Porsche 911

The Porsche 911 is the flagship of the current line up of Porsche. It is a two-door grand tourer made by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a distinctive design, rear-engined and with independent rear suspension, an evolution of the swing axle on the Porsche 356. Since its introduction in 1963, it has undergone continuous development, though the basic concept has remained little changed. The engine was air-cooled until the introduction of the Type 996 in 1998.

Throughout its lifetime, the 911 has been modified by private teams and by the factory itself for racing, rallying and other forms of automotive competition. It is among the most successful competition cars ever. In the mid-1970s, naturally aspirated 911 Carrera RSRs won major world championship sports car races such as Targa Florio, Daytona, Sebring and Nürburgring, even against prototypes. The 911-derived 935 turbo also won the coveted 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1979.

In the 1999 international poll for the award of Car of the Century, the 911 came fifth. It is one of two in the top five that had remained continuously in production, and was until 1998 the most successful surviving application of the air-cooled opposed rear-engine layout pioneered by its original ancestor, the Volkswagen Beetle. It is one of the oldest sports coupe nameplates still in production, and 820,000 had been sold by the car's 50th anniversary in 2013.

In 1974 Porsche introduced the first production turbocharged 911. Although called simply Porsche 911 Turbo in Europe, it was marketed as Porsche 930 in North America. The body shape is distinctive thanks to wide wheel-arches to accommodate the wide tires, and a large rear spoiler often known as a "whale tail" on the early cars, and "tea-tray" on the later ones. Starting out with a 3.0 L engine 260 PS, these early cars are known for their exhilarating acceleration coupled with challenging handling characteristics and extreme turbo lag. For 1978, capacity rose to 3.3 L 300 PS, and an intercooler was added which was placed under the rear spoiler.

Production figures of the basic 930 soon qualified it for FIA Group 4 competition, with the racing version called the Porsche 934 of 1976. Many participated at Le Mans and other races including some epic battles with the BMW 3.0 CSL "Batmobile". The wilder FIA Group 5 version called Porsche 935 evolved from the 2.1 L RSR Turbo of 1974. Fitted with a slope nose, the 500+ PS car was campaigned in 1976 by the factory, winning the world championship title. Private teams went on to win many races, like Le Mans in 1979, and continued to compete successfully with the car well into the 1980s until the FIA and IMSA rules were changed.

Only in 1989, its last year of production, was the 930 equipped with a five-speed gearbox. The 930 was replaced in 1990 with a 964 version featuring the same 3.3 L engine. There have been turbocharged variants of each subsequent generation of 911.

The Porsche 911 GT1 is a car that was developed in 1996 for the GT1 Le Mans racing class. In order to qualify for GT racing, 25 homologation road-going models were built as a requirement. These models developed around 700 hp and did 0–60 mph in 3.3 seconds. Its top speed was 235 mph. Both the road and race cars carried the same twin turbocharged engine the 962 had, and the race car was a match for the McLaren F1 GTRs during which time it raced. A re-developed version of the 911 GT1 race car was built, and this model won the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans. Although this car is not really considered to be a real 911, it is the most powerful and the fastest road-going Porsche ever made besides the new 918 Spyder. The original car's front section design came from a 911, but the rear came from a 962 Le Mans prototype.

In 2004, Sports Car International named the 911 number three on the list of Top Sports Cars of the 1960s, the Carrera RS number seven on the list of Top Sports Cars of the 1970s, and the 911 Carrera number seven on the list of Top Sports Cars of the 1980s. In addition, the 911 was voted Number 2 on Automobile Magazine's list of the "100 Coolest Cars". The 997 was nominated for the World Car of the Year award for 2005.

Source:

Picture Link:

Wikipedia Link: