Porsche And Their Many 911s Over 50+ Years

Porsche has made a lot of cracking 911s over 50+ years. We Pick the Best Production, Limited Edition & Race 911s of All Time.

Greatest 911s

While we were researching our 911 buyers guide for new Porsche buyers and our best (Non 911) Porsches lists it became clear pretty quickly that an epic post about the best 911s ever made was going to have to happen. Porsche has been making 911s since 1963 and there have been some cracking cars since then. How many? Well, our current list includes more than thirty 911s we consider to be awesome and we are only in April of 2018, so we are sure we will add even more over time.

First things first. This is a living list. We expect Porsche fans and historians to contact us and argue for the inclusion of cars we missed. Send us your thoughts. We will note that while your favorite 911 may not have made our list, but that doesn’t mean we don’t love it. We really did struggle to pick the right balance of pedigree, history and uniqueness. You can see we ended up with over thirty cars and the list could have been double the size.

Anybody who knows the history of Porsche knows that 1963 was “our year”. In 1963 Porsche introduced their seminal 901 at the 911 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Thanks to our friends at Peugeot the 901 became the 911 and the world was never the same again for sports car fans. The 911 was a small, powerful and fun sports car with a boxer six engine out back in the wrong place. As the successor to the Porsche 356, the 911 won the hearts of sports car enthusiasts from the outset and sales of the diminutive rear engine flat six sports car started strong.

Ten years after its launch, Porsche gave the 911 a big update with the G Series which ended up being produced from 1973 to 1989. Next up was the 964 in 1989 and this was a totally new platform with an air-cooled 3.6 liter flat six engine with over 250 hp and a modern design that is still coveted by collectors everywhere. Perhaps the most popular and most-loved 911 is the 993 that was launched in 1993. Peopled loved the design and it was the last air-cooled 911 – sigh.

The 996, which rolled off the assembly line from 1997 to 2005, represented a major turning point in the history of the 911. It retained all the character of its classic heritage but was an entirely new car. This comprehensively redesigned generation was the first to be driven by a water-cooled flat engine. Models like the 996 GT3 are still some of our favorites here at Supercars.net. 2004 was another update with the all-new 997. With no more ugly lights and a cleaner and crisper design, it upped power, drivability and technology. The now 3.6 liter flat six was 325 hp in base model while the Carrera S got a new 3.8-liter engine with 355 hp.

Next was the launch of the 991. A completely new chassis with modified wheelbase, greater track width and beefier tires, plus an ergonomically optimized interior produced an even sportier and more comfortable driving sensation. With its low, stretched silhouette, its bristling surfaces and precisely shaped details, the Porsche 911 Car. Once again, engines were more powerful, more efficient and significantly more advanced. Driver aids and advanced chassis tech were also launched. We also saw a big increase in the number of variants made, with the Targa and GTS models launched. In 2015 Porsche moved away from natural aspiration with the 911 now powered by a new 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged six-cylinder flat engine developed 370 hp in base trim.

With more than five decades of evolution and seven model generations, the 911 was always modern but never fashionable. Ask any Porsche fan out there what the best 911 of them all is and chances are every one of them will give you a different answer. There have been countless 911 models that were awesome and picking our favorites was so hard we decided to simply include all the best 911s in one long list.

Year: 1963  |  Generation: 901  |  Units built: 82
Engine: Flat-6  |  Power: 130 bhp  |  0 – 60 mph: 8.3s  |  Top Speed: 130mph

In 1963 Porsche introduced their seminal 901 at the 911 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. When Porsche presented the vehicle at the Paris Motor Show in October of that year, the French car manufacturer Peugeot objected to the model designation. The reason: Peugeot had patented a three-digit type designation with a zero in the middle.

The 901 was renamed 911 for the 1964 model year. We still count it as the first 911 which is why it makes our list over the 1964. Series production of the 901 began in September 1964. The new car was sold alongside the 356C as an alternative with more power and room for a rear seat.

The massive undertaking of replacing the 356 began as early as 1959 with Ferdinand Alexander “Butzi” Porsche largely responsible for the project. By 1961 the first clay models were being made and in July of 1964 the first prototypes were being made.

At the 1963 Frankfurt show the public saw Porsches new direction. Compared to the 356 it had a longer wheelbase, a more compact suspension setup and much more power from the flat-6 engine. This is the car that started the legend. 82 units of the 901 were produced before the name change.

Keep a look out for posts with images and detailed descriptions for each of these cars.