Table of contents for No. 214 in Total 911

We begin this month’s issue with the announcement of a new, special edition Targa, the second such model for the 992 generation. Say hello to the ‘911 Edition 50Y Porsche Design’, released to celebrate the golden jubilee of the design agency of Butzi Porsche, hallowed creator of the 911. Limited to 750 units, the Targa is essentially a 992 GTS presented in black with Sport-Tex seat centre panels, alongside what Porsche describes as “numerous styling highlights inspired by the iconic designs of F.A Porsche”. A case in point is the red second hand of the Porsche Design subsecond clock in the Sport Chrono Package, while the car’s all-black appearance is a direct nod to the legendary Chronograph 1 design by Professor Porsche in 1972. “The car’s all-black appearance is a…

Taking over from the My Porsche Essentials, Connect App and Car Connect App is a new digital platform for Porsche owners encompassing all three. The My Porsche app offers Porsche digital services direct to customer smartphones and will combine the full range of Porsche services and information in a single place. Over the next few months the Porsche Charging and Porsche – Good to Know apps will also be integrated. Compatible with Porsche 911 vehicles built in 2016 onwards, the new app provides a connection between the smartphone and your Porsche, displaying vehicle information such as fuel level, current mileage, location and trip data. There’s also the ability to remotely control functions. App users can also be assisted in contacting their dealer to make service appointments and even to pose…

Porsche has set its sights on racetrack glory this year, with a pair of 911 RSRs entering the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). A slightly revised driver line-up will feature over the championship’s six races. Gianmaria Bruni and Richard Lietz will once again drive the No. 91 RSR, while in the sister car Kévin Estre will swap seats with Michael Christensen in the No. 92. The pairing took class victory at Le Mans three years ago as well as taking title victory in 2018/2019. The first race of the new WEC season takes place on 18 March at Sebring, Florida, USA, while in the summer the two 911s will tackle the historic 90th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. There the driving team will be bolstered by support…

We’re entering the third year where the world’s still coming to terms with a global pandemic. Predicting what’s going to happen next is, arguably, a fool’s errand. What is certain though is that people are still buying cars, taking the attitude of ‘why not?’, and ‘life’s too short’. If the topsy-turvy world we’re living in has done one good thing, it’s challenged people’s perceptions and shifted mindsets. The result is plenty of buyers looking to fulfil dreams – usurping previous caution – and buying cars that they’ve long promised themselves. With financial returns elsewhere not performing particularly well, and less need for mundane daily car use and the associated costs of them because of home working, coupled with fewer foreign holidays, there are many with money to spend. And cars…

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 2022 Q2 will be April. The review for 2022 Q1 was January. Ratings Each model is rated out of five in our half-star system according to their performance, handling, appearance and desirability.…

There were sighs of relief from Porsche enthusiasts when in 1990 the company finally released its new 911 Turbo. Missing from the original launch of the 964 C4 in 1988, the Turbo’s failure to appear at the presentation of the 964 C2 a year later had the Porsche community wondering whether, given its parlous financial position, Porsche had done the unthinkable and abandoned the Turbo. Its successful unveiling at Geneva the following spring was also a matter of considerable relief within Porsche itself. New CEO Arno Bohn is seen here whisking the cover off with help from his predecessor Heinz Branitzki (right) while an audience of photographers clicks away. In the centre is Butzi Porsche, who had just taken over from Ferry as chairman of the Vorstand, and on the…

An impressive new dawn has arrived for Singer Vehicle Design and its classic restoration programme. As Total 911 went to press, news broke that the California company’s naturally aspirated, 4.0-litre flat sixes – modified versions of original Porsche engines – will now be built by, would you believe, Porsche itself. Specifically, the engines will be constructed by Porsche Motorsport NA at its headquarters at the Experience Center, Los Angeles. This is the greatest statement yet regarding Porsche’s admiration for the work undertaken by Singer to reimagine its own 964-generation 911s.…

Porsche Cars Great Britain saw a successful year of sales in 2021, delivering a total of 14,017 cars in the UK and Ireland. Despite obvious global challenges, Porsche sold a record number of cars worldwide in 2021, some 301,915 vehicles in total. This is an 11 per cent increase compared to 2020. Unlike other car manufacturers, Total 911 understands that sheer demand for cars has been the main cause of any lengthened delivery periods over the much publicised semi-conductor crisis. Of those cars delivered by Porsche GB, the all-electric Taycan topped the chart, accounting for over 4,000 sales alone. The Macan, which has historically been the best-selling Porsche for the market, placed second, with the 992 third overall in a year which gave birth to the latest 911 GT3.…

The art of driving Dear Sir, I have just read your issue which “celebrates the merits of stick shift” or what I would call manual gearboxes [Total 911 issue 209]. I was, at last, enjoyed to see this form of gearbox referred to as an “engagement” with the art of driving. The advance of technology and the onslaught of ‘driver aids’ is all very well, but there are those among us that delight in the perfect upward – or downward – gear change, sometimes facilitated by the heel and toe method. This has nothing to do with the traffic light drag or the occasional track day facilitated by the DSG. It has everything to do with the enjoyment and satisfaction of working with the car’s engineering design – in harmony.…

HISTORY AND TECH In the modern era (as opposed to the early years when it appeared on the 904, and later as a version of the 924) Porsche brought back the GTS badge fleetingly on the run-out 997, giving an intriguing view, or preview, of what looked suspiciously like a new sub-group. Porsche’s intentions became clearer with the 991.1 GTS in 2014: evidently ‘GTS’ was becoming a category in its own right. 911 project manager August Achleitner described GTS as “corresponding to customer demand for a sporty yet comfortable Porsche.” In terms of price and performance the GTS slotted neatly between the Carrera S and the GT3. Porsche made the GTS all the more attractive by endowing it with options which, if all specified on the Carrera S, would have…

We begin with coffee in Starbucks off Highway I-10 at Desert Hills Premium Outlets, Palm Springs. It’s out of necessity rather than choice – I’m here for the wi-fi, not the burnt, bitter, black coffee. Like many others whose names are shouted out by the baristas, I’m killing time before ‘work’ starts, though unlike most of them, I can’t wait to get going. There’s a transporter heading this way, and in the back is Gunther Werks’ new Speedster. Not a bad day at the office, then. A quick recap in the unlikely event that Gunther Werks has passed you by. Based in Huntington Beach, California, Peter Nam’s company takes 993s and applies current engineering methods, materials and expertise to them. Think of it as a continuation; the idea being to…

If you’re reading this, then it’s likely you already own a 911 and will have a good idea of their capability. You may also have purchased a copy of this fine magazine if you’re considering buying one. For anyone venturing into sports car ownership, a Porsche makes a compelling proposition – especially as a second car. But what about as a daily driver? I’ve been pondering this very question myself of late. Yesterday I spent almost 14 hours in the car (850 miles). It’s used to buy groceries from Whole Foods five minutes down the road (I can almost hear you thinking, “Tut-tut, not short trips”), I take the dog to the beach in it, and home again covered in sand. Almost every mundane task imaginable is thrown at this…

Say ‘Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe’ to most people and they’ll probably hand you a lifetime Scrabble ban. Mention it to the casual Porsche fan and they might know the PDK double-clutch gearbox made its production debut in 2008, with the 997-generation 911’s mid-life facelift (where it replaced its predecessor’s Tiptronic automatic). The more knowledgeable might tell you that Porsche blooded PDK technology on its 956 Group C race car in the early to mid-1980s. Both statements are true, of course, but they don’t tell the complete story. In fact, other engineers and manufacturers experimented with dual-clutch transmissions as early as the 1930s (the 1961 Hillman Minx’s Easidrive was first to reach production) and Porsche’s original PDK project (codenamed 919) dates to 1964, when Hungarian engineer Imre Szodfridt presented the idea of a…

The GTS, of course, is already handsomely specified, but even so Porsche left quite a shopping list of possible extras, top of which is the £2,900 PDK, which three-quarters of buyers specified. Other options were the Sport chassis combined with the Aerokit. Here, ride height was lowered by 20mm as opposed to the 10mm of the ‘standard’ PASM. PDCC (adaptive anti-roll bars) is another track-oriented option. Other attractive accessories were largely cosmetic such as extended cockpit leather or carbon fibre inserts in the doors, and a fascia panel and bespoke door threshold plates. A sliding roof was also available.…

Data file Full specs, ratings and market values of every Porsche 911 model 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 PDK double-clutch automatic gearbox is so good, the decision between manual or automatic can be quite a dilemma for 911s from 997.2 onwards. But where does that leave models that have the previous incarnation of automatic technology, the Tiptronic models? Are they tougher to sell, and take up valuable forecourt space? “In short, no,” says Philip Raby, of Philip Raby Specialist Cars. “We had two in lately, both 996; a Cab and a Coupe. Both sold within 24 hours,” he says. With many of our everyday cars being automatics, Raby thinks that familiarity with two pedals means owners are happy to go for Tiptronic 911s. Paragon’s Jamie Tyler agrees. “There may have been a phase where they were unloved, mainly down to the introduction of PDK, but in recent…

The 964 model, introduced in 1988, may have given the appearance that little had changed over the previous G-series model. In fact that was partly true for the design, which maintained the existing shape and gave it a clean up, smoothing bumpers, and adding an engine undertray. I can recall Porsche Design supremo Anatole Lapine, who oversaw the 964 redesign, joking to me about the impossibility of redesigning the 911 shape, so worked under the car instead; hence the engine undertray. His jests aside, the 964 was indeed a new model, and claimed to be 85 per cent so over the previous model. Many modern driving aids we take for granted on 911s originated from the 964, which saw power assisted steering, ABS brakes and four-wheel drive feature in a…