Porsche 911 Turbo Historical Overview From 1974 to Now

by: Ruel Run

The production of the 911 Turbo began in 1974. The car was also called the Porsche 930 in the USA; the number 930 is in reference to the car's internal type number. In Europe, it was called the Porsche Turbo 911. One of the most distinctive features of the 911 Turbo is its wide wheel arches, so done to house the wide tires. The car also has a unique rear spoiler; it was called the whale tail on the early models and the tea tray on the latter cars.

The Porsche 930 developed a reputation for absolute acceleration, and difficult handling and drag. The first models came with a 3 liter engine spitting out 256 BHP. In the late 1976, a racing version of the Porsche 911 Turbo was introduced, called the Porsche 934. It became a favorite of many competitors in Le Mans and other races due to its power and handling.

The 1989 911 Turbo (930) was the only model to feature a 5 speed gearbox.

Porsche 964 Turbo (1990 - 1993)

In 1990 Porsche launched a Turbo version of the 964 series. For the 1991 and 1992 model years it used a 3.3 liter engine, similar to the one used on the Porsche 930, the engine provided 320 PS. Porsche then introduced the Carrera 2 and 4 in 1993, with a 3.6 liter engine and a 360 PS to the rear wheels.

Today the 964 Turbo is rear commodity; it was eventually superseded by the Porsche 993 Turbo (1995 – 1998).

Porsche 993 Turbo (1995–1998)

In 1995 Porsche launched a Turbo version of the Porsche 993. It was revolutionary in more ways than one; the 993 Turbo was the first standard Porsche to use twin exhaust turbochargers and the first 911 Turbo to have permanent all wheel drive. [Side Note: If you wanted to remove the AWD, you would have to refer to the more powerful and race homologated GT2 or another option is to remove the drive shaft leading to the front differential].

It was 1997 and Porsche decided to introduce a limited run of 200 units of the Porsche 993 911 Turbo S; the Turbo S delivered an even higher performance. The new car had a few additions as well, among these are an additional 24 PS (17.7 kW), this was over the regular Turbo 400 PS (294kW) and modifications to the car's body.

The Porsche 993 Turbo still command a premium price, due mainly to its reliability, raw power, and the fact that it is the last air cooled 911 Turbo cars.

Porsche 996 Turbo (2000 - 2004)

In the year 2000, Porsche introduced the 966 Turbo, which is as the name suggests a turbo version of the Porsche 966. It was equipped with standard four wheel drive and a 3.6 liter engine, which was derived from the 911 GT1 engine. It also came with twin turbocharged and inter-cooled producing a whopping 415 BHP (309 kW), which meant the car could go from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.9 seconds. In 2002 the 996 Turbo received an upgrade known as X50 or Turbo S, this increased the car power to 444 hp (336 kW). The 996 Turbo also had air vents in the front and rear bumpers.

Porsche 997 Turbo, 997 GT3 (2006 - Now)

The 997 GT3 or 997 Turbo debuted in 2006, and like previous models it gave Porsche the opportunity to homologate aerodynamic features for racing, and add a model for customer racing. The car used the same 3.6 liter engine as the Porsche 996 Turbo, but with the exception that it had more power; 480 PS. It gets from 0 to 62 mph in 3.2 seconds (using Tiptronic Transmission). The Porsche 997 Turbo is more driver friendly relative to its predecessor.