PORSCHE 911 — Specifications & VIN Lookup
Find detailed specifications for the PORSCHE 911. Decode any PORSCHE 911 VIN to view engine, body, and safety details.
Find detailed specifications for the PORSCHE 911. Decode any PORSCHE 911 VIN to view engine, body, and safety details.
The Porsche 911 model series is a family of two-door, high performance rear-engine sports cars, introduced in September 1964 by Porsche of Stuttgart, Germany, and now in its eighth generation. All 911s have a rear-mounted flat-six engine, and usually 2+2 seating, except for special 2-seater variants. Originally, 911s had air-cooled engines, and torsion bar suspension, but the 911 has been continuously changed and improved across generations. Though the 911 core concept has remained largely unchanged, water-cooled engines were introduced with the 996 series in 1998, and front and rear suspension have been replaced by Porsche-specific MacPherson suspension up front, and independent multi-link rear suspension.
The Porsche 911 model series (pronounced Nine Eleven or in German: Neunhundertelf, or colloquially Neunelfer) is a family of two-door, high performance rear-engine sports cars, introduced in September 1964 by Porsche of Stuttgart, Germany, and now in its eighth generation. All 911s have a rear-mounted flat-six engine, and usually 2+2 seating, except for special 2-seater variants. Originally, 911s had air-cooled engines, and torsion bar suspension, but the 911 has been continuously changed and improved across generations. Though the 911 core concept has remained largely unchanged, water-cooled engines were introduced with the 996 series in 1998, and front and rear suspension have been replaced by Porsche-specific MacPherson suspension up front, and independent multi-link rear suspension. The 911 has been raced extensively by private and factory teams, in a variety of classes. It is among the most successful competition cars. In the mid-1970s, the naturally aspirated 911 Carrera RSR won world championship races including Targa Florio and the 24 Hours of Daytona. The 911-derived 935 turbo also won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1979. Porsche won the World Championship for Makes in 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979 with 911-derived models. In a 1999 poll to determine the Car of the Century, the 911 ranked fifth — one of two in the top five that had remained continuously in production (the original Beetle remained in production until 2003). The one millionth example was manufactured in May 2017 and is in the company's permanent collection.
The 911 traces its roots to sketches drawn by Ferdinand "Butzi" Porsche in 1959. The 911 was developed as a more powerful, larger, and more comfortable replacement for the 356, the company's first model, and was presented at the 1963 Frankfurt Motor Show. (German: Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung). The car was developed with the proof-of-concept twin-fan Type 745 flat-six engine, but the car presented at the auto show had a non-operational mockup of a single-fan engine, receiving a working Typ 901 engine in February 1964. Originally marketed as the Porsche 901 (referring to its internal project number, 901), 82 examples carried the 901 nameplate before French automobile manufacturer Peugeot protested, claiming it held exclusive rights in France to car names formed by three numbers with a zero in the middle. Rather than selling the new model with a different name in France, Porsche marketed the model instead as '911'. Internally, the part numbers for the model carried the prefix 901 for years. Production began in September 1964, with the first 911s exported to the US in February 1965. The first models of the 911 used a rear-mounted 130 PS (96 kW; 128 hp)[1] Type 901/01 flat-6 engine, in the "boxer" configuration like the 356. The engine is air-cooled and displaces 1,991 cc (2.0 L) as compared to the 356's four-cylinder, 1,582 cc (1.6 L). As a 2+2 body style, rear seating was provisional. A four or five-speed "Type 901" manual transmission was available. The styling was largely penned by Ferdinand "Butzi" Porsche, son of Ferdinand "Ferry" Porsche. Butzi Porsche initially came up with the front and rear style on a prototype T7 body for the 356, based on a lengthened notchback 356B Karmann Hardtop (T5 body) with proper space for seating two rear passengers. Erwin Komenda, who led the development project on the T6 body, which replaced the T5 in 1962, was also instrumental in merging the T7 style with new engine, steering, transaxle and suspension.
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