The Progression of the Early Porsche 911

As one of the most iconic sports cars ever to grace the racetrack or highway, the Porsche 911 is the ultimate classic. Everyone wants one, owns or has owned one, or at least knows about them. The Porsche 911 has an intriguing history and progression from where it began to where it has come today.

By the time the 911 was introduced, Porsche had already developed a strong reputation for quality cars. Notably, based on performance both on and off the track. The 356 has built a name in its own right, but it was 15 years old and needed a major facelift.

Porsche decided to take a different route instead of redesigning the 356. In September of 1963, the 911 debuted at the Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung in Frankfurt, Germany as the 901. The goal was to develop another rear-engine, air-cooled sports model with a six-cylinder boxer engine. His oldest son took over the development of this model.

Becoming the 911

Production on the 901 began in September of 1964 with 82 cars being built in the first week. The model had already been promoted and excitement was growing for its launch. One of those first 82 models was taken to the Paris Motor Show in October. Peugeot’s executives had one objection to the 901, which was due to the similar name they had for their own model with a zero in the middle.

Since Peugeot already had sold multiple models in various markets with the naming designation, they claimed rights to this naming convention. Porsche reached an easy fix by changing the zero to a 1. None of the 82 models were released to customers. They were used for exhibitions and testing.

Porsche recognized that the 911 was significantly more expensive to manufacture than the 356. To address this issue, the 912 was developed as a bridge, while the 911 would move the automaker forward.

Even though the 912 was a variant of the 911, the two models were significantly different. The 912 was more agile and had much better fuel efficiency than any performance car of the time. However, the 912 was discontinued in 1969 due to several factors. On top of the fact that the 911 now had three models of it own. The United States also developed stringent emissions requirements that would require Porsche to rebuild all its vehicles, and it decided the 912 wasn’t worth the cost.

The development of the 911

The early 911 made its mark on the automotive world. At the time, though, it wasn’t the ultimate performance vehicle. The development would take time. The six-cylinder engine could only attain 120 horsepower. Later on, the model progressed to a 2.2L engine with 130 horsepower.

A new engine would be used in the 911 by 1963, which was the 2.0L flat-six boxer engine. The 1964 model was sold as a 2+2 instead of a regular four-seater because no adult could fit in the rear seats. This was also the first Porsche model to have targeted marketing to the US, which is why it was also developed as a left-hand Porsche 911.

By 1966, Porsche released a more powerful engine with 160 horsepower. It was the Porsche 911S. The manufacturer also introduced series of the 911, first with the 911A, then 911B and following. Each series introduced new features and more power.

The longest running series was the G-Series, which appeared a decade after the 911’s introduction. It was a major facelift with a new look and more safety features. The 911 Turbo had an engine capable of 260 horsepower in 1974, which increased by 1977 to 300 horsepower.

This first generation 911 continued to 1989 with the 911 Carrera. This model offered more power and other features, but what won fans was the ability to order it with no roof. By 1989, when the first generation of 911 was finished, a new generation was introduced in 1990 and continued the loyal following, The brand had gained legions of fans and earned a solid reputation with the 911 as the flagship of Porsche that would continue into the 21st century of the super car.