I was surfing around Rennlist's forums today and within the 944 Turbo discussions was someone's posting that they had recently sighted a 951. Even though I've been driving these P-cars since 1974 I just couldn't remember what a 951 was,--apparently they are 944 Turbos. So I posed the question,--"Why call it a 951 when it's a 944 Turbo." You'd think I just rear ended their car with a Ford 150 and then ran off. Talk about Porsche snobs. Was told that they're 951s and no one they know refers to them as a 944 Turbo. (That's particularly funny because when they first came out everyone called them a 944 Turbo,--including the owners). I'm assuming that they're not pleased with being associated with mere 944s so they want the cars referred to a 951s. I sure don't recall seeing a "951" on the back of any of those cars. The marketing types called them a 944 Turbo. Over time we have adopted the usage of internal factory numbers at times out of necessity,--for example. we don't say 911 Turbo much anymore as that could be anything from a 70s 930 to a 997 TT. Don't most 997TT owners call them 997TTs to differentiate them from, say a 996TT? No big deal. It's there to keep it simple. We see the same thing in catalogs,--like by Performance Products. If it's a 944 Turbo they don't use some obscure factory like 951. When Porsche marketeers kept introducing the succeeding 911 as "the new 911" we were forced to talk of them as a C2/C4 for the 964 era cars, and then 993s, and later the 996 and 997 or otherside never get the specific point across (and much less order the wrong part).

Some conventions make a lot of sense,--but the 951 thing doesn't for me. What's a Carrera GT? Or a Cayenne? I sure can't remember. Even the Boxsters and Caymans are confusing now,--both are 987S in S form, right?

I thought there was a lot of snobbery between the air-cooled and the 'others' but this is nuts. Apparently there must be a real pecking order in the Porsche world,--and in the 4-cylinder world within the 944s. It looks like I got into the middle of a real sore spot.

Anyone else run into Porsche snobs over the years? I think it's only gotten worse over time.

 

Why dont you stir up a hornets nest and say you thought the 951 is actually a car for girls and not real men

 

Well, if them calling their cars a 951 makes them happy, live and let live. I call my car a 997S because if I called it a 911, a 911S, or a Carrera S, that still wouldn't clue in Porschephiles as to what car I have. But in the "real world" I just say a 911 and don't even go into S or not - it's not relevant to most people.

 

How is calling a 2006 911 a "997" any different from calling a 944 Turbo a "951"?

 

I see both sides of the argument i guess.

997 is commonly used and a guy who owns a 951 knows what a 997 is. 951 apparently is unknown unless you are in the world of the 944.

Human nature at work.

 

I guess a simple answer is that if you are in a group of Porschephiles and you say "I have a 911", then you haven't really said much at all other than the general body style. There were (and are) many versions of the 911. But I think in general if you said 997, then the other guy would know "oh, the new style 911". But if you say "951" I wouldn't have any idea what car you are talking about because before this thread I had never heard of a 951. But if you said 944 Turbo I'd know exactly what car it is. I guess the question is "how many different designations of 944 Turbo are there" vs. "how many 911's are there"? 944 Turbo is unique, 911 is not.

 

I'm ok with folks using 951, but there's no need to be snobby about it.

It's worse over at BMW. E43, E90, E'this, E'that... At lease Porsche prefixes with a 9. Good luck decoding a BMW thread.

 

At the end of 1985, Porsche announced the 944 Turbo (factory model designation 951)
http://www.cantonia.com/history.html

Not unlike the 997 monkier

 

Good topic.

Is it snobbish, or what, when others say 996TT or 997TT? It cracks me up everytime I see someone tack on the "TT" at the end. I mean, why is it necessary to say or refer to them as "Twin Turbos?" ... I suppose to distinguish them from the more affordable Single Turbo models, hence the snob factor.

I've seen the 951 designation in OT but never really understood the origin. I suppose for them it's just easier and faster to say or type 951 instead of 944 Turbo. I'm all for abbreviation and short hand notation.

 

fwiw a cayenne is a 955 and a gt is a 980

 

Do you know what a Cayman is? Maybe a 988?

 

Thanks. So, let's see, the 955 has maybe 4 more cylinders than a 951? I can do the math. lol

 

987110 for non s us car
987111 for row non s
987120 for us s car
987121 for row s car

 

Thanks Brad. And we wonder why we can't keep up with all the designations!

 

A lot of Porschephiles like to use the internal factory designation as opposed to the street name. I never considered it to be snobish, just another way to clarify the model being discussed.

Just a few that I know...
924=924
924 turbo= 931(?)
944=944
944 turbo= 951
original 911 turbo= 930
1989-1994 911= 964
1989-1994 911 turbo= 965
1995-1998 911= 993
1999-2004 911= 996
2005- 911= 997
1997-2004 Boxster=986
2005- Boxster= 987
CGT= 980
Cayenne= 955