What Were The Iconic Cars Of The 80's - Part 4 Porsche 911

Published on October 17 2011 by aj.mill

Weighing just over a tonne and one producing around 300bhp, the Porsche 911 Turbo was one of the fastest cars on the planet in the 1980’s. It gained a reputation for being a ‘city-bonus’ toy which could bite the less experienced driver.

Origins

First introduced in 1974, there was originally only going to be 1000 911’s produced. However, by the end of its production in 1989 Porsche had made over 20,000 cars.

Throughout its lifetime, the 911 has been modified by both Porsche and private teams for racing, rallying and other forms of automotive competition. It is one of the most successful competition cars ever. There were several 911 variations including; the Classic, the SC, the Sport and the Carrera.

In 1984, the Carrera appeared with an all new 3.2 litre engine, producing an impressive 200 horsepower. It had a top speed of 146mph, 0-60 in under 6 seconds and provided outstanding everyday drivability.

In 1987 a new 5 speed manual transmission was on offer as well as a cabriolet option for the Turbo.

It is one of the oldest sports coupe nameplates still in production.

In 1979 Porsche had made plans to replace the 911 with their new 928. Sales of the 911 remained so strong however, that Porsche revised its strategy and decided to inject new life into the 911 editions.

Peter W. Schutz (CEO Porsche AG 1981-1987) wrote:

“The decision to keep the 911 in the product line occurred one afternoon in the office of Dr. Helmuth Bott, the Porsche operating board member responsible for all engineering and development. I noticed a chart on the wall of Professor Bott’s office. It depicted the ongoing development schedules for the three primary Porsche product lines: 944, 928 and 911. Two of them stretched far into the future, but the 911 program stopped at the end of 1981. I remember rising from my chair, walking over to the chart, taking a black marker pen, and extending the 911 program bar clean off the chart. I am sure I heard a silent cheer from Professor Bott, and I knew I had done the right thing. The Porsche 911, the company icon, had been saved, and I believe the company was saved with it.”