www.porscheroadandrace.com Porsche 911 Turbo through the decades Published: 8th January 2021 By: Glen Smale Online version: https://www.porscheroadandrace.com/porsche-911-turbo-through-the-decades/ 1974 Porsche 911 Turbo #1 chassis no. 911 560 0042. First owned by the late Louise Piëch (older sister of Ferry Porsche), the 2.7-litre 911 Turbo prototype is now on display in the Porsche Museum Inspiration for this feature came from the post published by Porsche in December 2020. It covers the seven generations of the legendary 911 Turbo from inception in the mid-1970s right up to the current 992 model. No apology is made for using some of the text from the original feature, as this includes the unparalleled comments from rally legend, Walter Röhrl, who assisted with the development and testing of these models over the years. www.porscheroadandrace.com 1974 Porsche 911 Turbo #1 chassis no. 911 560 0042. First owned by the late Louise Piëch (older sister of Ferry Porsche), the car was photographed in the underground car park of the Porsche Museum where it is now on display The experience gained from the turbo technology used in the 917/10 and 917/30 in 1972 and 1973 in the Can-Am series in the USA, paved the way for this technology to be used in a road car application. During this time, Porsche perfected the use of turbocharging in motorsport, ironing out many of the challenges associated with this technology. In the spring of 1975, a quarter of a century after Porsche began building cars in Stuttgart- Zuffenhausen, the 911 Turbo was launched. www.porscheroadandrace.com 1976 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0-litre Coupé It is today 46 years since the first 930 Turbo was launched, and one of its early customers, Walter Röhrl, bought his first Turbo in ’79. He recently gathered an enviable group of seven 911 Turbos at the Porsche Experience Centre at the famous Hockenheimring. Although this author makes no claims to being able to analyse any of those 911 Turbos, but I have been fortunate enough to drive some, and so, we can bring our own flavour to this feature with some additional comments. www.porscheroadandrace.com The 930 generation Walter Röhrl: “The forefather of all Turbos was a technical revolution in car production. The first variant with 260 PS and a four-speed gearbox was still very sharp as regards its power development, but that made it a fantastic challenge for skilled drivers. The visual styling of the 930 was also a dream: the flared wings in combination with the Fuchs wheels, not to mention the large rear spoiler. I fulfilled a very personal dream in 1979 when, within four years of the market launch, I bought my own, first, 911 Turbo.” www.porscheroadandrace.com 1974 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0-litre Coupé in the grounds of Porsche Werk 7, Ludwigsburg The 930 was powered by a 3.0-litre flat-six engine, and with 260 PS under the engine cover, a top speed of 155 mph was possible. The all-important number was of course the www.porscheroadandrace.com acceleration figure of 0-62 mph in a blistering 5.5 seconds, which for a production car, was astonishingly quick in 1975. The 930 also looked the business with a rear wing that was larger than on the ’73 Carrera RS, ensuring that the car stayed glued to the road. The first generation 930, from 1975-1977, kept the 3.0-litre engine but from 1978-1988, the Turbo was fitted with a 3.3-litre engine. The G model – Porsche 911 Turbo 3.3 This writer’s first experience of the 930 Turbo was in 1976, when as a car-mad 19-year old, I witnessed a dark green 930 laying down a strip of rubber in the town where I lived. Porsches were quite uncommon in South Africa at that time, attracting a 110% import tax, and so when this sleek 930 came around the corner and the driver floored the accelerator, I was transfixed as it disappeared down Station Road in a flash of colour…and tyre smoke! Up until that time, there was nothing else on the road that could accelerate like the 930, and from that day onwards, it was my all-time favourite 911. www.porscheroadandrace.com 1975 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0 undergoing testing in Weissach The 964 generation Walter Röhrl: “The successor then still had a displacement of 3.3 litres, like the last variants of the 930 models. It was still extremely beautiful; the wide wings at the sides with the high headlights and the powerful rear wing. Like the 964, the new models also offered significantly improved driving safety with ABS and power steering. However, the engines of the first variants were slightly outdated. It was not a great step forward in terms of longitudinal dynamics compared with the predecessors, which is why the earlier models are among the less popular variants today. That changed fundamentally with the Turbo 3.6, however. With a completely newly designed engine and a power output of 360 PS, it remains a dream car to this day.” www.porscheroadandrace.com This 964 Turbo S was being prepared for the Porsche Exclusive exhibition in the Museum Workshop in 2011 The 964 Turbo only came onto the market in the 1991 production year, and while the Carrera 2 and Carrera 4 models were fitted with the new 3.6-litre engine, the Turbo was still powered by the old 3.3-litre engine. The larger 3.6-litre turbocharged engine was only introduced in 1993, lifting the power output to 360 PS, that is 100 PS more than on the original 1975 model 930. Slotted into the 1992 model year was the Turbo S Lightweight with a limited production run of just 86 cars. www.porscheroadandrace.com This 1993 model Porsche 964 Turbo 3.6 looks stunning in the relaxed surroundings of a small German village In 2014, this writer had the privilege of driving in a 3.6-litre Turbo in Germany, an experience that I shall not forget. This car was in pristine condition which made the experience so much more memorable. While the characteristic turbo lag was still discernible, it was a vast improvement over previous models. The 3.6-litre model sat 20 mm lower and with the widened bodywork, it was an impressive model by any standard. As the 964 was to be replaced by the 993 model in ’94, the 3.6 Turbo was only manufactured in the 1993 production year, making this a very sought after model today. The 993 generation Walter Röhrl: “The next great step forward: all-wheel drive. I believe that I somehow played www.porscheroadandrace.com a not insignificant part in this, after I said that “a car without all-wheel drive is a stopgap solution.” Early on during development I said that it wasn’t possible to make a car with 408 PS without all-wheel drive. After many tests, we then decided on the new viscous clutch with variable power distribution to the front instead of the old principle with fixed distribution. Particularly in combination with the new Weissach rear axle and the harmonious power development of the bi-turbo engine, the 993 Turbo is simply fantastic to drive and can hardly be beaten when it comes to driving dynamics.” This Porsche 993 Turbo was photographed at the Porsche Club UK Festival at Eynsham Hall, Oxfordshire, UK, back in 2006 In the spring of ’95, the 993 Turbo was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show and featured twin turbochargers. Being the last of the air-cooled models, the 993 was to many Porsche enthusiasts extremely popular, with its smooth and graceful lines. Certainly today, values of www.porscheroadandrace.com this model have shot up for that very reason. The two turbochargers were smaller than previously, but throttle response was much better, making for smoother performance and an increased top speed of 180 mph. The rear bodywork of the Turbo was 60 mm wider than the standard model. The 996 generation This Porsche 996 Turbo was photographed at the Porsche Club UK Festival at Eynsham Hall, Oxfordshire, UK, back in 2006 Walter Röhrl: “The next development milestone came with the new generation: water cooling. The car was technically outstanding. Even the Porsche Carbon Ceramic Brakes (PCCB) from motorsports were now available as standard. The 996 was far and away the best Turbo there had ever been up to this point, but the visual appearance of the new car www.porscheroadandrace.com was not very popular; many people complained about the ‘fried-egg’ headlights. That is completely unjustified in my opinion. For me, the 996 Turbo is perhaps the insider tip, especially when seen from today’s perspective: it’s still a very fast sports car that is completely suitable for everyday driving at a reasonable price – though I would personally prefer a manual transmission. The Tiptronic automatic gearbox that was introduced for the first time in a Turbo with the 996 significantly blunted the power output of 420 PS.” The perfect period setting – a 2005 Porsche 996 Turbo S outside the famous Ace Café, London, in 2015 As Herr Röhrl says above, the 996 Turbo is strongly poised for growth as a future favourite. Although the 996 model was introduced in ’98, the 996 Turbo only broke cover in January 2000. This writer was privileged to do a feature on the 996 Turbo S, a 450 PS powerhouse www.porscheroadandrace.com which was only introduced in May 2004.