The Complete Book of Porsche 911
Page 2
Porsche routed tailpipes through the bumper overriders on 1600 Normal models to improve rear ground clearance. Studs for the tonneau cover surrounded the removable top.
One visible cue to identify the Carrera GT cars was the parallel hard oil lines inside the passenger front wheelwell. These potent 1,588cc (96.9-cubic-inch) Typ 692/2 models, using Ernst Fuhrmann’s “four-cam” engine, developed 115 horsepower.
Countless racing careers were made in these interiors. Capable drivers could accelerate these coupes from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in 11.0 seconds.
1959 356A 1600 GS Carrera GT Coupe
Porsche sliced extra cooling louvers into the rear deck lid. With single outlet “stinger” exhaust, the company charged 18,500DM ($4,426). This exhaust system increased horsepower to 128 at 6,700 rpm.
1960 356B 1600 Cabriolet
Known internally as the T-5 body, Porsche elevated the 356 headlights and front fenders as well as the front bumper. Air inlets below the bumper provided better front brake cooling.
In early 1963, another drivable prototype went to work, disguised with tail fins and painted in the olive drab of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) vehicles. It was nicknamed der Fledermaus, “the Bat,” and used the Typ 821 overhead cam flat six. Five more prototypes followed quickly. Each was subtly different from the one before, with changes not only in engineering but in appearance, as F. A. Porsche and his modelers put finishing touches on the shape of the car.
Meanwhile, between June and Christmas 1963, F. A. Porsche developed a full line of new models, designated 901 for cars with a six-cylinder engine and 902 for those with a four-cylinder. He created a sunroof coupe, a second model with a removable roof panel, and a third as a full cabriolet. His Cabrio concept, however, left insufficient space for the cloth roof to fold on top of the 2-liter flat six.
The B series introduced a new steering wheel with the option of this three-spoke wheel from Nardi. New front seats offered more comfort, and Porsche shortened the gearshift lever 40mm (1.6 inches).
F. A. Porsche started developing the 901/911 from this four-seater proposal that the engineering department created in 1952. Its 2,400mm (94.5-inch) wheelbase was 300mm (11.8) inches longer than the 356 and 189mm (7.4 inches) longer than first-generation 901/911 models.
One of F. A. Porsche’s cousins was Ferdinand Karl Piëch, the son of Ferry’s sister Louise. He graduated in 1962 from Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule in Zurich, with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering, and he joined his uncle’s company immediately. He supervised 901 engine development. It was a vexing process. An assortment of engines and drivetrains went into and came out of the seven 1963 prototypes, and two more appeared in April 1964. It wasn’t until early 1964 that dry sump 901 flat sixes were ready for road work. By this time, two development 902 models had appeared as well, running a variety of four-cylinder engines.
For the flat sixes, Mezger and Piëch selected three-barrel Solex overflow carburetors over each bank of cylinders. These provided one float chamber for all three 30mm venturis. This system managed the flow of fuel from the gas tank, rather than what flowed through the jets into the cylinders. It eliminated a risk for enthusiastic Porsche drivers of floats that hung up in centrifugal force while cornering hard. The public already had seen the car, prototype 5 (without a working engine), assembled at Karmann and painted yellow, on Porsche’s show stand at the Frankfurt IAA show starting on September 12, 1963. Order books filled with deposits from those willing to wait at least a year for delivery.
To keep interest in Porsche’s cars alive (and much-needed revenues coming in), the company introduced its ultimate 356, the C series, in late 1963 as 1964 models. Base versions included a 75-horsepower flat four, while the SC or Super C elevated the mid-range 90-horsepower engine of the B series to 95 horsepower. The Carrera 2 still provided 130 horsepower in a coupe or cabriolet. Porsche’s four-wheel ATE disc brakes were a significant equipment upgrade for aggressive drivers who had always appreciated the company’s big drum brakes.
The company offered Super 90s as coupes, cabriolets, and the Karmann-built hardtop coupe and hardtop cabriolet configurations. These cabriolets weighed 900 kilograms (1,980 pounds).
Porsche quoted a top speed of 180 kilometers (112 miles) per hour. The S90 cabriolet sold for 16,950DM, $4,216.
1961 356B S90 Roadster
Porsche used its 1,582cc (96.5-cubic-inch) Typ 616/7 flat four to power the Super 90, so named for its horsepower output at 5,500 rpm. Acceleration from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour took 13.5 seconds.
1962 356B Carrera 2 Cabriolet
For several years this car was Ferry Porsche’s daily driver. It was a test bed for numerous engineering and design updates, yet, like its driver, it was understated.
According to the history of this car, F. A. Porsche used his father’s car as a development prototype, fitting it with the T-6 bodywork that appeared in final 356B models and all 356C versions.
Porsche continued to manufacture 356C and SC models through the 1965 model year and assembled nearly 16,700 coupes and cabriolets. Manufacture ended in early summer; however, Porsche produced 10 more C cabriolets for the Dutch national police early in 1966.
By then it was selling its 901 and 902 models, having begun in September 1964. (Helmuth Bott’s engineers had completed two final “preproduction” cars—the 12th and 13th prototypes, given production serial numbers 300001 and 300002—for durability testing in mid-September.) Ferry Porsche had not only set the stage for his 356 successor, he had raised the curtain. The first customer car, 300007, rolled out of the Zuffenhausen plant on September 14, 1964. The outside world responded; rave reviews reached Zuffenhausen.
1962 754T7 Wind Tunnel Model
The origins are clear, from the headlight and front fender treatment to the sloping roofline and the angle to the taillights. F. A. Porsche created the forms with modelers Heinrich Klie and Gerhard Schröder starting in 1959.
1962 754T7 Wind Tunnel Model
The T-7 went through several iterations as a 2+2 and a four-seater. Beside the taillights were vents to reduce engine heat.
This experimental 1,966cc (119.9-cubic-inch) flat four developed 130 horsepower at 6200 rpm. Ferry Porsche ran this in his personal car for several years.
1964 356C 1600 Coupe
The 356C accelerated from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in 14 seconds and reached a top speed of 175 kilometers (109 miles) per hour. The car sold for 14,950DM, $3,756.
1965 356SC 1600 Cabriolet
Porsche’s sportier SC with the Typ 616/16 engine offered buyers 95 horsepower at 5,800 rpm, enough to get the cars to 100 kilometers in 11.5 seconds. The cabriolets sold for 15,950DM, $3,997. Coupes went for 14,950DM, $3,883.
1964 356C 1600 Coupe
Porsche carried over the T-6 body it had introduced on 356B models starting with model year 1962. The 1,582cc Typ 616/15 engine developed 75 horsepower at 5,200 rpm.
CHAPTER 1
THE FIRST GENERATION 1964–1969
1964-1965 901
1964-1965 901
1964-1967 911
1967-1968 911S
1967 911R
1968 911L
1965-1969 912
Porsche’s 901 and 902 seized the motoring world’s attention. As Ferry and his marketing staff showed the prototype to visitors at the Frankfurt show, his engineers readied the car for manufacture. When the exhibition closed, sales and marketing staffs celebrated full order books. They returned to Stuttgart to prepare for the Paris Auto Salon in October. In France crowds again thronged Porsche’s booth, and sales representatives recorded names and deposits. Not everyone was thrilled with the new models, however. After the salon ended, Automobiles Peugeot notified Porsche that it could not use the 901 and 902 designations in France.
Despite producing vastly different automobiles, Peugeot believed it had cause for complaint. Back in 1929, the French carmaker had introduced its Model 201, a low-priced vehicle intended to expand
sales to a broader range of customers. Soon afterward the company registered with the French copyright and patent office its right to use three-digit model designations that incorporated a 0 in the middle. The first car, the 201, was a 2 series chassis with a 1.1-liter engine. Peugeot progressed through 301, 401, and 601 series, arriving at the 403 and 404 when Porsche showed the 901 and 902.
1964 901 Production Coupe
The snorkel air intake arrived with production versions of the 901. This engine was designated the Typ 901/01 and with the clutch it weighed 184 kilograms (405 pounds.)
That Porsche manufactured essentially two-seat sports cars and Peugeot produced utilitarian sedans, coupes, and station wagons (and that Porsche already had raced its Carrera 904GTS at Le Mans and had won the French Grand Prix at Rheims in its 804) were matters Ferry Porsche decided to ignore. France represented a large market for his cars, so he changed the designation. It had come about not from any conscientious pursuit of a distinctive number but out of convenience. Porsche had entered a parts distribution partnership with Volkswagen, which had developed a complex numbering system across its model lines. The sequence available for Porsche started with 901. Internally, the company kept its parts nomenclature, but according to historian Tobias Aichele, to provide the motoring world a consistent name for its models, Porsche switched to 911 and 912 on November 10, 1964, Porsche had manufactured 82 901s by this time, scheduled for customer delivery at the end of the month. The company rebadged all of them.
1964 901 Prototype
Two young engineers, Hans Mezger and Ferdinand Piëch, developed the dual overhead camshaft engine to produce 130 horsepower at 6,100 rpm. The Typ 901/01engine displaced 1,991cc (121.5 cubic inches) and used two three-barrel Solex 40 PI carburetors.
Porsche assembled 13 prototype 901 models from 1962 through 1964. This car, number 7, is the only one known to exist. Its center crank sunroof existed only through prototypes.
For the 901, the instrument panel was still a work in progress. Its roots from the 356 are clear, from two big dials to ignition key placement.
Ferry Porsche first asked Erwin Komenda to make prominent front fenders for the 356 so he could tell where the front wheels were. That characteristic directed creators of this 901 as well.
Dual rear exhausts hinted at performance options to come. This 901 prototype differs in many small ways from 911 production beginning in August 1964.
The Petersen Museum in Los Angeles, California, owns this painstakingly researched and carefully restored example. The 901 sold for 21,900DM ($5,503) at the factory.
1964 901 Production Coupe
Porsche began manufacturing the 901 in August 1964 and had finished assembly of 82 cars before Peugeot complained about the designation number. On November 10, 1964, the company invented the 911 designation, but most people refer to those first cars as the 901.
Designer Otto Soeding, who created the curved five-instrument panel, explained that Erwin Komenda had him mimic the curve of a large ball. That way all gauges faced the driver and glare would obscure only one at a time.
1965 911 Cabriolet Prototype
Shortly after production began on the 901, Ferry Porsche ordered another cabriolet prototype prepared. The question they faced was where to put a retractable top if they proceeded with manufacture.
While the decision to use a dry sump engine allowed engineers to mount the flat six lower on the platform, there still was not enough space for a cavity to store a collapsible top. Redesign and tooling of new rear quarter panels would have cost a fortune.
Engineering developed an experimental windshield header to attach a retractable top. Slicing off the metal roof proved the shortcomings of the original design that left room only to set the collapsed cloth roof on top of the bodywork.
The owner of this car delighted in driving into Porsche gatherings and standing at a distance listening to comments. While it appeared someone merely had sliced off a Targa bar, few guessed it was done in late 1964.
YEAR
1964-1965
DESIGNATION
901
SPECIFICATIONS
MODEL AVAILABILITY
Cabriolet prototype
WHEELBASE
2211mm/87.0 inches
LENGTH
4163mm/163.9 inches
WIDTH
1610mm/63.4 inches
HEIGHT
1320mm/52.0 inches
WEIGHT
unknown
BASE PRICE
unknown
TRACK FRONT
1337mm/52.6 inches
TRACK REAR
1317mm/51.9 inches
WHEELS FRONT
4.5Jx15
WHEELS REAR
4.5Jx15
TIRES FRONT
165-15 radial
TIRES REAR
165-15 radial
CONSTRUCTION
Unitized welded steel
SUSPENSION FRONT
Independent, wishbones, MacPherson struts, longitudinal torsion bars, hydraulic double-action shock absorbers
SUSPENSION REAR
Independent, semi-trailing arms, transverse torsion bars, hydraulic double-action shock absorbers
BRAKES
Discs, 2-piston cast-iron fixed calipers
ENGINE TYPE
Horizontally opposed DOHC six cylinder Typ 901/01
ENGINE DISPLACEMENT
1991cc/121.5CID
BORE AND STROKE
80x66mm/3.15x2.60 inches
HORSEPOWER
130@6100rpm
TORQUE
128lb-ft@4200rpm
COMPRESSION
9.0:1
FUEL DELIVERY
2 Solex 40 P-I overflow carburetors
FINAL DRIVE AXLE RATIO
4.428:1
TOP SPEED
130mph
PRODUCTION
1 Typ 901 prototype cabriolet 82 Typ 901 production coupes
1964-1967 911
Then, following a polite span of time, Baron Huschke von Hanstein, Porsche’s racing and public relations director, wrote the Fédération Internationale des Automobiles (FIA), the world’s auto racing governing body, based in Paris. He noted that Porsche’s racing models, not available to regular customers, probably did not infringe on Peugeot’s right to use the middle 0, thus enabling Porsche to retain the 804 and 904 model designations. The FIA agreed, whereupon von Hanstein announced development of a new racing model known as the Typ 906 Carrera 6.
The wood-rimmed steering wheel and dashboard were standard equipment. The five-speed transmission placed first gear to the left and back.
While engineers put finishing touches on the 911 prototypes, the company completed assembly of the 904s it sold to qualified racers and of the last 356-1600C and SC models introduced at Frankfurt alongside the 901. Reutter, Karmann, and Weinsberg body works hustled to meet Porsche’s production needs. As production began, Karmann assumed a larger role, assembling and trimming completed 911 car bodies. When early magazine reviews praising the new model poured in, Ferry discontinued 356C and SC manufacture at the end of the 1965 model year.
Ferdinand Piëch and engine designer Hans Mezger initially conceived a four-cylinder engine based on the Typ 745 2-liter, six-cylinder 911 engine for use in the third line. This was the entry level or standard version that started out as the 902 but became the 912 following Peugeot’s request. The concept was commonality of parts, but Porsche had thousands of four-cylinder, 1,582cc Typ 616 engines left. These engines had 82.5mm bore and 74mm stroke; in the SC, they developed 102 DIN horsepower. Porsche planned to use them in industrial power units, but when that project collapsed, the company halted Typ 745 four-cylinder development and installed the earlier four in the 902/912, but with 9.3:1 compression, good for 90 DIN horsepower at 5,800 rpm and 90 lb-ft torque at 4,200 rpm. Sales director Wolfgang Raether and sales manager for Germany Harald Wagner trimmed luxuries on the 912 to hold its price near that of 356C coupes.
By the end of the 1965 model year, Porsche had produced 3,390 911 models, but it had manufactured 6,401 912s. Customers enthralled with the 911s looks at the Frankfurt and Paris shows saw they could have the appearance and handling for nearly $1,400 less if they accepted a lower-powered engine. (They also got less weight; without the dry sump and with two fewer cylinders, 912s came in at 995 kilograms/2,190 pounds, which was 100 kilograms—220 pounds—lighter than the new 911.) Most early 912 purchasers were European; to accommodate loyal customers on the continent, Porsche delayed exporting 912s to North America until it ended 356C production in September 1965. Americans got the 912 at the start of the 1966 model year.
Ferry Porsche’s first car was a roadster. Soon after he introduced Gmünd coupes, he offered open cars without interruption, until the 911 arrived. Ferry and Wolfgang Raether conceived the 911 as a successor to the 356 with a full range of models. F. A. Porsche’s design staff, particularly Heinrich Klie and Gerhard Schröder, created models and drawings supplementing the coupe in late 1963. The principal problem was that the car had no room to store the collapsible top. Engineer Helmuth Bott’s initial efforts to remedy the new car’s handling challenges made clear that removing the roof was not sensible. That large steel panel provided much of the body stiffness that helped Bott’s improvements work effectively. The 911 tub simply was not rigid enough to support a cabriolet body.