2 996/986 shared production concept (1997)
It’s well known that by the mid-1990s, things were looking bleak at Porsche. Never mind the 911’s existence, the entire company was at risk of going bankrupt. A significant upturn in fortunes was needed – and quickly – if Zuffenhausen was to see in the new Millennium.
Designer Pinky Lai has described his 996 creation as ‘the last bullet’ for Porsche, previously telling Total 911 how finances were so tight at the time, staff were having to work through the uncertainty of impending layoffs while trying to produce a car that would give them and the company a future.
A saviour arrived in the form of the 996. This fifth-generation 911 was the first to use a water-cooled engine, replacing the expensive and inefficient aircooled unit from which Porsche felt it had exhausted all performance avenues. Most importantly, the new 911 was part of a shared platform with its little sibling in the 986 Boxster. While criticism was drawn from some quarters that the front half of the 911 was identical to an inferior vehicle, the shared parts involved split costs and significantly boosted profitability of the company’s legendary 911. This, it’s widely acknowledged, directly contributed to saving the company and turning around its fortunes.
The company also adopted a new production method to coincide with the 996/986 platform.
Its new ‘just in time’ principle was taken from its contemporaries at Toyota, where cars were assembled in a matter of hours rather than weeks, without parts lying around on shelves for long periods of time.
The 996 was a huge sales success: it sold over 100,000 units more than the 993 generation before it, while also delivering a car that was significantly cheaper to make. The influx of cash enabled Porsche to prosper and even invest in its first SUV project with Volkswagen. Just six short years after the first 996 was manufactured, Porsche was producing the Carrera GT supercar, a project that ultimately was financed from the profits generated by the fifthgeneration 911.