WILD WIDOWMAKER
Oversteer, lag and tough times behind the wheel haven’t diluted enthusiasm for one of Porsche’s most significant products…
By 1973, Porsche had ably demonstrated its ability to harness and refine turbocharging technology, not least with the 917/30, the most powerful sports racing car ever produced (delivering an astonishing 1,369.68hp per tonne). Before long, the manufacturer’s output would rule on the street, too.
“King of the road!” That’s how James Patrick III describes the 930. “Even now, there are few cars capable of thrilling a true driving enthusiast the way an original 911 Turbo does. For its time, it was a supremely dynamic car, if a little wild in the wrong hands. Today, however, the 930’s analogue steering and shifting adds extra appeal, and when you’re hammering along between sixty and 120mph with the turbocharged flat-six screaming from the rear, you realise there really is nothing else quite like this super-special Porsche.”
At launch, peak power was only 260bhp, but the rest of the 930 was built to match. Uprated torsion and anti-roll bars firmed the suspension, a four-speed transmission handled the 253lb-ft torque output and staggered black Fuchs fiveleaves sat under flared wheel arches increasing total width by almost six inches. Huge turbo lag and the very real threat of oversteer, however, ensured the 930 earned a reputation for being a handful — many observers refer to it as the original ‘widowmaker’. It wasn’t until 1978 that significant changes were made: engine size was increased to 3.3 litres, a new air-to-air intercooler was installed, the iconic giant rear wing was reprofiled and the suspension was upgraded with stiffer shocks and larger torsion bars. Bigger brakes were introduced to ably slow the effects of what had grown close to 300bhp and 304lb-ft torque.
Emissions regulations in North America and Japan saw the 930 temporarily vanish from the main dealer showrooms of both territories in 1980, but the car remained on sale in Europe, undergoing a series of updates all the way through to the last year of production in 1989. 930 Cabriolets, Targas, Flachbaus and even Speedsters were produced in the years leading up to the end of production and, as a last hurrah, the super-equipped 930 LE (a fifty-unit runout model) was released to mark the end of an era.
“A good, unmodified, stock-spec 930 is the flavour you should be looking to taste,” James suggests, though he acknowledges the lastof-line examples built in 1989 (immediately preceding the end of G-series production and the arrival of the 964) benefit from the G50 five-speed cog swapper that’d been celebrated by Carrera 3.2 owners for years beforehand. Nonetheless, driving any 930 is an event, regardless of the number of gears it has to offer. “On paper, the original 911 Turbo’s power might not seem much by modern standards, but this car delivers real seat-of-the-pants stuff, even as if you’re experiencing the ride as a passenger. Put it this way, I’ve lost track of the number of people I’ve driven in my 930 who have stepped out of the car and told me the way this thing performs is unbelievable. It’s a vintage Porsche still capable of surprising people.”
Not only was it Porsche’s range-topper for fourteen years, the 930 was way ahead of its time in general automotive terms, becoming the fastest production car in Germany and helping to kickstart the turbo evolution we enjoy the spoils of today. Sadly, with such historical significance (especially now Turbo has come to mean little more to Porsche than a trim level) comes the need for deep pockets. Even so, don’t be in a rush to buy, and you’ll come across a sensibly priced 930 offering plenty of bang for your buck.