1997 Porsche 911 Turbo

History

In the mid-90s, Porsche unveiled the 993 generation 911 as a replacement to the 964 and swan song for their air-cooled flat-six engine. Noticeably more aerodynamic with new front and rear styling, the 993 only carried slightly more than 20% of the prior generation’s components. A light alloy subframe and fresh multilink rear suspension dramatically improved handling, namely by reducing the infamous lift-off oversteer condition. It was the new Turbo model, however, that stole the 993 show.

Setting the future 911 Turbo tone, this all-new 993 model was the first standard production Porsche with twin turbochargers and permanent AWD. Cylinder heads were redesigned, twin air-to-air intercoolers were integrated into the glorious “whale tail” rear spoiler, suspension was beefed up, the bodywork was widened and…the list goes on. Suffice it to say, this new 911 Turbo was poised to set the auto industry on fire with its performance.

The performance certainly did set autodom alight, and journalists into wild, rabid fans. Motor Trend described “face-smearing accelerative force” after clocking a 0-60 mph time of 3.7 seconds, 60-0 mph braking distance of 99 feet and top speed in the 180 mph range. These were staggering figures 25 years ago and still incredible today. The 993 Turbo was a crowning achievement for the 3.6L air-cooled engine that defined the Porsche 911 for generations, and is a Porsche purist Holy Grail.