THE 911’S LONG HISTORY

The story of the early 911 goes back to the late 1950s and carries through to the present day as the 911 badge has adorned Porsche’s flagship sports cars for well over half a century. The design has evolved beyond all recognition, but the motorsport success of the 911 has been an enduring part of the story.

The first drawings for the original 911 came at the end of the 1950s as the third-generation Ferdinand Porsche started work on a replacement concept for the now-aging 356, which was by then a decade old.

The plan was to create a larger, more powerful car to replace the 356 and the model made its public debut at the 1963 Frankfurt Motor Show. Initially, it was badged as the 901 but after protestations from Peugeot that it had the right to three-digit model numbers with a zero in the middle, the moniker was changed to 911.

A small number, probably fewer than 100, had already been built and badged as 901s, but when production started in earnest in late 1964, the 911 tag was used and so began the dynasty of one of world’s best-loved production sports cars. Many cars were exported to the US in period, notably to California, and decades later some of them have returned to Europe to provide a largely rust-free base for a race car. The flat-six, 130bhp, two-litre engine was fairly modest, but adequate for its time.

In 1966, the more powerful

911S took the power figures out to 160bhp but it is the original 130bhp car built before the end of 1965 that now features in the 2.0L Cup.