Table of contents for No. 242 in Total 911

It’s not often Porsche gets it wrong. When it comes to the development of its sports cars, I can think of only three such occasions in the company’s 76-year history: the first was ditching the manual gearbox for its GT3, which happened with the 991.1-generation. Next was the turbocharged flat four engines used for the early 718 Boxster/Cayman era. The third was the 996’s one-piece headlight styling, which would colloquially come to be known as a ‘fried egg’ design. Of course, Porsche never readily admits to such an error of judgement in regards to the direction it takes with its sports cars. Instead, the company simply and subtly returns to the status quo with subsequent iterations. Cases in point: the 991.2 GT3 got a manual gearbox, the 718 soon got…

We don’t usually do requests here at Spotted. However, when the Editor suggested a 997, given this issue’s theme, we were only too happy to go hunting. Wormholes are always an issue when researching this column, so after many hours of looking through countless ads and finding relatively ordinary Carreras (and marvelling at how affordable they are), we finally chanced upon something a little bit different at Cameron Sports Cars. Indeed, they’re not short of choice of 997s right now, with a fantastic Gen2 GT3 in red, the unicorn 997 that is a manual Carrera GTS Coupe, a Gen1.5 Turbo Cabriolet as well as a fine selection of Carrera Coupes and Cabriolets to pick from. However, one 997 piqued our interest more than most: a 997.2 Targa 4. The 997…

997.1 Turbo WHY IS IT SPECIAL? Combining old-school 911 design cues with the latest tech, the 997.1 Turbo is a veritable gem of the 997 range. Turbos have always been about blending breathtaking performance with supreme long-distance cruising versatility, and in that brief the 997.1 Turbo excels. The final Turbo to use a Mezger engine, it was the first to utilise Variable Turbine Geometry (VTG) – famously the first petrol road car to feature the technology. At lower engine speeds the turbo vanes angle, cramming more air in. At higher engine speeds the vanes open. It combines the benefits of using two sequential turbos, as used on the 959, and is the reason behind the prodigious flat torque curve, minus the dreadful lag of the past. The duality of the…

If there’s a single story that’s grabbed the attention of 993 enthusiasts these past few years, it’s undoubtedly the Instagram account Limoncellaprojekt. The person behind the account is Paolo Iacometti. Based in Italy, he’s done something quite extraordinary: he’s saved a 993 which was under water, in a river, for four-and-a-half years. Let that sink in – pun intended – for a moment… During our interview, it’s evident that Iacometti is a true enthusiast and doesn’t crave any personal attention. Still, it’s fascinating to learn more about the Porsche enthusiast and his mindset for tackling such a monumental project, even with the full assistance and experience of a workshop. Iacometti eagerly shares with Total 911 his upbringing and how his love for cars and especially Porsche’s 911 came about. However,…

Forty years ago, the prospects at Porsche seemed limitless. By 1984, every 911 sold in the US – half the entire production – was bringing Porsche over three times as many Deutschmarks as its dollar selling price. Combined with the steady revenue from the 924-944 range, such wealth engendered both confidence and overambition in Porsche. This tendency was already apparent in Helmuth Bott’s grandiose 959 project and Peter Schutz’s ill-considered idea of making air-cooled aero engines for the US market. Smaller schemes that were just as costly were launched, such as the ‘Super turbo’ 969 that would use up hundreds of engineering hours to no avail. Another mid-80s idea was an entry-level two-seater to replace the aging 924. First mooted in 1984, the initial design sketches suggested a sports car…

TECHART reveals most powerful 911 yet The specialist Porsche tuner has launched a GT Street based on the 911 Turbo S that’s good for 789bhp! German tuner TECHART has revealed its latest GT Street model. Based on the 992 Turbo S, the GT Street R Touring is said to have been built “solely for performance enthusiasts”. Its dramatic styling has an aerodynamic focus that’s supported by an enormous power output of 789bhp in its highest state of tune. This makes it the most powerful upgrade ever offered by TECHART. Following in the tyre tracks of previous GT Street 911s built in Leonberg, the GT Street R Touring is a limited-edition affair – just 25 are set to be made. Dominating the changes on the GT Street R Touring is a…

HISTORY & TECH The renown of the Porsche Turbo extended well beyond the realm of 911 fans, long before the end of the air-cooled cars. This synonym for wild performance, so redolent of the 1970s, was an image that Porsche had been trying to change since 1984. The stillborn 965 Turbo was an attempt to make a high-spec 4x4, a kind of lesser 959. With the 993 Turbo in 1995, Porsche went much further down the route of creating a sophisticated, range-topping 911 GT with twin-turbocharging and all-wheel-drive. The advent of water-cooling and the first new 911 chassis since 1963 enabled Porsche to design the 996 Turbo from the ground up. No longer would engineers have to shoehorn turbochargers, intercoolers and air-conditioning into a shell that was never conceived for…

Data file Full specs, ratings and market values of every Porsche 911 model from 1963 to 2024 can be found starting on page 84 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…

Porsche’s website calls the 997 ‘a fusion of classic and modern’. With 20 years of hindsight, that description seems more apt than ever. If the 996 was a radical reinvention, this was a considered yet ambitious evolution. It improved upon its predecessor in almost every area, and broadened the bandwidth of the 911 like never before. By the time the baton passed to the 991 generation, more than 30 derivatives had contributed to the 997’s lasting legacy. Our timeline begins in 2004 with the launch of the 997.1 Carrera. Powered by a 325hp, 3.6-litre naturally aspirated flat six and weighing in at 1,395kg, the entry-level 911 was good for 0-62mph in 5.0 seconds. Its round headlights and smooth, 993-inspired curves were less divisive than the 996, while its interior felt…

20 years of 997: manual v PDK GTS There are four of us having lunch in Palm Springs, California, discussing how we’ll buy one of the cars we’ve just been driving. It’ll need to be more affordable, which means waiting a few years until prices bottom out thanks to depreciation, but everyone around the table is committed to working out how, in a few years, they’ll own one. That was November 2010. Our small group of motoring journalists were sat in sunnier climes because it was the launch of the Porsche 911 Carrera GTS. As one of them, I can categorically say that not one of us has a Carrera GTS in the garage, which is regrettable but understandable, because the 997 GTS never did depreciate – at least to…

Nestled adjacent to the Mexico-United States border on the Pacific Ocean coast, California’s southernmost city, San Diego, is characterised by sandy-haired surfers and 70 miles of sun-dappled beaches. There’s something about border towns – a cultural diversity that fosters creativity across the arts and food scenes, and carries a kinetic and free-flowing energy. San Diego is a big city, but it can feel like a collection of villages, each one individual in its personality. The 911 scene feels like a microcosm of this. This is reflected in the variety of clubs, meets, magazines and specialists that serve, foster and support such a diverse group of enthusiasts. Total 911 finds itself on the premises of one such specialist – Makellos Classics – on a typically balmy Californian Tuesday. Makellos Classics sits…