The 5 Porsche 911s That Left an Indelible Mark on My Driving Career
After four decades of testing Porsches, I’ve come to realize that some cars just stick with you. After 10 years of driving them, the 911 is still one of the few new cars I would spend my own money on. So, I’ve put together this list of the five most memorable 911s I’ve ever driven.
The Original 911 Turbo (930)
Back when I first tested a 3.0-liter Carrera, veteran road testers spoke of the original Porsche 911 Turbo in hushed tones. They said it demanded utmost respect when pushed, requiring quick reflexes and nerves of steel. The 911 Turbo didn’t forgive mistakes or tolerate sloppy driving. They called it a widowmaker.
It took me 35 years to finally get behind the wheel of an original 911 Turbo and discover the truth for myself.
The car I drove was one of the first 30 production Turbos ever built, now part of Porsche’s incredible classic fleet. As I stepped behind the wheel, acutely aware of its intimidating reputation, I took things very slowly at first. I eased into the throttle, feeling the boost come alive and watching the tachometer, trying to mentally map the engine’s power and torque delivery. Surprisingly, the engine was remarkably tractable at low revs. It happily hummed along at 2,000 rpm in top gear, keeping the 911 Turbo cruising at 45 mph.
However, once the engine hit 3,500 rpm, there was a distinct surge in acceleration as the turbocharger forced 0.8 bar into the intake system. But the jarring, shoulder-dislocating blow I had expected simply wasn’t there.
I quickly learned that the trick to smooth and fast progress in the original 911 Turbo was to keep the 3.0-liter flat-six spinning at 4,000 rpm or higher to keep the turbocharger energized. Yes, there’s turbo lag—very noticeable turbo lag by modern standards—but it’s manageable. Even today, this 911 remains an impressively fast car on the road. First gear reaches 50 mph, second reaches 90 mph, and third reaches almost 130 mph, meaning you can easily conquer most winding roads using only second and third gear. And while it may have only 256 hp, it weighs just 2,513 pounds, allowing it to handle corners with precision. Half a century ago, its performance would have seemed otherworldly.
The 993-Generation Porsche 911
For Porsche purists, this is the last of its kind—the last of the true 911s. It’s the Porsche where your knuckles graze the dash and you feel the snarling metallic clatter of an air-cooled flat-six behind you. But back in 1994, when I first drove it, the 993 was the 911 of the future, the first in the lineup to genuinely challenge Isaac Newton’s laws of physics.
Oh sure, the 993 still had that front end that required careful loading on corner entry to hit the apex, and the rear end still felt a bit skittish on rougher turns, but the balance between the front and rear was much improved. The 993 still did all the things a 911 should, but with a much wider margin for error.
The key to it all was a completely new rear suspension that replaced the old semi-trailing arms with a multi-link setup. This new design allowed for very slight initial toe-out on corner entry, followed by progressive toe-in as lateral loads increased, while significantly reducing the camber change that had been the Achilles’ heel of 911s since 1963. This was combined with a quicker steering rack—just 2.5 turns lock-to-lock, which was 16 percent faster and made the front end feel much more decisive—and a new six-speed manual transmission that took full advantage of the 3.6-liter flat-six. This engine delivered 268 hp at 6,100 rpm, thanks to lighter internal components, Bosch Motronic 2.0 engine management, and a new dual exhaust system.
Compared to the 964 it replaced, the 993 was a revelation. It wasn’t just the engineering improvements—led by Ulrich Bez, who later became the head of Aston Martin—it was also the exterior redesign, directed by design chief Harm Lagaay. Lagaay corrected what he felt were visual imbalances in the 964, which he thought sat too high at the front and looked too pulled down at the rear. The interior was cleaner too, with fewer buttons placed in random locations. The 993 was a 911 that was faster and more forgiving than ever. And, most importantly, it was more desirable too.
The 996-Generation Porsche 911
At the time, it was considered sacrilege. Porsche’s decision to install a water-cooled flat-six in the rear of the 996-series 911 was, to aficionados, the automotive equivalent of Bob Dylan ditching his acoustic guitar for a Fender Strat at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. But the 996, the first clean-sheet redesign of Porsche’s unstoppable sports car in 34 years, was a hero car in my eyes. It was the 911 that saved Porsche.
Engineered and developed under the direction of Porsche R&D chief Horst Marchart, the 996 was a smart 911. Not least because it shared 38 percent of its parts with an all-new, less expensive mid-engine roadster that the world would come to know as the Boxster. The iconic Porsche CEO Wendelin Weideking knew the Boxster was necessary to give dealerships something else to sell after the aging 928 and 968 models were phased out. “We built two cars for the price of one and a half,” design chief Lagaay commented with a smile after the company unveiled the 996.
But while the media focused on its relationship with the Boxster and the switch to water cooling, the 996’s true significance ran much deeper. In 1994, it took Porsche 130 hours to build a 993-series 911; the 996 took just 60 hours to build. The modern 911 had arrived: roomier and equipped with all the features expected of a late 20th-century sports car, but still unmistakably Porsche’s icon. Most importantly, it still drove like a 911. But better. Yes, there was a new level of sophistication in how it conducted its business, but the 996 retained the delicious tactility and urgent responsiveness that made the 911 a sports car like no other. And along with the original Boxster, it saved Porsche from extinction.
The 991.2-Generation Porsche 911 Carrera
Of all the 911s I’ve ever driven, it was a base model 991.2 Carrera that truly captured my heart. It seems it captured everyone else’s, judging by the feedback I received at the time from colleagues who drove it. Most press fleets are loaded with high-spec vehicles packed with options, presumably because automotive PR departments think we’re impressed by such things. So Porsche Cars North America’s decision to include a base 911 Carrera among the lineup of then-new 991.2 models for our 2017 MotorTrend Car of the Year testing seemed bold. In reality, though, it was an inspired move.
The 991.2 introduced a new 3.4-liter turbocharged engine, available with 370 hp in the base Carrera or 420 hp in the Carrera S. Even in 370-hp trim, it delivered a broad torque curve and impressive efficiency. This Carrera also proved that even on base wheel and tire setups, the chassis was staggeringly communicative and adjustable. Visually, the 991.2 was a subtle refresh of the larger, skillfully reproportioned 991.1, a beautifully executed interpretation of classic 911 themes that felt both modern and beautiful. Inside was a new infotainment interface that looked great and worked well.
Porsche’s PDK dual-clutch automatic transmission remains a benchmark for smooth, precise shifts. But the seven-speed manual stick shift on the no-frills Carrera delighted with a fluid, rifle-bolt action that made us all fall in love with driving again. MotorTrend’s former testing director, Kim Reynolds, summed up the Carrera’s visceral appeal perfectly: “When all cars but one are autonomous, please let this be it, the last human-driven car. For posterity’s sake.” It’s been 10 years since I drove it, but I vividly remember it: Guards Red over black, it had just one option, red seatbelts. Every so often, I scour the classifieds, looking for a used one. I start running the numbers, and dreaming…
The 992.1-Generation Porsche 911 GT3 RS
RS. It stands for RennSport, or “Racing Sport” in German
