In the sixth of a series charting the wonders of the motoring world, Adrian Hearn presents the Porsche 911 – the everyday supercar. 

It’s 1964. Beatlemania is sweeping the States, Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life in prison and a little sports car rolls of the production line for the first time in Germany.

The Porsche 911, with its rear-mounted engine and unmistakeable headlights is one of the most successful cars of all time.

Performance progress
The Porsche 901 was launched in 1963, but was renamed the 911 the following year. The first engine in the 911 was a 2-litre air-cooled block, mounted at the rear. This produced 130bhp giving the motor a top speed of just 119mph. Fast forward to 2007 and the psychotic 3.6-litre twin-turbocharged rocket hits 193mph.

Variety
While the 911 remains largely unchanged cosmetically, there have been five series of the model:
911 (1964 – 1989)
911 964 (1989 – 1993)
911 993 (1993 – 1996)
911 996 (1997 – 2005)
911 997 (2004 - ) 

Racing pedigree
In 1968, the Porsche 911T – driven by Vic Elford and David Stone – won the Monte Carlo Rally.  In 1984, showcasing its four-wheel-drive technology, a 911 won the Paris Dakar Rally.

Technology forerunners
In 1974, Porsche unveiled the 911 Turbo at the Paris Motor Show. It was the first production car to have an exhaust turbocharger and pressure regulator, giving improved performance.

Gearbox gurus
In 1989, Porsche fitted the 911 Carrera with a Tiptronic automatic gearbox. This gave the driver the ability to override the automatic transmission and change up or down when they wanted. Porsche has licensed the technology to Audi, Volkswagen and Skoda.

Mod gods
Not happy with a top speed of 193mph? Swiss modifying experts Rinspeed have adapted the latest Turbo, upping power to 600bhp - giving it a 0-62mph time of 3.3 seconds and top speed of 217mph.

Maverick
In Germany BMW, Audi, Mercedes and Volkswagen all abide by a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ where their cars are limited to a top speed of 155mph. Porsche don’t’.

Video: Watch the late Henri Toivonen driving a 911 in the 1984 Costa Brava Rally.
 

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