PORSCHE 911
As most readers will be aware, Porsche never intended to use the 911 name. When they displayed their latest model at the 1963 Frankfurt Motor Show it was as the 901, but this incurred the wrath of Peugeot because the type name with a central zero was in breach of French copyright and trademark protection law – the Sochaux firm possessed the legal rights in their home territory to all such number sequences. However, the firm’s chief designer Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, the son of Ferry, had the idea of simply doubling the 1 in the badge and the 911 was born.
Semantics aside, the 911 was a genuine watershed for its manufacturer. As Motor Sport once noted, its introduction was akin to the launch of the Citroën DS19 in France, saying: ‘Once a manufacturer has a series and basic conception that is respected, it is a big step to make a radical change.’ And Porsche had just that in the 356, introduced in 1948 and now embodying the brand to the point that enthusiasts might not accept a replacement.
However, by the late 1950s many senior executives at Stuttgart believed that the 356 required an heir for Porsche to compete with Jaguar and Ferrari. The result was the 911, a car of radical departures being their first without gear-driven camshafts and rear swing axles. The transmission was via an all-new five-speed gearbox/final drive unit, and the brakes were Porsche/ATE discs. It all became typical Porsche, but above all the styling truly merits the much-overused term ‘iconic’ and truly embodies the marque.
It is hard to, the predecessor to magazine. The report concluded: ‘It relates to the current German (and world) economy in both price and refinement at just about the same ratio as the first 1100cc coupé did in 1950. I wouldn’t think a decade and a half would be anywhere near the maximum lifespan of a 911. More like the minimum!’
