Innehållsförteckning för No. 193 från Total 911

No sooner had the production line at Zuffenhausen fired back to life post COVIDinduced lockdown, Porsche released not one, not two, but three new 911 models for us to sink our teeth into. The Targa 4 and 4S came first: in essence a carry-over of the 991’s brilliant roof system onto the body and chassis of the 992-generation 911. The result is a stunning creation which again melds iconic, retro looks with the practicality and efficiency of modern technology. I’d argue there are few cars on the road, full stop, which captivate so well by bringing old and new together. If the 991 reignited a passion for the traditional 911 Targa, the 992 looks sure to continue it, and you can look forward to our definitive verdict from a first…

“The really great thing is that the Targa concept is still around,” so says Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser, head of 911 production at Porsche. At the digital premiere of the new Targa, Dr Walliser also confessed he thinks the 992 Targa is the most beautiful 911. He might have a point: you could argue that few other models, the Coupe included, can retain the absolute classic look of the very earliest 911 models, here encompassing that iconic roll hoop and wraparound glass screen, yet bringing it so convincingly into the modern age. It’s done in this case thanks to the most ingenious system of kinetics, which somehow manages to unfurl the Targa like a clamshell before tucking that fabric roof neatly out of sight past the 911’s rear seats. The Targa…

Warming up against the screech of the unsilenced Cosworth DFVs, the first thing that strikes you about the engine is how quiet it is. Despite the mammoth tailpipes, the twin KKK turbochargers suck a lot of the raspy flat six sound out of the garage’s atmosphere. That’s not to say this car lacks theatre. The unburnt 102-octane Sunoco fuel pops and bangs as it ignites in the exhaust, sending bursts of orange flame out the back. The whistling turbines can be heard before the barking 3.2-litre boxer breaks through the air. 15 years after television showed me one streaking down the Hunadières, this is my first live sighting of a Porsche 911 GT1. 15 years is a long time for a racing car to be idle. Thankfully, this 1997 GT1…

If you’d been lucky enough to work as a motoring journalist in the 1980s (when budgets were generous and launches went on for days) you’d have laughed at the proposition that the 911 Turbo would evolve into the definitive, secure, all-weather supercar within the next decade or so. 1995 marked the beginning of the evolution towards the 911 Turbo as we know it now, with the 993 Turbo introducing technology that had first appeared almost a decade earlier in the seminal 959. Twin turbos delivered an even bigger, yet more manageable hit of power. Married to modern chassis technology and four-wheel drive, the 911 Turbo was suddenly a car capable of covering ground with immense speed and security. And if the 993-generation Turbo heralded a new direction in the evolution…

GTS: three letters that, when siphoned together, evoke a strong yet wonderfully nostalgic sporting spirit in the Porsche world. As you’ll know, the legend started more than 50 years ago with the 904 Carrera GTS, a Targa Florio-winning car that gave rise to the infallible 917, and was reignited for the 911 production line in 2010 with the 997 Carrera GTS. A run-out special with high-quality options appointed as standard to the specification, a 997 GTS is an exquisite Carrera with genuine sporting intentions. It’s a Total 911 favourite and, if that’s not reason enough for you to find similar endearment with it, just take a look at the classifieds to see its current value. Certainly, no other 997 outside of the GT2/3/RS lineup has enjoyed such refusal to significantly…

Turbo Targa to be revived? Porsche insider hints at possible return for roll-hooped 911 Turbo Porsche has fanned the flames on talk that it might possibly be considering a modern-day version of a Turbo Targa. Zuffenhausen first made a Turbo Targa in the days of the Type 930 model designation. A 911-shaped hallmark of 1980s excess, the model was rare, but is favoured among collectors today as a result. It is the only time an open-topped, roll-hoop design has been applied to Porsche’s top-of-the-range 911: if you otherwise wanted fresh-air motoring from your Turbo experience in the 930, 996, 997 and 991 era, the Cabriolet was your only option. For the latest 992 generation, Porsche has released both the Turbo S Coupe and Cabriolet, as well as the Targa 4…

Porsche on tour Dear Sir, I hope you are well, staying safe and keeping sane in these extraordinary circumstances. Anthony Coyne’s article [issue 191] had inspired me to reflect and put pen to paper about my own recent experience from a tour I co-organised and participated in back in October 2019. It all started with a chat over a drink (doesn’t it always?) with a good friend of mine, a former president of Porsche Club Pforzheim (Germany). “Wouldn’t it be great if we came to the UK in our cars to sample all things British – it would be a dream come true,” he said. As the idea developed, friends and Porsche enthusiasts from other parts of Europe wanted to get on board and, being motorsport fans, it wasn’t long…

Scroll down to the Porsche 996 section on any car forum, and for years you wouldn’t find much love. Catastrophic engine failures, water leaks, poor build quality and the underlying notion of ‘if it’s not air-cooled, it’s not a real 911’ prevailed. Admittedly, I’ve been guilty of displaying this attitude on occasion. Buy a sub-£10,000 996, and if anything goes wrong then your car’s a write-off, surely? £7,000 rebuilds and horror stories abound. Stay well clear; buy an Audi TT or M3, we often hear. Against that aroma of disappointment, the whiff of expelled coolant and that unmistakable smell of hot, dead engines, it would take a little courage to buy a 996. So when you hear of someone who has purchased a 996 Porsche with over 170,000 miles on…

Data file Full specs, ratings and market values of every 911, including the 993 Carreras, can be found beginning on page 76 Plus Showroom Looking for a new 911? The classifieds from our independent specialist partners are the first place you should start your search 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 Insurance & finance Get your Porsche covered with the best insurance deals for road and track to ensure happy, safe motoring…

It’s the first time we’ve studied the same ‘sales debate’ topic for two issues in a row at Total 911 but, with the exceptional circumstances we find ourselves living under currently, we felt it good value to see how the Porsche marketplace has reacted to implications surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. As we reported last issue, with governments around the world advising us to continue to stay at home for the spring and early summer months, the global economy was brought to a relative standstill. This economic ‘standstill’ largely filtered through to the automotive marketplace: lockdowns made it extremely difficult for buyers, who were unable to go and look at prospective purchases in person, though dealers were able to provide video walk-arounds to combat this. Some transactions were going through though…

Rennsport: it’s a fabled and oh-so evocative Porsche designation that evokes a heady assemblage of truly unrelenting, motorsportderived excitement at the wheel of a sports car. Quite rightly, the ‘RS’ sits at the pinnacle of the 911 bloodline: it is the quintessence of automotive finesse in a road car, the rawest, purest instance of breathtaking performance on four wheels. And right now, I’m pedalling one of the best. My hands are clasped to an Alcantara-lined steering wheel as I point the 997 GT3 RS toward London. In true RS style, the driving experience is best described as raw. There’s no radio or air conditioning in here and the source of all noise is behind me: thanks to a Perspex rear screen, the factory-fitted titanium exhaust resonates poetically back into the…

I’m laughing. I can’t help myself, sitting on a plane home from Stuttgart, earphones in, transcribing the conversation I’ve recorded between myself and Porsche GT department’s Andreas Preuninger. I hear a 3.8-litre turbocharged engine roar as we chat. Nothing too amusing in that. Except my reaction. Even above the engine’s gloriously guttural note there’s a long expletive exclaimed in accompaniment. The GT2 RS will do that to you, its performance in a league that’s beyond the ordinary, even from something wearing a GT badge on its rump. Only it isn’t. Being a prototype, even the crest on the bonnet is hidden, the rear a mix of GT3 RS panels, bonded-on disguising a pair of massive exhaust pipes, and good, old-fashioned tape. Not that there’s any hiding what this is, the…

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 2020 Q4 will be July. The review for 2020 Q2 was April. Ratings Each model is rated out of five in ourhalf-starsystemaccording totheirperformance,handling, appearanceanddesirability.…

Grant Larson’s association with Porsche and the 911 is both long and pivotal. After graduating from California’s Art Center College of Design in 1986, Larson joined Porsche in 1989 as part of Harm Lagaay’s new wave of contemporary automotive designers, alongside the likes of Pinky Lai. While Lai was ultimately responsible for the 996’s design, Larson’s early work at Weissach culminated in development of its smaller sibling in the 986 Boxster. However, Larson’s first major imprint on the 911’s own legacy would come with the advent of the Type 997. Larson returned the car to a more traditional 911 appearance, moving away from the 996’s controversial one-piece headlamps. This proved popular with enthusiasts, and the 997 remains a uniformly favoured generation. Evolving the 997 aesthetic for the Turbo model, it…