Innehållsförteckning för No. 234 från Total 911

We’re steaming towards the 911’s official birthday in September, when Porsche’s iconic sports car will celebrate 60 years of continued production and development. For many, the end of the air-cooled years represents the high watermark of the 911 in its classic form, and so we hope you’ll enjoy our look back on the halcyon 964 and 993 years in new detail, as part of our continued series exploring the Neunelfer’s remarkable history. One of my favourite shots supplied by our friends at Porsche’s archive facility hails from the launch of the first AWD production 911, the 964 C4 (above). How to show the world your new sports car has drive going to all four wheels? Hang it up from a crane and illuminate the underside, of course! Far more entertaining…

Two things we like here at Spotted: rarity, and a splash of colour – and this month’s car has plenty of both. We found a glorious 2.8 RSR, number 12 of just 55 built in Sea blue (which is on the cusp of purple) over at Mechatronik.de. Job done, we thought, but then we scrolled down. Now, there aren’t many cars that can out-rare and out-colour a purple (with red decals) 2.8 RSR, but the 993 GT2 Evo Harlekin (Harlequin) is such a car. And then some. Only 11 of these racers were built by Porsche and only one exists with a hand-painted Harlequin body. Yes, even the GT2’s famous bolt-on wheel arch extenders are all different colours, with every panel on this remarkable car coming in a riot of…

KAMM 912c I knew that I’d like the KAMM 912c. What I didn’t expect is by just how much. Usually, when briefed here I’ll spend a few thousand words explaining the why, how and what before concluding, but today’s going to be a bit different. The KAMManufaktur 912c is absolutely brilliant. Indeed, I’d go as far as saying it’s one of the most absorbing, exciting and interesting cars I’ve ever driven for these pages. There it is then, a rock-solid conclusion – but if you’re interested in how I got to that, do read on. Unusually, too, we’re revisiting the 912c because it’s featured previously in Total 911, but there have been several revisions to the car, with this development now better representing the vehicle that customers will eventually receive.…

Porsche stars at Festival of Speed Porsche was the featured marque at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, which hosted celebrations for the 75th anniversary of the manufacturer’s very first sports car The Goodwood Festival of Speed is never short of spectacle and magical moments, but 2023’s event won’t be forgotten by car fans in a hurry. As the featured marque, Porsche was front and centre of the 30th anniversary spectacle, commandeering the central display outside Goodwood House, while also showing off a raft of special vehicles on the famous hill. For the first time since the festival’s inception in 1995, the event was cancelled for a day on the Saturday following extreme weather warnings. None the less, the remaining days were packed with action. It was the fourth time…

HISTORY & TECH The curvaceous styling of the 996, particularly its interior, was in vogue in the late 1990s. Yet although it suited Ford’s ground-breaking Focus, Porsche buyers were more conservative and critical. For his last major oeuvre at Porsche, design chief Harm Lagaay turned to Grant Larson to recreate something of the 993 in the 997’s lines. Pinky Lai, stylist of the 996, was awarded the consolation prize of the forthcoming Cayman at the same time. There was little question that as far as the Porsche community was concerned, this was what they’d been waiting for and Steve Sutcliffe, writing for Autocar, was almost alone in calling for a more-radical, less-obviously 911 shape. Often referred to as a ‘reskin’ of the 996, although it kept the same platform and…

New Columnist Mike Bickell Sussex, UK @bear_intl_rennsport Model 996 CARRERA 4S Year 2002 Acquired MARCH 2015 When I was growing up in southern Africa, Porsche were thin on the ground. These days I have more parked on my driveway than I had encountered before my 18th birthday. The best you could hope for was the sanctions-busting, home-grown Ford Cortina XR6 with all the sophistication of an AM radio. Roll forward to my early 30s living in Edinburgh, when I purchased my first Porsche: a Guards red 944S. From there the collection has grown to the current lineup of a similar 944S to my first, a matching Guards red 928 S4 and 996 Carrera 4S. The cars have covered 490,000 miles and were purchased not as garage ornaments, but to really…

The recession of the late 1980s and early ’90s hit Porsche badly. The yuppie market that had adored the brand began to rapidly diminish. In September 1992 former production director, Wendelin Wiedeking, took over as head of the company. His objective? To slash costs by 30 per cent by 1995. Hardly surprising that he had such an ambition: the 1992-93 trading year had resulted in Porsche experiencing a record loss of 239 million Deutsche Marks. Yet his financial methods proved a success. Notwithstanding Porsche’s fiscal difficulties there was a new factory: a body assembly plant at Zuffenhausen, Stuttgart. There the new 1994 Carrera took 40 hours fewer to build; moreover, the amount of space needed to assemble each vehicle was reduced by 21 per cent. But what was the new…

911 perfection Dear Sir, After 2,781 miles, four weeks and seven European countries, I can definitively say the Porsche 911 is the perfect partner for such a road trip. Our 992 Carrera S carried two of us, three carry-on sized bags, food, wine, jackets and all the other bits and bobs. Perhaps not all that surprising to those of us lucky enough know how versatile our car of choice is, but add to that list a wheelchair and a walking frame, and you get the gist of why we encountered so many puzzled and fascinated looks. What a machine! May all owners of all models of 911s enjoy their vehicle as much as we do. Mike McCann Congratulations on your road trip, Mike – your experience underlines the all-round abilities…

Modified Porsche 964 It’s the best 964 I’ve driven,” says Ian Harris. That’s quite a statement given that Ian spends most of his week buying and selling 964s, and has been behind the wheel of a lot of them. But the cost (accumulated by Ian and previous owners) to get to this point, is nigh on £250k – without taking into account the purchase price. So is this money well spent? There’s no doubting it’s special when rolling out of Ian’s garage. In there, it looks black – coincidently the colour this 964 was originally – but out in the sun you see the green. Ian explains: “It’s Emerald green, a Mercedes-Benz colour,” which he’d seen on a G-Wagon. The original plan was to paint it in the same green…

Acronyms. They’re confusing at the best of times, but it’s even worse if you’re a car enthusiast. It used to be enough just to know your OHV from your OHC, but the proliferation of new technologies, governing everything from performance and handling to safety, means that we’re inundated with new letters and code numbers to decipher. Porsche certainly likes an acronym or two. One of its earliest was MFI, which dates back to 1973 and was used to denote the use of mechanical fuel injection on the iconic 2.7 RS. However, the introduction of the water-cooled 996 brought with it a vastly increased use of technology, which showed no signs of slowing down as each successive model became quicker, safer and more dynamically adept. Leaf through the latest 992 brochure…

Data file Full specs, ratings and market values of every Porsche 911 model from 1963 to 2023 can be found starting on page 78 Plus Showroom Looking for a new 911? The classifieds from our independent specialist partners are the first place where 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…

The first 911 RSR was a remarkable racing car, far more powerful than anything Porsche had hitherto built. It made the point by winning the 24 Hours of Daytona in January 1973 before homologation papers had even been submitted. Urged on by Ernst Fuhrmann, at whose insistence Porsche had built the base 2.7 RS, the initial plan was to tackle Group 4 in the World Sportscar Championship where the RSR was clearly fastest. However, Daytona suggested that outright wins were also feasible. As it had with John Wyer, Porsche subcontracted management and for the first time works cars would appear on the grid in the colours of a private, though familiar team: Porsche Systems Engineering, sponsored by Italian drinks firm Martini. Seen at the press conference to announce this partnership,…