Porsche Portraits: Porsche's 911 is one of the few cars that have already become legendary 'in their lives'. That life started more than 55 years ago. And the eighth generation '911s' has recently been launched. It is high time to highlight all generations of these cars and their drivers. Porsche does this with an eight-part series of mini-documentaries, which mainly revolves around the person behind the 911.
What is the secret of Porsche's 911 long-term success?
Porsche 911s are fast cars for active drivers. Their reliability has always been many times greater than that of the Italian sports cars from the highest segment. The handling was, even for the very dynamic driving early 'short' 911s, much better than that of Chevrolets Corvettes. And the English counterparts? They were just a story apart.
The masterly lines of the car were designed by Ferdinand "Butzi" Porsche, grandson of Ferdinand Porsche himself. The striking lines have evolved over the past 55 years, but have been retained. That has only been possible because the primordial concept is so incredibly strong.
The beginning
Porsche presented the model 12 for the first time on 1963 September 901. But the type designation had to be changed because Peugeot claimed the trademark right on all car model numbers consisting of three digits with a zero in the middle. That is how the 911 got its name. The 911 came on the market in 1964 with an 2.0 liter air-cooled 6 cylinder engine that was placed in the rear and delivered 130 hp. This allowed the 911 to accelerate in seconds from 8,9 to 0 km / h in 100. In the meantime, the performance has clearly grown to a 'next level'. The Porsche 997 Turbo S delivered a power of 530 hp.
From air cooling to water cooling
In the 1990s, it became increasingly difficult to meet the stricter emission requirements. In 1997 the first water-cooled Porsche 911 (model year 1998) was introduced under the project name 996 and with an engine of 3,4 liter and 300 hp. And even later came the even the 530 pk strong 997 Turbo S.
"Leading the way through technology"
The 911 Turbo not only delivered much more power, but the torque also increased considerably. Partly for this reason, the 911 Turbo received variable four-wheel drive. (If the rear wheels start to spin due to the high torque, the front axle accounts for up to 95% of the drive.) Without this, 5% of the drive always goes to the front axle.
More than 1.000.000 911s
On 11 in May 2017 the millionth Porsche 911 rolled off the production line. And it remains in the possession of the Porsche Museum. But despite its museum status, the 911 is not nearly at the end of its dynamic career.
Porsche is a pure character brand
And that is also apparent from the kind of people that Porsches buys and drives. These are characters that fall for the charm of these unique sports cars. They are enthusiastic and loyal to their brand. Because let's face it: without the customers, the 911 would never have been the success it is.
Time to celebrate the success of the 911
It is therefore high time to highlight all generations of these cars and their drivers. Pon Porsche Import does that with 'Porsche Portraits', an eight-part series of mini documentaries of which the first episode - with an F-model from 1968 in the lead role - has since been published. Why did the owner specifically choose this car, what did he or she experience and what does driving such a car add to his or her life? From the many enthusiastic registrations after a call among Dutch Porsche drivers, Pon Porsche Import selects eight owners and their 911. A different generation of the sports car is featured in each episode. Not in chronological order, by the way; so the second episode will revolve around an 997. All episodes can be viewed on the Dutch Porsche Newsroom and in the Porsche24 app.
