The most frequently asked questions about Porsche are addressed here.
For most people, the sequence of the numerals 9, 1, and 1 may have some uncomfortable meanings, but for vehicle fans, it means something wonderful. In the case of one of the most reputable and enduring manufacturers of sports cars, the Porsche 911 is one of those uncommon vehicles that defines a brand.
The 911, however, was not always the 911. The Porsche 901 made its début at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1963 as the company’s flagship model. Porsche’s home show saw a lot of interest in the vehicle, and the firm announced plans to begin manufacturing the following year. Prior to Porsche receiving a letter from Peugeot, some 80 preproduction 901s were constructed.
The French carmaker claimed to be the only party having the right to car names with three numbers and a zero in the middle. In fact, Peugeot continues to employ such naming convention today. Porsche didn’t want to squander the metal 9s, 0s, and 1s it had previously ordered for the emblems on the cars. As a result, “901” was altered to “911,” and the rest is history.
The explanation of how Porsche acquired a three-digit designation in the 900-range is a little more convoluted. According to rumors, Porsche named the automobile 901 because it was the 901st project the Porsche business has undertaken since its founding in 1930. But the real response might be a little more mundane.
According to a recent story in the Porsche-focused magazine Excellence, Porsche actually had to make their parts-numbering system work with Volkswagen’s. Today, Porsche and Volkswagen are inseparable, but this process was just getting started in the early 1960s. Porsche had to begin assigning part numbers that worked with VW’s inventory management system as it tried to consolidate its operations with that company. According to the report, the 900 series was the only range of numbers that was offered.
In any case, Porsche maintained a few of the 901-badged vehicles it had already produced as demonstrators, and some of them eventually found their way into the hands of consumers. The 57th car, which was discovered by a German television program in 2014, had a three-year restoration by Porsche that was recently finished. Number 57 is the oldest 911 in the company’s collection and is currently on show in the Porsche museum.
In This Article...
911 Porsche
Porsche project design numbers had climbed into the 800s by the early 1960s. For instance, the Porsche 804 was the name of the 1962 F1 vehicle.
Porsche unveiled the 911, the Porsche 356’s replacement, at the Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung (Frankfurt Motor Show) in Frankfurt, Germany, in September 1963. The production of the autos for consumer purchase required several additional months. The 901 was unveiled in October at the 1964 Paris Auto Salon, and 82 vehicles were produced between 14 September and 16 November 1964. Porsche didn’t sell any 901s to private consumers; instead, they were used for testing and displays. Although it appears that some of the Porsches kept at the time eventually ended up in private hands, number 20 was found and fully repaired by Kurt Schneider and his wife Lori in 1988. Alois Ruf, a Porsche expert, was said to be the owner of vehicle number 37 in 2010.
After French automaker Peugeot protested to Porsche using any three-digit number with a 0 in the middle, claiming control of the naming rights in important areas and having already sold several models using that scheme, the 901 was renamed. Porsche merely changed the center 0 to a 1 and renamed the vehicle the 911. Other Porsche models that were marketed as road-legal vehicles but were primarily built for racing were also impacted by this. While maintaining the 90x internal part number in those instances, Porsche marketed the Porsche 904 as the Carrera GTS and the Porsche 906 as the Carrera 6. These vehicles are still referred to by their three-digit design numbers among Porsche enthusiasts.
Later, Porsche created pure racing vehicles that were not offered for sale for use on public roads and did not compete with any Peugeot vehicles designed for use on public roads. Porsche 907, Porsche 908, and Porsche 909 were the design numbers assigned to them. The aluminum five-speed transmission used in early 911s had an 11-digit part number that started with 901, as did many other components on the early cars, and Porsche enthusiasts also use this number as a shorthand to refer to it. A new magnesium casing and a component number starting with 911 were used in later 911s manufactured in 1969.
Taycan
The first all-electric Porsche deserved a name befitting of its exciting qualities when it was introduced in 2019. The word Taycan is made up of two phrases with Turkic roots that roughly translate to “soul of a vibrant young horse.” It captures the spirit of the electric Porsche, which is vibrant, vivacious, agile, free-spirited, and unflappable. The word “horse” refers to the recognizable silhouette on the Porsche crest, therefore the name both emphasizes the brand’s past and its future. Even after its introduction, the word has gained more favorable connotations in other languages. For example, the Japanese word “taikan” generally translates to “physical experience,” and after driving the Taycan, you won’t disagree.
Photographs: Porsche 911 (901 No. 57)
Porsche found a fairly straightforward answer. The production of distinct 9, 0, and 1 numerals for the cars had already begun. Instead of coming up with an entirely new name, the corporation simply added an extra 1 where the 0 was, creating the now-iconic 911 designation.
The 57th 901 to leave the factory was the recently restored one that was put on exhibit at the Porsche Museum. In 2014, a TV crew located the automobile in a deserted German barn. After then, Porsche bought it and started the process of restoring the unusual car. Through April 8, 2018, it will be a part of the special exhibition “911 (901 No. 57) – A Legend Takes Off.”
Porsche asked Karmann to construct one convertible among the few 901s as a prototype. In February 2017, RM Sotheby’s offered this unusual vehicle for sale in Paris. It sold for 649,600 euros, which was considerably less than the company’s estimate of 850,000 to 1,000,000 euros (or, at the time, $900,000 to $1,060,000).
Porsche is attempting to expand its sales network in India.
The Porsche 911 has been regarded as the most iconic sports car for five decades. Additionally, it has served as the Porsche brand’s focal point.
Since the 911’s introduction in 1963, more than 820,000 of them have been made at Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. No other sports car has ever garnered such positive feedback from car aficionados. Additionally, no other sports automobile has ever won as many competitions. The seventh generation of the 911, internally referred to as the 991, is the vehicle Porsche is using to carry its venerable sports car into the future.
Porsche originally chose the moniker for the new vehicle based on the Volkswagen spare component number ranges. The new Porsche needed to work with the VW plant’s number ranges in order to potentially collaborate with them in the future. The decision-makers at Porsche decided on the numbers 901 for the six-cylinder version and 902 for a later four-cylinder model because the 900 numbers had not yet been assigned in Wolfsburg (VW’s HQ). Porsche debuted the 901 prototype at the International Auto Show (IAA) in Frankfurt on September 12, 1963. A further year passed before the Porsche engineers had brought the 901 from the prototype stage to production readiness, albeit there was still work to be done before the car was suitable for series production. In October 1964, the automobile was then formally introduced to the market.
This initially baffled Porsche management because the development department had thoroughly investigated the model name that they customarily relied on the pertinent design number for the Type 901 as well. Only one German truck manufacturer used the name 901, which Porsche did not consider to be a problem. Peugeot, however, staked its claim and asserted that because it had been using three-digit numbers with a zero in the center since 1929, it was entitled to all such number sequences in France.
Porsche was forced to rename the 901 in the midst of the model introduction period because they had no other choice. Ferdinand (Ferry) Porsche chose to rename the vehicle “Type 911” on November 22nd, 1964, after weighing several choices, including the use of an affix like “GT”. Practical concerns guided the decision. Using the typeface previously designed for the number “1” twice was the easiest choice because brochures, price lists, manuals, and the type number on the back and on the glove box lid were already being finalized. Simply said, there wasn’t enough time to make a new number, much less brand-new lettering. Nobody could have predicted in 1964 that this 911 emergency answer would one day become famous all over the world.
As Ferry Porsche once observed, “The 911 is the only automobile that you can drive from an African safari to Le Mans, then to the theater and onto the streets of New York,” the 911 moniker has come to be synonymous with the vehicle and its outstanding versatility.
The Porsche 911 became a Carrera at what point?
In essence, the first Porsche 911 Carrera was given that moniker to celebrate the company’s prior racing triumphs. It wasn’t the base model, though. Instead, it was at first the top rung of the 911 ladder. It was later replaced by the Turbo, but for a while it was superior to other 911 grades.
Porsche, however, stopped making the Carrera in 1978 in favor of the 911 SC, or “Super Carrera,” which replaced it as the entry-level model. Remember that Porsche believed that their rear-engine sports vehicle had no future at this point, particularly with tighter emissions rules on the horizon. But the 911 was saved from the chopping block because to the involvement of the CEO at the time, Peter Schutz.
Then, in 1984, Porsche discarded the SC designation in favor of a time-honored favorite to emphasize the 911’s continued relevance. Yes, the 911 Carrera returned with a brand-new 3.2-liter flat-six, earning it the moniker “Carrera 3.2.” Nevertheless, it was now the base model, just like the now-retired SC.
The base 911 has always remained the Carrera, despite later 911s briefly bringing back the RS moniker.
How was the Porsche 911 named?
Porsche came up with the idea to add gold letters spelling out the car’s name to the dashboard and the back of the vehicle. Since these letters were already made, they already had the “9” and the “1,” so they simply swapped out the “0” for another “1,” and the name 911 was born.
Why was the Porsche 911 created?
the initial 911 Porsche The design of the new 911 Sport Classic, like that of its immediate predecessor (the 911 Sport Classic built on the 997 platform from 2009), was largely influenced by two legendary 911 models: the original 911 (1964–1973) and the 911 Carrera RS 2.7. (1972)
A 911 is it a Porsche Carrera?
With its distinctive rear-engine, rear-wheel drive design, the 911’s entry-level model is referred to as the Carrera. A broader stance and greater power are added by the Carrera S. Most S models have four exhaust pipes, which set them apart from normal Carrera vehicles, which only have two.
Whether a Porsche 911 or a 9 Eleven?
The Porsche 911, also known as Nine Eleven or Neunelfer in German, is a two-door, two-plus-two, high-performance sports car that Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany first unveiled in September 1964. It had a flat-six engine that is located at the rear and had a torsion bar suspension at first. The car has undergone constant improvement throughout the years, but the fundamental design has not changed. The engines were air-cooled prior to the 1998 launch of the 996 series.
Private and factory teams have participated in numerous races using the 911 in a range of classes. It is one of the most effective competition vehicles. The naturally aspirated 911 Carrera RSR won several world championship events in the middle of the 1970s, including the Targa Florio and the 24 Hours of Daytona. The 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans was also won by the 911-derived 935 turbo. Porsche’s 911-derived cars helped the company win the World Championship for Makes in 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979.
The 911 placed fifth in a 1999 poll to choose the Car of the Century. It is one of just two top-five products that has been constantly produced (the original Beetle remained in production until 2003). The one millionth copy, which is now part of the company’s permanent collection, was produced in May 2017.