Choose your weapon

No other single model of car attracts such a diverse and passionate following. Total 911 investigates the world of modified Porsche

If you’re a concours, pristine, matchingnumbers, full-service-history kind of 911 owner, look away now. If examining the paint codes and fastidiously maintaining your beloved Porsche 911 exactly as it was when it left the factory, if not better, is your passion, then this is probably not for you either. That’s because we are going to be taking a top-level overview of the modified Porsche 911 world. The world where owners take a great platform, one that has evolved through more than half a century, and developed it further with their own particular passion in mind. Across the diverse world of the Porsche 911, there are many varied motivations that fuel the desire for 911 ownership. Throughout the marque’s long history, Porsche 911s have been raced, rallied, collected, adored and used as daily transport. And of course, modified. No other car enjoys such a diverse range of sub genres and, sometimes, they don’t all see eye to eye. For every owner who loves to detail their car and win concours awards, there is another who thinks nothing could be better than sitting on a rally stage startline as the marshal calls “Three, two, one!” before launching through a forest stage collecting all manner of stone chips. For others, the combat of motorsport is an obvious path to take in enjoying the Porsche 911 – this is a brand with a colourful racing history after all. So, prepare to have your horizons broadened as we examine the potential of this simple, basic design that began all those years ago. Even within months of the 911’s launch, its potential for competition was already being realised. Today we’ve split the world of modified 911s down into five categories, outlining over the following pages what these categories are, how the cars are modified and what you can expect from the subculture around them.