afx Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 (edited) To help differentiate the various versions (series) of the 911, Porsche assigned internal code numbers. If anyone has other information please let me know and I will correct the list. Porsche 901 (1963) Porsche's original designation for the car ** Porsche 911 (1964–1989) Porsche 930 (1975-1989) a turbocharged version of the original 911 Porsche 934 (1975-1976) Group 4 racing version of the Type 930 Turbo Porsche 935 (1976) Group 5 racing version of the Type 930 Turbo Porsche 953 (1984) 4x4 version of 911 Carrera for Paris/Dakar Rally Porsche 954 (1983) 911SC/RS Group B evolution of 911SC Porsche 959 (1987) All-Wheel-Drive limited production sports car Porsche 961 (1986) racing version of the 959 Porsche 964 (1989–1994) Porsche 993 (1995-1998) Porsche 996 (1999-2004) all-new body and water-cooled engines Porsche 997.1 (2004-2008), Porsche 997.2 (2008-2012) Porsche 991.1 (2012-2016), Porsche 991.2 (2017-2018) Porsche 992 (2019-) ** It originally was designated as the "Porsche 901" (901 being its internal project number). A total of 82 cars were built as 901s. However, Peugeot protested on the grounds that in France it had exclusive rights to car names formed by three numbers with a zero in the middle. Instead of selling the new model with a different name in France, Porsche changed the name to 911. Internally, the cars' part numbers carried on the prefix 901 for years. Production began in September 1964, with the first 911s marketed to the US in February 1965. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_911 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_type_numbers Edited October 9, 2018 by afx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamsuperdan Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 The 965 is the Turbo version of the 964. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afx Posted October 8, 2018 Author Share Posted October 8, 2018 (edited) http://www.flachbau.com/Documents-Media/965_Master.pdf THE PORSCHE 965 V-8 PROTOTYPE Many think that the 964 Turbo has the designation of 965, but they are wrong. As you can clearly see in the video below, the 965 model type is a prototype designed by Porsche to be a higher volume successor to the 959. Fitted with a watercooled V-8 engine borrowed from Audi, Porsche tested this mule extensively before ultimately killing the project in 1988 due to cost and complexity. Edited October 8, 2018 by afx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamsuperdan Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 Yeah, if you ask Porsche people though, the 964 Turbo is pretty much universally referred to as 965. From the Wiki: "The Porsche 969 was a concept based on the 964 platform. It was to be the successor of the 930 turbo model. The car was conceived in 1982, as a twin-turbo 911 with four-wheel drive and double-overhead camshafts. The project received the in-house code 965 and was developed along with the new, 964 generation of the 911." Having said that, all Turbo specific 964 parts are stamped 965. Which, following Porsche's parts numbering, would signify the model designation of 965. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dublin boy Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 Why they never turned the engine and gearbox around and made mid engined versions for competition at least I'll never understand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afx Posted October 9, 2018 Author Share Posted October 9, 2018 The current race car is mid-engine. https://www.porsche.com/usa/motorsportandevents/motorsport/racingcars/991-911-rsr/featuresandspecs/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete J. Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 17 hours ago, dublin boy said: Why they never turned the engine and gearbox around and made mid engined versions for competition at least I'll never understand. They did but it wasn't a 911 series. The mid-engine was the Boxter. Early Porsche owners were a rather "devoted" group of people, kind of like corvette owners. 911 owners in the early years were quite proud of being able to drive 911's well. With a high polar moment of the rear engined car they were prone to snap oversteer if you lifted off the throttle mid turn. It took a certain amount of "courage" to keep the throttle on in a turn. I know because I owned a 1974 911 and drove it in northern Michigan in the snow. More than once I was treated to the scenery going sideways by the front windscreen. The devotion of owners to the rear engined, air cooled, flat 6 design caused Porsche to stick with improving the design. Being a small company(in the 60's and 70''s they typically produced about 10,000 cars a year world wide) they relied heavily on prior owners purchasing their new cars. This devotion to the layout was the root cause of the failure of the 914, 924,944 and 928 models. They just never sold enough of them to justify continuing them. The rear engined car has been the constant thread throughout the life of the company. When devotees of the brand think of Porsche they think 911. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiscoRover007 Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 I always kind of wish there was a street version of the 961. I know its the race version of the 959 but it's got a much more handsome front end. I had always wondered if there were body kits to mimic this. Thanks for the informative thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afx Posted October 9, 2018 Author Share Posted October 9, 2018 (edited) 28 minutes ago, DiscoRover007 said: I always kind of wish there was a street version of the 961. I know its the race version of the 959 but it's got a much more handsome front end. I had always wondered if there were body kits to mimic this. Thanks for the informative thread. Tamiya made a 961 kit. Edited October 9, 2018 by afx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dublin boy Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 7 hours ago, afx said: The current race car is mid-engine. https://www.porsche.com/usa/motorsportandevents/motorsport/racingcars/991-911-rsr/featuresandspecs/ I never knew about that JC, I've wondered for years if they ever try it. Is the car any good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afx Posted October 9, 2018 Author Share Posted October 9, 2018 6 minutes ago, dublin boy said: I never knew about that JC, I've wondered for years if they ever try it. Is the car any good? Finished 1st & 2nd in its class at Le Mans https://www.fiawec.com/en/race/result/4592 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dublin boy Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 it only took 50 plus years for them to figure that one out! I assume there's Cayman bits in there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiscoRover007 Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 53 minutes ago, afx said: Tamiya made a 961 kit. True yes they did. But it's strictly a race car. I don't believe a street version of it exists. I mean there is the 959 but the styling is a bit different, the front bumper anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afx Posted October 10, 2018 Author Share Posted October 10, 2018 15 hours ago, DiscoRover007 said: True yes they did. But it's strictly a race car. I don't believe a street version of it exists. I mean there is the 959 but the styling is a bit different, the front bumper anyway. Leave off the decals and dub it a 959 RS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afx Posted October 10, 2018 Author Share Posted October 10, 2018 (edited) For those that are interested I recommend this book, paid $10 for my copy. Edited October 10, 2018 by afx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamsuperdan Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 For those wanting to really delve into it, another amazing book, which will blow your mind is this one. Excellence Was Expected, by Karl Ludvigsen. It's actually a three volume box set. It's not cheap, but if you're a Porsche fan, it gets no better than this. It tells the full story, up until about 2008 which is when it was updated and re-published. The original publishing was in 1977, and remains unchanged as part of the box set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afx Posted October 10, 2018 Author Share Posted October 10, 2018 Would love the have that book set and a few others but more than I am willing to spend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamsuperdan Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 12 hours ago, afx said: Would love the have that book set and a few others but more than I am willing to spend. Yeah, I lucked out and was working for Porsche when that was last released, so didn't have to spend an arm and a leg. These days...yikes! But it is truly an amazing read! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afx Posted October 11, 2018 Author Share Posted October 11, 2018 8 hours ago, iamsuperdan said: Yeah, I lucked out and was working for Porsche when that was last released, so didn't have to spend an arm and a leg. These days...yikes! But it is truly an amazing read! Amazon has it listed at $595!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamsuperdan Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 Actually...that's not bad. I've seen it listed for around $1k in places! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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