Innehållsförteckning för No. 161 från Total 911

It’s great to have a group of long-bonnets lavishing the cover of Total 911 magazine. The last five years has seen their stock soar inconceivably and, though prices vary significantly even between examples of the same model (this thanks to history, condition and what side the steering wheel is on), these 0-F series cars arguably represent the pinnacle of 911 ownership. There’s no question the long-bonnet cars represent the 911 in its purest form, its silhouette unspoiled by impact bumpers, its mechanicals unfettered by what are now primitive technologies like power steering, ABS or even a basic ECU. Lightweight, nimble and blessed with less than six square inches of contact patch to the road at each corner, it’ll take a proper peddler to make honest work of these early 911s,…

History of the 996 GT3 RS The last 911 to bear the Carrera RS badge was the 993, a lightweight, rear-wheel drive racer-for-the-road that wasn’t a choice for the faint-hearted. But when Porsche was looking to homologate the Neunelfer for GT3 endurance racing it was to the 996 that they turned, and that opened up a whole raft of possibilities, including the hoped-for return of those two famous letters. The Gen1 996 GT3 came and went, but when the Gen2 was launched in 2003, it was surely only a matter of time before Porsche upped the ante; that time was the 2004 model year. Beneath the rear deck lid was the same M96/72 Mezger unit powering the GT3. The bald figures said that it was only a fraction more accelerative,…

Let’s clear this one up once and for all. The fact generally accepted is that the Porsche 965 was a stillborn concept created by Porsche engineers to examine the concept of replacing the 911 Turbo with a new premium model. It was to be a top-of-the-range car, faster than the 930 but cheaper and below the ultimate 959. It’s at this point that if you Google ‘Porsche 965’ that everything becomes complicated. Remarkably, many people think that the 964 Turbo is actually a 965. Specialist car dealers, who really ought to have a firmer grasp of the facts, advertise them, and on any Porsche forum there is a history of heated debate on the subject. This experimental 911/965 that the factory engineers toyed with was fitted with a V8 supplied…

Open versions of the 911 have been around for so long it is hard to imagine that for its first few years the 911 existed only in Coupe form. Although convertible 356s proved popular, especially in America, planning for the 356’s replacement simply didn’t take into account the idea of a rag top: demand for convertible 356s had declined to below 20 per cent by 1960, and against heated debates about the shape of the new Porsche between chief body engineer Erwin Komenda and Butzi Porsche, the convertible was overlooked. In any case, the additional cost of tooling for an open car would have been hard to justify when all resources were committed to the new Coupe. Pressure from the sales department soon led to experiments with 911s, but the…

Rob Clarke Bristol, UK @rob911_ltl @Rob996LTL Model 996.1 Carrera 4 Year 1999 Acquired February 2014 This month started really well. I was enjoying the car again, and running on the 17-inch rims was so much better, but… a different noise started from the engine, which sounded like a bearing. My thoughts were of the water pump or alternator, but I kept these thoughts to myself. Fast forward a week and a warning light starts flashing on the dash by the temp gauge. I was cruising on the M5, so backed off and did an instrument check. Temperature was okay, oil pressure good. The engine seemed okay, so I pushed onto my destination (albeit at a slower speed). As I pulled off the motorway and stopped at the lights, I looked…

“There’s a school of thought that the 997 represents the last bastion of the proper 911” Momentum is fast growing for the 997 generation of Porsche 911, enthusiasts the world over appreciating the 997’s great mix of classic lines in a modern package. Far more petit in appearance than the more bloated 991s, the 997 also has its engine properly slung out past its rear axle, while in performance stakes, the car remains competitive to its younger brethren. It’s debatable, of course, but there’s a school of thought that the 997 represents the last bastion of the proper 911 – something we at Total 911 agree with. Values of the 997 generally remain very strong, so there’s much positivity around the generation right now. But which is the right 997…

The American car market has influenced the 911 in many ways. A 1971 requirement that cars must survive a 5mph (8km/h) impact without further damage to bodywork, for many manufacturers, meant adopting huge and notably ugly bumpers, but Porsche had a better idea. Instead of afterthoughts that resembled bridge girders, Wolfgang Möbius skilfully blended them into the Neunelfer’s bodywork: the ‘impact bumper’ had arrived. It’s fair to say that not everyone found the chunky new look appealing. Painting them in body colour certainly helped with their integration, however, and Porsche’s approach to the problem was typically thorough. Forming them from aluminium of around 5mm thickness kept weight down, but the clever part, from a styling perspective, was the use of short rubber/polyurethane bellows at each end that allowed for their…

TechArt unveils Sport Package for GT3 Carbon fibre parts sharpen look of Porsche’s 991.2 track car German tuning house TechArt has unveiled a 991.2 GT3 Sport Package at the Essen Motor Show. Extensive use of carbon fibre, manufactured in-house at TechArt’s Leonberg base, features heavily on air scoops, wings and mirrors featured on Porsche’s latest GT3. TechArt says its upgrades replace those found on the car from factory, including a lightweight front lid with integrated air outlet, front spoiler with revised air blades underneath the daytime running lights, as well as side skirts. At the back of the car, the kit comprises carbon ram air scoops on the decklid, new aerodynamic winglets plus a rear diffuser. The Sport Package also has a choice of titanium or carbon tailpipes for the…

996 v 997 Turbo: in favour of the 997… Dear Sir, Very much enjoyed the 996 v 997 Turbo feature. As a former owner of both, I feel well placed to report my feedback. For me, the 996 Turbo is a phenomenal car: it’s still devastatingly quick, and has perfect proportions for today’s roads. However, if you can afford it, the 997 Turbo is a worthy step up. Its performance is marginally better, but where it really improves is in its chassis. Both cars are great, but the 997 is an all-round improvement. James Sadler 996 v 997 Turbo: in favour of the 996… Dear Sir, In reference to your recent 996 v 997 Turbo cover article, in my opinion the 996 generation is the last of the analogue cars.…

In the November issue of Total 911 we compared the 991.2 Carrera, GTS and Turbo S, declaring them the “modern-day interpretations of the 911 T, E and S”. Now, we’re rewinding the clock 45 years to the classic originals. Meet the mainstream F-series range as it was in 1973, the final year of the ‘long bonnet’ before the impact-bumpered G-series arrived, a move which changed the 911’s look forever. Why ‘mainstream’? Well, as Porsche enthusiasts, we all have ‘1973’ branded on our collective consciousness as the year of the first road-going Rennsport. The Carrera 2.7 RS is a fully paid-up icon and arguably the greatest 911 ever made, yet, then as now, it was exclusive and expensive. So, just as we excluded GT models from our 991.2 triple test, the…

If you’ve ever been to New York then you’ll probably know that Manhattan’s Park Avenue is one of the city’s swankier addresses, and it also happens to be one that plays a pivotal role in the story of Porsche in America. That story begins back in the autumn of 1950, when the legendary Max Hoffmann put a Porsche 356 on display at his extensive showroom at 430 Park Avenue – a decision that led to the country becoming Porsche’s most important market. An Austrian ex-pat, Hoffmann knew that European cars were just what post-war, car-hungry Americans wanted and, having been encouraged by a Swiss journalist, Max Troesch, decided to add a Porsche franchise to his portfolio. Ferry Porsche himself was said to have been slightly less certain, reputedly telling Hoffmann…

“Only the roof and windshield on Kremer’s K4 is supplied by the Porsche factory” It was the 2.7 Carrera RS of 1973 that Porsche first homologated to go racing. Its mightier RSR sibling went on to record notable achievements at the 24-Hours of Daytona, 12-Hours of Sebring, Targa Florio and six of nine rounds in the 1973 European GT Championship. However, Porsche had unveiled its 911 Turbo road car by 1974, its motorsport division at Werk I realising forced induction unlocked another quantum of performance that its naturally aspirated RSRs simply couldn’t reach. In racing terms, it was the 934 that reared its head as the first turbocharged Porsche production race car in 1976. The 934, though, was a mere precursor to the 935, developed by the legendary Norbert Singer…

Data file Tech specs for every 911, including the 1973 and 1974 Rennsports, can be found in our Data File beginning on page 86. Plus Showroom Searching for a new 911? The classifieds from our independent specialist partners are a great place to start Servicing & tuning Get the very best from your Porsche 911 with the help of our selected performance and maintenance specialists Porsche lifestyle Helping you make the right lifestyle choices to complement you and your 911, Don’t just drive Porsche, live the brand, too Insurance & finance Get your Porsche covered with the best insurance deals for road and track to ensure happy, safe motoring…

While the 991 Turbo and GT3 may be the first Porsches to feature active rear wheel steering, neither model is the first to try and control the direction of the rear axle under load. Throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, most of the cars rolling off the Zuffenhausen production line featured semi-trailing arm rear suspension, whereby the two arms connected to each upright are mounted to the chassis via rubber bushes (to reduce vibration and road noise). While the design is a cost-effective alternative to double wishbones, during any deceleration the car’s body tries to pull away from the rear suspension. This causes the semi-trailing arm to deflect thanks to the elasticity in the rubber bushes, pushing the heavily loaded outer-rear wheels into toe-out. If this deceleration is caused by…

Porsche leaves LMP1 as champions 919s successfully defend WEC manufacturer and driver titles in Bahrain Porsche has bowed out of LMP1 competition in the WEC at the very top after wrapping up a third consecutive manufacturer’s title, while the trio of Brendon Hartley, Earl Bamber and Timo Bernhard secured the 2017 driver’s championship, also the third year in a row for Porsche drivers. Weissach’s two 919 E-hybrids finished second and third in the final round in Bahrain, rivals Toyota emerging victorious from an incident-packed night race. However, round nine of the World Endurance Championship carried much more significance than a mere six-hour sprint to close the season, the occasion also marking an end to one of the most dominant chapters in Porsche’s entire motorsport history. Porsche’s 919 proved indomitable in…

911 Carrera T: mere marketing ploy? Dear Sir, I had a good chuckle when reading about Porsche’s new 911 Carrera T. I’ve had numerous 911s over the years and am well versed as to the company’s methodical approach to its mantra of ‘add lightness’, which often borders on the tedious (the 996 GT3 RS saved just 20kg in weight over the 996 GT3, for example). However, this ‘Carrera Lightweight’ is a step too far. It’s laughable! The 991.2 Carrera is a heavy beast by any 911 standards, and we all know the car can be pared back significantly more so than the 20kg managed by the Carrera T. Instead I’m going to buy a bog-standard 991.2 Carrera and fit an Akrapovic exhaust to it: that’s about the same price as…

Winter time in Yorkshire, a cold day with a piercing blue, cloudless sky and a biting wind. The low sun makes the shadows under the overhanging trees deep black and impenetrable. Driving into the glare makes those shadows deeper than ever. The scary sudden blackness, combined with the inevitable damp patches, can sap a driver’s confidence as vision is lost for a few fractions of a second, eyes struggling to adjust regardless of the position of the sun visor or shades. Perhaps not the best of days to be re-acquainted with the Porsche 964 Turbo. We don’t see too many Porsche 964s on the roads these days. Sadly, the escalating prices mean many have been retired to a life of suspended animation beneath a fitted cover, battery saver blinking away…

For as long as the 911 has been in existence, people have sought to modify it. It is the reason Porsche’s Exclusiv department was created, it being an official approach in tending to the bespoke requests of customers. Away from Stuttgart, a Porsche tuning scene has always thrived, most notably in California, where the ‘Outlaw’ style has long been prevalent. There are many reasons for this. While other factions of style from within the Porsche tuning fraternity, such as backdating, forward-dating or even the Singer-inspired cars are fairly rigid by definition of their appearance, an Outlaw car can take on many forms, for each build is distinctly personal to its owner. Each has its own unique story to tell. It’s more than that, though. In our contemporary Porsche world where…

Based in Cologne, Germany, and founded in 1964, the Kremer brothers actually ran a Porsche dealership, with Erwin initially racing Porsche cars prepared by Manfred in his spare time. By 1977, the Kremer’s side operation had grown substantially, and Manfred became uniquely capable of modifying the already formidable 935 built by Porsche. A good relationship with the company ensured access to plenty of factory Porsche parts, and so the Kremers quickly began developing their own race cars derived from – but vastly different to – Porsche’s 935. The Kremer’s cars were lighter, the bodywork was revised and engine componentry tuned. According to various sources, Manfred once told acclaimed Porsche journalist, the late Paul Frère, that their car had over 100 changes from that of Porsche’s 935, which made their car…

911s in the data file are organised in rows according to release date, beginning with the very first model in 1964. Many models were available in Coupe, Targa and Cabriolet forms, with the option of automatic transmission. Here, data has been provided from the Coupe variants unless stated. All data here has been compiled, where possible, from Porsche’s own figures. General valuations This reflects the general market trend for a model’s used value compared to the previous financial quarter. The review for 2018 Q1 will be January. The review for 2017 Q3 was September. Ratings Each model is rated out of five in ourhalf-star system according to their performance, handling, appearance and desirability.…

GUNTHER WERKS 993 DRIVEN The re-imagined 993-generation 911s are here. Total 911 is the first in the world to drive Gunther Werks’ 500hp, 4.0-litre air-cooled monster EVOLUTION OF THE 911 TURBO Your most comprehensive chart of the 911 Turbo’s 42-year development RARE 997S The 997 generation boasted a plethora of special editions – we take a look at them all WALTER RÖHRL INTERVIEW Total 911 spends an afternoon with the German driving extraordinaire Contents may be subject to change…