Fresh Start HOW THE SPEEDSTER CONCEPT SHOWED THE 911 WAS ALIVE AND KICKING
“Porsche cheerily added that the club sports cover can be swapped for the roadworthy serial windscreen with just a few screws”
Porsche spent much of the 1970s trying to kill the 911. Despite – or maybe because of – being a forward-looking and steadfast engineer, Porsche’s first-ever CEO in the 1970s, Ernst Fuhrmann, was determined the 911 would die under his watch. His 928, developed to be an ultra-modern GT immune to proposed US crash protection regulations, was the future. It wasn’t until 1981, when Fuhrmann was replaced by an American 911 aficionado, Peter Schutz, that such thoughts were laid to rest. Finally, development of the 911 could begin again.
The company had a lot of catching up to do. Evolution of the 911 had effectively been paused for years. The 1984 3.2 Carrera would be a stepping stone to models far in the future, such as the 964 and 993 – but development projects take years, and in the meantime, Porsche had a business to grow. How can you bolster profitability today even when all your R&D
