range below the top model 911 S and the 911 E – the suffix “E” stood for petrol injection. This made it very clean: with these variants, Porsche was the first German car manufacturer to meet the strict US emissions regulations.

The continuous improvement of the 2+2-seater Porsche achieved a further milestone in the middle of 1968: from the 1969 model year, the wheelbase of the first 911 generation grew by 57 millimetres to 2,268 millimetres. Primarily, this gave the rear-engined sports car calmer handling. The 2.0-litre era ended in 1969: a four-millimetre larger bore increased displacement to 2,195 ccm. With the 1972 model year, the displacement increased even further to 2.4 litres, but the sports car was now also able to run on regular-grade petrol. Power ranged from 130 to 190 PS in the 911 S.

The 911 Carrera RS 2.7 became its very own legend with its “duck-tail” rear spoiler. This sports car weighed only 1,000 kilograms, developed a power output of 210 PS and had a top speed of over 245 km/h. In all, 1,525 cars left the factory gates in Zuffenhausen. This model therefore crowned the first 911 generation. A total of 111,995 original 911s were produced between 1963 and 1973.

More to come from the press office in Stuttgart, Germany.

911boy

Thanks Mike.

disden

I hate Porsche so much. Just when I think I'm happy with the one I have they bring out a new improved model. Porsche is going to be the demise of my marriage.

fxz

Where 911 began...
ask to the italians to design cars...




Where 911 began...

Porsche back in the 60 asked to the italian Abarth
to design a race version of their 356 Carrera
The car thanks to the aero and body lightness immediatly won Targa Florio 1000Km at Nurburgring .

1959 Abarth 356B Carrera GTL (it may have been the work of Franco Scaglione (Bertone) , body man Rocco Motto, or an unnamed Abarth employee)

JMartinni

Well...

1936:


1938:


1939:


1951:



1953:


The 356 B Carrera GTL Abarth is certainly an interesting and valued car but it's definitely not 'where the 911 began' and 'the Italians showing Porsche how to design cars'.

Diablo Dude

jackals02

great read

Mike Mullins

Glad you liked it.
A good consolidation of early model highlights.
It's later on in the series (997) where the 500 HP GT3 RS 4.0 spec was interesting in that I viewed a youtube video from a owners perspective and comparison driving it to later version w Electric and 4 Wheel steering. He says it's the final analog 911 versus digital comparison.

fxz

Sure 356 was based on Volkswagen beetle,
let s say italians brought the Porsche 356 from
what it was to the level to be a sexy looking 911

wingless

This is all great info, but I was personally bugged that each part was a separate topic.

This reply has links to all the parts.

The original 911: the masterpiece from Zuffenhausen (Part 1) (This topic)

The seven generations of the Porsche 911 (Part 2)

The seven generations of the Porsche 911 (Part 3)

The seven generations of the Porsche 911 (Part 4)

The seven generations of the Porsche 911 (Part 5)

The seven generations of the Porsche 911 (Part 6)

F8Driver

I lived in Stuttgart when the 901's first rolled off the line, saw the early pre-production cars on the street. They were far from perfect (Paul Frere's book is a great read regarding the development of the car), but were steadily improved over the years. The 992 is a great machine, I think the best all-round sports car currently. I can't imagine any Ferrari (Lamob, etc) as a daily driver, the Turbo S certainly is. And even the base Carrera is one hell of machine.