Porsche 911  

The earliest edition of the 911 had a 130 PS (96 kW; 128 hp) flat-6 engine, in the “boxer” configuration like the 356, air-cooled and rear-mounted, displaced 1991 cc compared with the 356’s four-cylinder, 1600 cc unit. The car had four seats although the rear seats were very small, thus the car is usually called a 2+2 rather than a four-seater (the 356 was also a 2+2). It was mated to a four or five-speed manual “Type 901″ transmission. The styling was largely by Ferdinand “Butzi” Porsche, son of Ferdinand “Ferry” Porsche. Erwin Komenda, the leader of the Porsche car body construction department, was also involved in the design.

The 356 came to the end of its production life in 1965, but there was still a market for a 4-cylinder car, particularly in the USA. The Porsche 912, introduced the same year, served as a direct replacement, offering the 356’s 4-cylinder, 1600 cc, 90 hp (67 kW) engine inside the 911 bodywork.

In 1966 Porsche introduced the more powerful 911S, the engine’s power raised to 160 PS (118 kW; 158 hp). Alloy wheels from Fuchs, in a distinctive 5-leaf design, were offered for the first time. In motorsport at the same time, installed in the mid-engined Porsche 904 and Porsche 906, the engine was developed to 210 PS (154 kW).

In 1967 the Targa (meaning “shield” in Italian) version was introduced as a “stop gap” model. The Targa had a stainless steel-clad roll bar, as Porsche had, at one point, thought that the NHTSA would outlaw fully open convertibles in the US, an important market for the 911. The name “Targa” came from the Targa Florio sports car road race in Sicily, Italy in which Porsche had notable success, with seven victories since 1956, and four more to come until 1973. This last win in the subsequently discontinued event is especially notable as it was scored with a 911 Carrera RS against prototypes entered by Italian factories of Ferrari and Alfa Romeo. The road going Targa was equipped with a removable roof panel and a removable plastic rear window (although a fixed glass version was offered alongside from 1968).

The Porsche 911 (pronounced as Nine Eleven, German: Neunelfer) is a sports car made by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. The famous, distinctive, and durable design is notable for being rear engined like the Porsche-designed Volkswagen Beetle it had been based on. The car was also air-cooled until the introduction of the all-new Type 996 in 1998. Since its introduction in autumn 1963, it has undergone continuous development. The basic concept has remained little changed throughout its evolution.

Throughout its lifetime the 911 has been modified both by private teams and by the factory itself for racing, rallying and other forms of automotive competition. It is often cited as the most successful competition car ever, a normally aspirated 911 Carrera RSR in the mid 1970s winning major world championship sports car races such as Targa Florio, Daytona, Sebring or Nürburgring outright even against prototypes. The 911-derived 935 turbo also added the coveted 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1979.

In the 1999 international poll for the award of Car of the Century, the 911 came fifth. It is the only one in the top five that has remained continuously in production, and was until 1998 the most successful surviving application of the air- (now water-) cooled opposed rear engine layout pioneered by its original ancestor, the Volkswagen Beetle. It is the one of the oldest sports car nameplates still in production.