Innehållsförteckning för No. 181 från Total 911

In the realms of classic Porsche parlance, ‘Turbo v Carrera’ is a near-perpetual debate for those looking to dive fresh-faced into the world of air-cooled 911 ownership. Harking from a world before the 911’s line-up blossomed with the arrival of ‘GT3’ and ‘GT2’, if you wanted a top-of-the-range 911 with an atmospheric engine then Carrera it was, often with the letters ‘R’ and ’S’ added onto the end of its name. If your idea of a luxurious 911 came with forced induction, then Porsche had its Turbo ready to order, providing you had the funds to acquire it. Today the ground is much more even between top-line classic Carreras and Turbos in terms of values, which makes the decision even harder. Should your classic 911 be nat-asp or turbocharged? “Should…

Factory secures quadruple of titles at Le Mans Super-season finale at La Sarthe serves up WEC crown for Christensen and Estre Porsche factory drivers Michael Christensen and Kévin Estre were confirmed as world champions of the 2018/19 WEC after a nail-biting 10th-place finish at the championship’s final round at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Winners of the super season curtain raiser at Le Mans last year, the driver pairing returned to La Sarthe with Laurens Vanthoor and looked almost certain to cement their GTE Pro title with a repeat victory at France’s famous twice-round-the-clock race. Their #92 car, one of four factory 991 RSRs competing, took the lead after five hours of racing in the GT class, only for repairs to a defective exhaust at 03:47 meaning they dropped…

“The engine was the spare, well, it was what became the spare engine; it had been the primary engine in HR2, the 962 which I raced. It was the Daytona engine,” says Bruce Canepa. It isn’t every shop that has such an engine going spare, and when Las Vegas casino owner Gary Primm contacted Canepa about the disappointing 1989 911 Speedster he’d just had delivered, the stars aligned. Primm had driven his Speedster about 100 miles and found it lacking, calling Canepa to ask: “What can we do with this thing? It’s boring, and slow,” Primm and Canepa having collaborated previously on an AMG build. It didn’t take Canepa long to figure out what to do with the Speedster. He admits: “They were pretty underwhelming. They had no power, they…

Porsche’s front-axle lift system is a handy tool if you’re keen to boost everyday practicality of your 911 when having to deal with nasty kerbs or steep inclines. It’s been available as an option on GT cars since the 997.2 generation, when front-axle lift was a pneumatic system. The 991 switched to electro-hydraulic power – a move which saved 50 per cent in weight – and was made available throughout the entire range. The 991 system also lifted the car higher, increasing the approach angle by three degrees to a total of 12.7 thanks to a lift of 40mm at the 911’s nose, or 34mm at its suspension strut – this is for Carrera variants; it’s slightly less on GT cars. The system features two actuators on the front suspension…

World-famous film stars aren’t the usual preserve of these pages, but when they also happen to be enthusiastic owners of our favourite sports car they merit a closer look. When it comes to the Neunelfer, few are quite as famous as Steve McQueen, and naturally we need to start with that film. Using footage shot at the previous year’s race, Le Mans hit the big screen in 1971 and saw McQueen’s character, Michael Delaney, battle with Ferraris before taking the chequered flag in a Porsche. Needless to say, the film has gone down in Porsche folklore as one of the most captivating films you can hope to watch as a fanatic of Stuttgart’s prancing horse – even today it’s considered a right of passage for any aspiring Porsche owner or…

New Porsche Exclusive 911s set to be revealed Exclusive department to collaborate with Style Porsche for Heritage specials Porsche has announced an exciting new concept for a series of low-number, special-edition 911s, set to be revealed next year as part of a new ‘Heritage Design Strategy’. The result of an ‘extraordinary’ collaboration between Porsche Style and the storied Exclusive department, Porsche says the partners are “reinterpreting exclusive 911 models with iconic elements stemming from Porsche vehicles dating back to the 1950s through to the 1980s”. These new cars will form part of a ‘Lifestyle’ operative, whereby specially honed new vehicles with modern-day technology will feature a number of emotive references to vehicles of the past. One such vehicle is mooted to be a new Sport Classic, first reported last issue…

After the swing of the 1960s, the 1970s are often lambasted, wrongly viewed as a decade of energy crises, political upheaval and scandal. The reality is that while the 1970s might have been a turbulent decade, they were also arguably a turning point in the modern world. Those energy crises did raise global concerns over consumption and, unsurprisingly, the car was in the firing line, particularly in the US. Increasing legislation for fuel economy and emissions, as well as safety, demanded change. That created problems for Porsche with the 911. The 911s of 1970’s America would feature detuned engines to pass economy standards, EU and RoW cars largely escaping those, though those US regulations would have a pronounced impact on how the 911 would look. From 1973 onwards US domestic…

Zef Eisenberg is no ordinary racer. The man behind Maximuscle, the sports drink, likes the extremes of motorsport: the Guernsey-based enthusiast holds more than 44 UK, world or Guinness speed records including, though unofficially, Britain’s fastest motorcycle crash, a 230mph accident which left him in a wheelchair. However, extreme sport demands extreme determination, and evidently Eisenberg has it in abundance. Within a year he had taught himself to walk again and was back behind the wheel. In May 2018 he became the first man to exceed 200mph on Carmarthenshire’s Pendine Sands, the scene of a hundred years of speed record attempts. A year later he returned at the wheel of his 991 Turbo and spectacularly rewrote the Pendine record book, achieving the fastest sand speed record by a wheel-powered vehicle…

HISTORY AND SPEC The GT2 badge was first affixed to the 911 back in 1995, beginning a model line that stood for rawness, rarity and lightweight. From that first 993 model it also meant a Neunelfer that demanded respect and a healthy dose of skill and concentration, inheriting the infamous ‘widowmaker’ tag first associated with the Turbo. 996 and 997.1 variants soon followed, but the 2010 Moscow Auto Show saw Porsche skip the GT2 model for 997.2, instead taking things to a whole new level with the addition of the fabled RS badge – two small letters that made a very big difference. Just how different was quickly established by perusing the spec sheet, where potential buyers would have discovered some very large numbers. With boost for the turbochargers increased…

Even before the famous Fuchs of the 911, Porsche had recognised the importance of styling for road wheels: by the mid-1950s the plain VW-derived items of the 356 had been ennobled with chromed and increasingly elaborate hubcaps. The early 911 would follow the same pattern with 15-inch, five-stud steel wheels, the unsightly nuts and hubs masked by trims. Porsche by now, though, was making its own wheels. A major difference between the 911 and its predecessor was brakes. The 911 used disc brakes not drums, and slots in the design of the wheels not only saved weight, they also provided all-important airflow to the discs. Reflecting general advances in manufacturing and engineering, the 911 also made more use of lighter metals than the 356 had, and Porsche extended this to…

I’d entered my Toad Hall Porsche RSR #73 with co-drivers Paul Blancpain and Milt Minter for the 1974 rendition of Le Mans. I won’t go into details of how it all happened, because there’s no time. Milt is coming in and I’m waiting in the pits for my turn at the wheel. Paul is back in the caravan getting some rest. It’s just stopped raining and the asphalt is beginning to dry. We had problems early on: I started, and the clutch began slipping only a few laps in. We had to pull the engine and replace a seal, but now we’re back in the hunt, class-wise. Already, it’s my day in the barrel again – it’s an old joke, ask me to tell it some day (if you can’t…

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’susedvaluecompared to the previous financial quarter. The review for 2019 Q4 will be October. The review for 2019 Q3 was July. Ratings Each model is rated out of five in ourhalf-starsystemaccording totheirperformance,handling, appearanceanddesirability.…

Porsche pricing in the UK: rip-off Britain? Dear Sir, I’ve been a Porschephile since I was 12 and my sister’s boyfriend had a new 356 which he took me out in, telling me that Porsche made the best cars in the world. Powerful words that clearly influenced a young mind. Over the years I have owned 12 Porsche, of which six were 911s. I’m a Canadian living in England and currently run a 991.1 GTS as well as a new Cayenne GTS. I’m also a digital subscriber to Total 911. I’m loving the evolution of the 992 – its styling cues from the 930, wide body, wheel flares and flowing lines are beautiful in every way. The tech spec says that it is every bit as capable as my GTS…

Less is more. Or perhaps more is more. After an unforgettable day with two iconic 964s, I’m still struggling to decide. Both cars are Midnight blue, and both will set you back around £200,000, but there the similarities end. As driving machines the Carrera RS and Turbo 3.6 could scarcely be more different. I rendezvous with Editor Lee at Hexagon Classics, where the 911s are waiting outside. I’m drawn to the RS first: its neat, narrow-body lines and just-so stance look purposeful yet achingly pretty. The Turbo is almost cartoonish by comparison, with swollen flanks, dished alloys and a mighty rear wing. If the former appeals to connoisseurs, the latter is an unashamed crowd-pleaser. Driving either Porsche around London would, frankly, be like eating a Michelin-starred meal in a motorhome,…

As a model at the very top of the 911 marketplace, the 997 GT2 RS is reserved for serious collectors. There’s only a handful of other in-house rivals to Porsche’s first turbocharged RS for the road, and it’s no surprise they too have ‘Rennsport’ or ‘Exclusive’ as part of their names. 2.7 RS A car that will need no introduction, it’s one of the few that has achieved truly legendary status. A car which started the Porsche 911 Rennsport icon, the market has softened on these of late so you'll be able to find a sympathetically restored, matching numbers example. 997 GT3 RS 4.0 This almost-as-rare RS might just fit the bill. With just 600 produced and a pinnacle of the 997 for many, it became an instant classic and…

Once again, the beauty of a 911 on the open road awaits. As regular readers will know, we’re not averse to a good road trip here at Total 911, but these are usually carried out under the steer of a press car: a very new 911, lavishly specced, with limited miles on the clock and, crucially, without the wear and tear which inevitably occurs over time. This occasion will be different. Embarking on this journey with my own 996.1 Carrera, not only am I putting my money where my mouth is, so to speak, but collectively as a magazine we’re investing maximum faith in the brand by taking an example from the most humble end of the Porsche spectrum. My trip begins by collecting photographer Dan from his abode around…

Peter Wilson Adelaide, Australia Model 930 3.3 Year 1980 Acquired 2011 I have been lucky enough to take the 930 for another long country drive this month to a historic race meeting in our neighbouring state of Victoria. This one is held annually at the Winton circuit near Benalla and is about 800km from home. I travelled in convoy with John Veale in his 928S as far as Ouyen and then myself and co-driver Dave ventured onto some quiet farming back roads. These let us cut cross-country from the historic wheat-growing town of Wycheproof to the river port of Echuca for our overnight stay. Wycheproof’s claim to fame is having the smallest registered mountain in the world, standing only 148 metres (486 feet) above sea level. The trip across was…

Ah, the trusty 993. The last air-cooled generation of 911, the last hand-built 911 and, as values have never dipped into the realms of entry-level money, it could be the only classic retaining its factory quality, broadly speaking. Specialist commentators have been peddling the motion for some time now, certain that for the very reasons here mentioned, the 993 is a sure-fire bet as a safe place to put your money; we’ve printed it enough times in the magazine. Though this rhetoric has been the same for the last five years or so now, the reality has never really materialised. Instead it is values of the generation before it which have continually pushed skywards, a manual 964 C2 Coupe fetching more money than a requisite 993. Even the 996 generation…