Innehållsförteckning för No. 246 från Total 911

One of the highlights of attending the new 992.2 GTS first drive launch, for me, was chatting with Jörg Bergmeister. Many enthusiasts reading this magazine will know Jörg is a decorated ex-works driver with over 20 years spent peddling Porsche at the top level. Name a race and the guy has won it – be it in a 911 Cup car for Carrera Cup, an endurance-spec 911 RSR or a prototype such as the 919. These days, Herr Bergmeister is a brand ambassador at Zuffenhausen and, perhaps more importantly, a test and development driver. I think this appointment in 2019 was a masterstroke by Porsche. Not only does Jörg have elite pedigree when it comes to driving, he also gets the brand, and has a deep-rooted understanding of what a…

Total 911: Jörg, your role at Porsche has changed dramatically in the past few years, having swapped racing for R&D. How has it been for you? Jörg Bergmeister: My main job is brand ambassador for Porsche, and development driver. It’s the best job, and the best of the two worlds. My dream job was definitely being a factory driver for Porsche, but this was a very close second dream job. There are a great variety of things that I get to do, from doing lap times on the Nürburgring to participating in events like this at Ascari. It’s lots of fun. As a racing driver, you won virtually every big race one could hope for. What made you think “I’ve done my last lap”? My goal was to stop race…

HISTORY & TECH It would be difficult to overstate Porsche’s achievement with the 996. As beloved as the 993 was, for environmental reasons in addition to the cost of production, the air-cooled design finally had to give way. Not a nut or bolt was carried over from the air-cooled model and yet to Porsche’s credit the new, smoother 911 – slightly longer and fractionally wider – was from any angle instantly recognisable as a Porsche. It was a two-door coupe as before with the engine ‘in the boot’ and a transaxle combining gearbox and differential. Even the engine followed the 30-year tradition: a flat six design. It would be water-, or more accurately, fluid-cooled, though. Porsche began work on the 996 in 1991 when it took the radical decision to…

“I was born into a car family,” says Maxim Dirickx. And there’s no disagreeing with that. His mother works for Audi as an instructor at the Audi Driving Experience, while his father has a “Porsche garage and collection”. He’s referring to 911Motorsport, a Belgian specialist dealer that stocks some incredible Porsche, and here Dirickx is underplaying his father’s business a touch. You might recognise the surname, with Johan Dirickx having featured on these pages recently, talking about his 911 SC RS. He’s an authority on the cars and owns one of the 21 that were built. With a lineage like that it’s hardly surprising that young Dirickx ended up racing, although he did spend a few years on the football pitch before deciding on a change of tack, or rather,…

2024 marks the 20th anniversary of the 997, arguably the most enthusiastically received of all the 911 editions. Grant Larson reprised the curves and swoops of Tony Hatter’s much-admired 993 to good effect. Only Australian motoring writer Peter Robinson would demur that the new 997 looked too much like what had gone before and needed a bolder body design. On show at Weissach in May 2004 is a preproduction 997 C2S, visually distinguished from the Carrera by its 19-inch wheels – the handsome, slotted-spoke variety. These can’t have proved popular because they disappeared long before the Gen2 997 was launched in 2008. In addition to reintroducing the more powerful 911 S, the 997 heralded a major shift in production that would enable the Cabrio and Targa versions to be made…

Formula One-powered 911 revealed Paying homage to McLaren’s Porsche-powered F1 success in the late 1980s, Lanzante’s reworked 911 Turbo features a genuine 625bhp TAG F1 engine that can rev to a heady 10,250rpm British automotive specialist Lanzante has revealed a reworked version of its Porsche 911 with a Formula One engine. The new TAG Championship 911 weighs just 920kg, and is powered by a genuine twin turbo 625bhp F1 V6 engine. It’s the very unit developed by Porsche, badged as TAG, which took McLaren to a trio of consecutive drivers’ championship titles in 1984, 1985 and 1986, with Niki Lauda and Alain Prost. Based on the 930-generation 911 Turbo, the TAG Championship 911 is billed as “the ultimate celebration of Formula One performance for the road” and just three cars…

“We really can’t wait for you to drive the new GTS,” enthuses 911 chassis director Götz Härer over dinner. “Our new approach to hybridisation is innovative, and we are completely convinced by it. Tomorrow, you will see.” Total 911 is in Málaga for the international first drive of the 992.2-generation, and it’s a big moment in the Neunelfer’s long and rich history. Innovation has always been a key facet of the 911’s DNA, ensuring this 61-year-old sports car has remained not just relevant, but class-leading – both on road and track. Big changes have been necessary to maintain this over the years. Think back to the adoption of water-cooling in 1998, and the incorporation of turbocharged technology to the Carrera range in 2017. Both moves were seismic and not without…

Porsche Tour of London Back in the midst of the pandemic, Editor Lee Sibley and I put together a Total 911 feature with a then-new 992 Turbo and an original 930, head to head. Mid-lockdown, social mixing and holidays were banned, but travelling for work was permitted. Ever keen to create engaging content for readers, into London we rolled, with the idea of exploring an empty capital with the older car showing the new one around its yuppie playground. Lee cites the ensuing evening, driving through the City all but empty of traffic, as one of his best memories from working on the magazine. It was indeed fun, and from that grew an idea: wouldn’t it be great to do it again, but in daylight? Nor to do it alone,…

The open road: there’s more than 262,000 miles of it in the UK alone, connecting communities, delivering efficient travel and, most importantly for the likes of you and I, providing a platform in which to enjoy a Porsche 911. If you think about it, the open road is a needle that threads your life together. Your first journey as a newborn will very likely have taken you along one, for example, while asphalt will likely have led you to your first date, your wedding, or the ground of your favourite sports team. Then there are the more hedonistic experiences such as road trips or early morning drives, with hairpin bends, heavenly elevations and sweeping cambers all providing memorable moments for a petrolhead in a sports car. Yet the public road…

Nick Jeffery Surrey, UK @npjeffery @npjeffery Model 991.1 GTS Year 2015 Acquired AUGUST 2022 I’ve just come back to the UK following the 9WERKS Norway trip and it was amazing! While some of our group elected to drive there and back from the UK, we flew over to meet our Porsche Club Norway, Sunnmøre Region members who would be co-hosting our five-day adventure. The first couple of days were spent getting to know our Norwegian hosts and immersing ourselves in their culture. On the Friday we helped celebrate Norwegian Independence. The atmosphere was wonderful as we watched hundreds of patriotic participants in the colourful, musical parade through Ålesund. On the third day we were taken to Porsche Club Sunnmøre HQ where we were able to collect the classic Porsche sports…

STAR CORRESPONDENCE Classic 911s are the future Dear Sir, I very much enjoyed your deep dive into the new 992.2 generation 911 (issue 245). I’ve owned Porsche for many years and been fortunate enough to be able to enjoy the ‘new’ product for the past 15 or so years, so I was excited to read your feature and speculate as to what my future may hold! Meanwhile, a friend bought his first classic Porsche, a 1996 993 Carrera. Last Sunday he kindly gave me the keys for a drive. This was also my first air-cooled experience, although I have previously owned 996- and 997-generation 911s. I have since struggled to get that delightful 30-mile drive out of my mind. It was such a visceral driving experience, and jumping back into…

Ferry Porsche famously said he couldn’t find the sports car he wanted, so decided to build his own. Cautious yet astute businessman that he was, Ferry could probably see that within a few years his niche sports car could become a modest commercial success. Perhaps what he did not envisage was the speed at which his cars would be pressed into competition by customers. By the 1960s Porsche had become almost the default choice for European pro racers and quite a few American amateurs. In 1963 Ferry’s nephew, Ferdinand Piëch, became the next scion to join the family firm, after Butzi Porsche in 1957. By 1966 Piëch had elevated himself to technical director and oversaw management of the competition department. Restlessly energetic, Piëch wanted Porsche to be outright winners rather…

Evolution of the steering wheel Combustion engine vehicles were originally steered by tiller, although in maritime practice the principle of using a wheel to adjust direction went back centuries. Alfred Vacheron is usually credited with fitting the first steering wheel to a car in 1894. So great was the improvement in manoeuvring his Panhard that by 1900 most car makers had replaced tillers with steering wheels. Crude, four–spoke affairs in mild steel, on coach-built cars they often featured some kind of rustic leather binding to make them less unpleasant to grip. Mass production introduced other cheaper materials and until the 1950s popular cars often had Bakelite coverings on their wheels and thinner spokes. These disintegrated dramatically in crashes, the spokes causing predictably gruesome injuries. Post war, advances in material technology…

Data file Full specs, ratings and market values of every Porsche 911 model from 1963 to 2024 can be found starting on page 82 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…

What does the ‘SC’ stand for in Porsche 911 SC? It’s really simple: Super Carrera. Like the 1979 Porsche 911 SC Sunroof Delete Coupe we have right now at Beverly Hills Car Club, an excellent original California car in its highly desirable factory colour code 908. That’s a striking Grand Prix white, to you or me. And the tad confusing ‘Sunroof Delete’? Well, despite having it down as an accessory, Porsche listed the sunroof as standard on the 911 SC. But without it – as in the car we have – you get an unbroken roof, with a gorgeous rolling look and a firmer chassis. In 1978 when the 911 SC went on sale, powered by a 3.0-litre flat six, Porsche had sold some 190,000 cars in the USA, and…