Table of contents for No. 210 in Total 911

Eighth Experience Centre opens Porsche has opened its eighth Porsche Experience Centre (PEC) in Franciacorta, Italy. The new, 5,600-square metre site features a 2.5km handling circuit, a low-friction handling circuit, and a paddock with 29 garages for events such as Carrera Cup Italia. “People in Italy are passionate about our brand. Here, they can now indulge that passion,” said Porsche CEO Oliver Blume. Ten Voorde is 2021 Supercup champion Dutch racer Larry ten Voorde wrapped up a commanding 2021 Supercup season as champion of the premier one-make series for 911 GT3 Cup cars. Ten Voorde, of the GP Elite squad, was already assured of the championship title going into the final race at Monza, before storming to his fourth win of the eight-race season from pole. Germany’s Laurin Heinrich took…

HISTORY AND TECH The 964 Turbo was almost the car that never was. The Vorstand approved the new 964 range in April 1984 with launch planned in autumn 1987. This would include Typ 965, the turbo version for which Porsche had greater ambitions than with the 930: it was planned that the 965 would share some of the technology of the 959 supercar that Weissach was building. Besides of course being turbocharged, the 965 would have options such as air suspension, four-wheel drive and PDK as well as some of the aerodynamics of the 959. However, in what was an extraordinarily intense period in Porsche engineering, the timetabling went awry: so innovative was some of the 959 technology that suppliers could not deliver and while that programme fell behind, so…

Weissach looks like any other pretty Swabian village. Nestled in a lush valley near the foothills of the Black Forest, its neat, whitewashed houses cluster around a historic church steeple. The pace of life here seems slow. Or it does until you drive west on the L1177, also known as Porschestrasse, for a couple of kilometres. Then you enter a very different world. The Entwicklungszentrum Weissach (EZW) is the place where Porsche dreams become reality. From design sketches to pre-production prototypes, all the marque’s road and race cars are developed here. Surrendering your mobile phone to pass through its carefully guarded gates, you enter a huge 100-hectare site swarming with 6,500 staff – a population close to that of Weissach itself. The buzz of activity is relentless, the air often…

Data file Full specs, ratings and market values of every Porsche 911 model, including the 997 Carrera GTS models, 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…

The first 911s relied on the humble carburettor to deliver fuel into the cylinder. Whilst that did the job, in searching for ever greater power – and lower emissions – Porsche advanced to mechanical fuel injection (MFI) for the 1969 911S, but progressed again in 1973, when MFI gave way to a further improvement: Continuous Injection System, or CIS, made by Bosch. Appearing in the mid-’73 model year on the 2.4 911T, it continued right up to the SC in 1983, and on Turbo models until 1994. Officially titled CIS K-Jetronic – the K denoting Kontinuierlich – it relies not on alternately pulsing fuel at high pressure through the injectors as with MFI, but by continuing a rate of fuel, at a lower pressure. The MFI injectors relied on 250psi…

Former works driver Marc Lieb warms up the 12-cylinder engine of the 1969 Porsche 917, before it takes to the track at Weissach for hot laps as part of the Porsche Museum’s innovative ‘Sound Nacht: Next Level’. Broadcast to a global audience for the first time, the event brings road and race legends back out to play for one stellar evening of entertainment for enthusiasts who get to experience the sights – and sounds – of some of Porsche’s finest machinery once more.…

Just do it Dear Sir, Great mag as usual. My story below is my attempt to spread the fun and ease of working on one’s own 911 and the sense of achievement (and cost savings) it can bring. I am the lucky owner of a 996 Targa, the very one, which according to the previous owner, appeared on the cover of issue 130 of Total 911. Being a 996, it developed the dreaded bore score tapping noise and after two years of driving regardless, I thought I’d better re-build the engine before it got too fed up. To cut a long story short, I made foundations, rebuilt a second-hand shed (space for the engine rebuild), lifted the car, separated the gearbox, removed the engine, took it apart, split the cases,…

It’s easy to forget just how much change has taken place at Porsche in the last quarter of a century. In that time, the 911 lineup has flourished both in the number of different models available as well as numbers produced – comfortably more 911s have been made in the last 25 years than the 33 beforehand. Porsche also diversified its products by introducing the Cayman, Cayenne, Panamera, Boxster and Macan, as well as the Carrera GT and 918 supercars; then it opened eight new experience centres worldwide, a new factory at Leipzig (with a micro factory currently being assembled in Malaysia); got taken over by VW; and started making electric cars, beginning with the Taycan. Pretty much the only constant has been the location of Porsche’s HQ at Zuffenhausen,…

964 RS 3.6 The overtly sport-focused RS is less accelerative than the Turbo, though not far behind, but demands more of its driver, including a capacity to absorb a bone-shaking ride. A precision tool nonetheless, but the Turbo is easier-going. 992 Turbo S £190,000 buys a year-old 911 Turbo S from current production. Refined yet dizzying pace delivered with astounding effortlessness, modern 911 Turbos tend to change hands frequently and are the steepest decliners on the 911 depreciation curve. 993 Turbo At this price, you might expect to find a rare X50-fitted model which had 430PS and was timed at 300kph by AM&S. The 993 Turbo had a more developed version of the 3.6 with twin turbocharging, four-wheel drive and a six-speed gearbox – a genuine GT. 911S Today the…

When the future 911, project 901, was conceived, Porsche’s engineers gave little thought to an open version and once again, it was pressure from Porsche’s largest market, America, which brought a convertible 911 into consideration. However, the prototype’s chassis flexed alarmingly and combined with the uncertainties in the USA caused by Ralph Nader’s infamous book Unsafe at Any Speed, Porsche in its natural caution shelved the open 911 project. But demand not just from California, but also from Porsche’s German salesmen for some sort of opening roof stimulated the Porsche design department to style the so-called Targa top: this was shown to great acclaim in late 1965 and was brought to market in 1967. That design, with its striking hoop and removable roof panel, generated a significant following and would…

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’s used value compared to the previous financial quarter. The review for 2021 Q4 will be October. The review for 2021 Q3 was July. Ratings Each model is rated out of five in our half-star system according to their performance, handling, appearance and desirability.…

‘Sound Nacht: Next Level’ revives iconic flat six symphonies 20 legendary road and race cars fire up their engines on a special night for enthusiasts The Porsche Museum’s celebrated ‘Sound Nacht’ returned after a two-year hiatus on 18 September as road and race cars from the company’s past were brought back to life in a stunning audio and visual spectacle for enthusiasts. The event, split between two locations at Weissach at the Museum on Porscheplatz, was broadcast live around the world for the first time, with a total audience of more than 50,000 viewers treated to the symphonies of 20 carefully selected sports and race cars. The engines of selected road cars were fired up, with the race cars enjoying dynamic laps on the test track at Weissach. A host…

As I inhale my Big Mac and fries after a busy day photographing and driving on the surrounding roads, the distant sky works through a post-sunset colour pallet of ochre and magenta before finally turning deep purple and blue; even the wind farm on the horizon somehow looks quite pretty. Maybe it helps that it’s several kilometres away, giving the giant power generators typical of this mid German countryside an appearance more akin to cute windmills. But it’s not the rolling countryside nor the wind farm on the horizon that are captivating me here; it’s the simply lovely shape of a beautiful 1970 911S – long since updated to S/T spec – a few metres in front that’s capturing my attention. My burger tastes all the better after a day’s…

Andy Brookes Poole, UK @993andy Model 993 CARRERA Year 1995 Acquired SEPTEMBER 2018 I’m stepping in for Phil Farrell this month, as he is deep in a building project with no fun time to be able to get out and about in his GTS. I think a few of you may know my face, or should that be voice, as I host the Road to Redline podcast (recently renamed 9WERKS Radio) with Lee. I’m also the owner of the Guards red 993 that has gained some silly stripes this year. We have taken a bit of a break from podcasting these last few weeks, which has allowed me more time to have a few trips out this summer. The first one that I’d like to mention is the new Porsche…

In September, the UK introduced a new grade of standard petrol, called E10. The letter comes from the chemical blended into the fuel, called ethanol, and the number comes from the maximum amount added: 10%. The idea is the bio-ethanol is derived from crops such as maize, sugar and wheat, then blended into the petrol. In growing those crops, the plant absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere, then, as the fuel is burnt, it emits less CO2 – resulting in a reduction in motoring emissions across the board. But, ethanol is a solvent and has been found to cause damage to rubber, plastic, fibreglass, solder and alloys: all materials common to 911 fuel systems. Because of this, Porsche has a publicised list of cars that are compatible with E10, and it…

Weissach, 1965. In this scene a 911 is undergoing suspension testing at Porsche’s now-famous search and development track. After years of trying to test cars on the public highway, in 1960, Porsche had bought a tract of land lying just west of the rural town of Weissach to create its own proving facility. After the earthmovers had smoothed out some of the terrain, the first task was the skid pan because Ferry had learned from Zora Arkus-Duntov, Chevrolet engineer and sometime Porsche works driver, that a skid pan was indispensable. Helmuth Bott, then chief development engineer, architected a 3km circuit around the natural bowl of the landscape. Within this, inner circuits, test hills and handling loops were steadily constructed. The 911 pictured is undergoing suspension testing. To the right is…