The Complete Book of Porsche 911
Page 15
4251mm/167.4 inches
WIDTH
1652mm/65.0 inches
HEIGHT
1270mm/50.0 inches
WEIGHT
1150kg/2530 pounds
BASE PRICE
$160,000
TRACK FRONT
1384mm/54.5 inches
TRACK REAR
1417mm/55.6 inches
WHEELS FRONT
7.0Jx17
WHEELS REAR
10.0Jx17
TIRES FRONT
215/45VR17
TIRES REAR
255/40VR17
CONSTRUCTION
Unitized welded steel
SUSPENSION FRONT
Independent, wishbones, MacPherson struts, Longitudinal torsion bars, gas-filled double-action shock absorbers, anti-roll bar
SUSPENSION REAR
Independent, light alloy semi-trailing arms, transverse torsion bars, gas-filled double-action shock absorbers, anti-roll bar
BRAKES
Ventilated, drilled discs, 4-piston aluminum calipers
ENGINE TYPE
Horizontally opposed DOHC six-cylinder
ENGINE DISPLACEMENT
3366cc/205.4CID
BORE AND STROKE
98x74.4mm/3.86x2.93 inches
HORSEPOWER
469@5950rpm (930/20)
TORQUE
408lb-ft@5100rpm (930/20)
COMPRESSION
7.5:1
FUEL DELIVERY
Bosch Motronic, Twin turbochargers, twin intercoolers
FINAL DRIVE AXLE RATIO
3.44:1
TOP SPEED
213mph
PRODUCTION
1 Yellow Bird
CHAPTER 5
THE THIRD GENERATION APPEARS 1989–1994
1989-1993 911 CARRERA
1989-1993 911 CARRERA
1991-1992 911 TURBO
1990-1991 CARRERA 4 LIGHTWEIGHT
1992-1994 CARRERA TURBO LOOK (AMERICA ROADSTER), CARRERA RS, CARRERA RS AMERICA, TURBO SLANT NOSE, AND SPEEDSTER
1993 CARRERA RS AND RSR 3,8
Helmuth Bott’s schedule in 1984 had been full of the future, planning half a decade and further ahead. While Porsche just had introduced the 3.2 Carrera, he already was anticipating the 911’s next generation. Tests with all-wheel drive for desert racing suggested to him how the technology might aid average drivers on public roads in any conditions. When he chatted with Peter Schutz, he saw three possible avenues the 911 could take as it headed off the production chart on the wall. One scenario introduced the Typ 964 as an all-wheel-drive model supplementing a carryover 3.2 Carrera. The second gave the Carrera a facelift, mounting it on new rear-wheel- and all-wheel-drive platforms. Finally, he considered designing and engineering a unitized body—which functioned as chassis—and mounting this on rear- and all-wheel-drive running gear.
In 1984 Porsche had profited from the currency exchange rate of 3.5 deutsche marks to the dollar. Bott used some of the proceeds to construct a wind tunnel at Weissach. The company needed new paint facilities. He assigned a young production engineer, Wendelin Wiedeking, who had arrived in 1983, to supervise its construction. Bott next asked him to design and manage construction of the new body assembly plant, Werke V. This building linked the paint shop and final assembly by a bridge high above Schwieberdinger Strasse. A conveyor transported welded raw bodies from one building to the other high above traffic. The advantageous exchange rate allowed Porsche to undertake these huge projects without borrowing any money.
1994 Turbo S 3.6 Slant Nose
The company manufactured just 76 of these coupes at a price of 290,000DM, $174,698. The car weighed 1,470 kilograms, 3,234 pounds. Acceleration from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour took 4.7 seconds. Top speed was 280 kilometers (174 miles) per hour.
1989 Carrera 4 Coupe
Porsche’s new 911 produced a coefficient of drag (Cd) of 0.32, a great improvement over the Carrera 3.2 model with its figure of 0.59. A completely flat undertray helped a great deal, as did carefully sculpted rain gutters along the windshield and over the doors.
From this position of financial independence, and inspired by drawings and models of the 959, the Supervisory Board selected Bott’s option for the unitized body with new mechanicals. But then it took a step back, permitting stylists Wolfgang Möbius and Dick Soderberg only to update the 911 body. The already classic stovepipe fenders and headlights, as well as the large roof panel, were untouchable. Porsche had the resources to do something as radical as the 959, but the board worried that customers would not embrace radical change.
Bott’s concept specification book (lastenheft) for the Typ 964 addressed a new concern: the coefficient of drag (Cd). Porsche’s 911 looked sleek, but its Cd measured 0.395, a figure that embarrassed company engineers and designers when compared to new Ford and Audi sedans, at 0.29 and 0.30 respectively. Soderberg’s wide 959 came in at 0.31, and Bott targeted 0.32 for the new 911. Soderberg and Möbius flush-mounted front bumpers, carefully adjusted front valences, and installed a belly pan under the nose. This protected the front differential and driveshaft from impact and eliminated turbulence as well.
The new car, known as the Typ 964 internally, was 85 percent new from the Carrera 3.2. This Typ M64/01 engine developed 250 horsepower at 6,100 rpm. It sold for 116,600DM in Germany, $69,500 in the United States.
A completely new 3,600cc (219.6-cubic-inch) flat six with 100mm (3.94-inch) bore and 76.4mm (3.00-inch) bore powered the new 911. Each cylinder had two spark plugs firing the fuel/air mixture.
1990 Carrera 2 Coupe
The 964 wheelbase measured 2,272mm (89.5 inches), same as the Carrera 3.2. It measured 4,250mm long (167.3 inches), while the previous Carrera was 41mm longer at 4,291 (168.9 inches).
The 911 body form resembled an airfoil, and the slope from the peak of the roof to the taillights caused the rear to lift at high speeds. Tilman Brodbeck’s bürzel (ducktail) temporarily reduced the problem, but it was time for a new approach. Engineers and stylists developed an electrically operated spoiler that rose from the rear deck lid at 80 kilometers (50 miles) per hour. Its location and length reduced rear lift to zero.
For the complicated drivetrain of the all-wheel-drive 964, Bott and production car engineer Fritz Bezner maintained the 911’s traditional rear weight bias, settling on 59 percent on the rear wheels. They allocated 69 percent of the power to the rear, leaving 31 percent to front tires. Bott said his goal was “to provide customers with handling characteristics that felt familiar to them, and were similar to rear-drive Nine Elevens, but with the benefit of additional traction in poor conditions.”
Oftentimes in developing a new car, engineers face good news/bad news choices. Weissach refers to these as target conflicts, and the 964 presented many of them. The need for a driveshaft forward of the engine put Porsche’s trusty torsion bar rear springs in the way. The shaft had to go right through the transverse tube that anchored them. That tube contributed considerable stiffness to the platform. The new rear suspension, with coil springs as at the front, coupled with aluminum semi-trailing arms, was a compromise.
Engine chief Paul Hensler needed to use two spark plugs for ignition to meet California’s nitrogen oxide (NOx) emission standards. Twin plugs burned the fuel more efficiently from idle all the way to redline, leaving little or no unburned matter for catalysts to incinerate. Complete combustion also increased horsepower. Here was another target conflict: Two spark plugs in air-cooled heads compromised the space for cooling fins. Hoping to effect more efficient heat transfer from the cylinder heads down to the heavily finned cylinder walls, Hensler’s engineers eliminated the traditional head gasket between them. This decision eventually caused leakages that subsequent engineers had to address. These kinds of target conflicts delayed the 964 engine, and the model launch slipped to 1989.
It was a heavier car, almost 20 percent more so than the 3.2 Carrera. New computers, electronics, and other features and their wiring
added more than 227 kilograms (500 pounds) to the 964. The car weighed in at 1,455 kilograms (3,200 pounds). To meet Bott’s performance targets, Fritz Bezner and Paul Hensler developed a new 3,506cc (213.9-cubic-inch) engine, achieved by increasing bore to 100mm. This modest increase did not move the all-wheel-drive car as quickly as the current 3.2, let alone meet Bott’s goal. They lengthened the stroke 2mm as well, to 76.4mm, which yielded 3,600cc total displacement, or 219.6 cubic inches. This engine developed 250 DIN horsepower at 6,800 rpm (239 SAE net at 6,100) and 229 lb-ft of torque at 4,800 rpm. The board approved production as a 1989 model year product, and marketing named it the Carrera 4, quickly abbreviated to C4. The rear-drive version, Carrera 2 or C2, followed in early 1990.
Porsche introduced the all-wheel-drive Carrera 4 in spring 1989. Later that summer, the company brought out the rear-drive Carrera 2 model. Without the heavy front differential, the C2 weighed 1,350 kilograms (2,970 pounds), 100 kilograms less than the C4 at 1,450 kilograms, 3,190 pounds.
The work it required of Weissach engineers and the delays those efforts caused pushed the car over its development budget. The year-late introduction, combined with a still-declining deutsche-mark-to-dollar exchange rate and the departure of company chairman Peter Schutz, hurt the company. The board elected a conservative and cost-conscious member named Heinz Branitzki to be chairman. Branitzki had joined Porsche’s board in 1971, when the 911 was seven years old. Over the next 18 years, he watched the car evolve through subtle changes. He expected this would be the plan in 1989. In the 964 introduction press kit, he stated, “We have here the 911 for the next 25 years, the concept that will help our favorite model reach its 50th anniversary.”
While everyone around him hoped the 911 would reach 50, few hoped it would be the 964 getting them there. The car was much that enthusiasts, journalists, and Weissach staff had expected. But it was less than the engineers and stylists had desired. More significantly, it cost much more than most people could imagine. Porsche boasted that 85 percent of the parts were new. While this was good for advertising and marketing, it raised eyebrows among insiders. The number of parts that Porsche shared among 3.2 Carrera models, the new 944 Turbo, the 928, and the 964 was so small that when Wendelin Wiedeking examined parts lists, development costs, and production revenues, he concluded that no one monitored Porsche’s engineering expenses. He went so far as to accuse Helmuth Bott of destroying the company through fiscal practices that Peter Schutz had either ignored or approved of. When Wiedeking sensed his discoveries meant nothing to the board, he left Porsche. But Bott, saddened and disheartened, left within a few months as well, just before the 964 Carrera 4 launch, two years before his scheduled retirement.
A new interior provided owners a full-length central console from which a shorter gear lever appeared. The leather-covered seats were adjustable for height as well as rake and fore-aft travel.
When the new car reached dealers, the deutsche-mark-to-dollar exchange rate of 1.76 to 1 put the K Program 1989 964 Carrera 4 at DM 114,500 in Germany and $69,500 in the United States. With the introduction of the new car, Porsche ended production of 3.2 Carrera bodies, except for preordered Turbo models. The L Program 1990 964 C2 arrived without the C4’s front half shafts, differential, and drive shaft. This saved it 100 kilograms, or 220 pounds, and increased front luggage capacity. The Carrera 2 debuted in coupe form at DM 103,500 and $58,500 in America. Cabriolets (with standard-equipment power-operated tops) and Targas appeared on both rear-drive and all-wheel-drive platforms.
One of the 964’s cleverest innovations was its rear spoiler that rose from the engine deck lid automatically at 80 kilometers (50 miles) per hour. This served to reduce rear lift to zero, and it exerted downforce on the front axle.
The new normally aspirated 964 was virtually as fast as the previous generation Turbo. Acceleration from 0 to 100 kilometers took 5.7 seconds. Top speed was 260 kilometers (162 miles) per hour, the same as the 1989 Turbo coupe.
Besides significant traction differences, there were subtle distinctions between the C2 and C4 models. C2 versions used a vacuum-booster braking system with two-piston fixed caliper brakes at the rear. The C4 utilized a hydraulic brake booster. All models came with ABS as standard equipment. Porsche coupled the standard five-speed manual transmission to a dual-mass flywheel, reducing transmission rattle at low engine speeds. By the mid-1990 model year, prices had risen slightly in Germany, to DM 120,550 for the C4 coupe and DM 107,100 for the C2.
In September 1989, as Porsche introduced the rear-drive C2 models, Ferry Porsche turned 80. As had been the case on significant anniversaries in the past, the company presented him with a special one-off automobile. Few had been as radical or as startling as this gift, dubbed the Panamericana. The idea had begun when styling chief Harm Lagaay arrived at Porsche in early 1989. He found the staff he inherited idly dreaming up projects to keep themselves busy. He assigned one of the dreamers, Steve Murkett, the task of creating Ferry Porsche’s birthday gift in a vehicle that had all-wheel drive and remarkable capabilities. Murkett came up with the X-Country, a dune-buggy-inspired 911 that evolved into the green roadster birthday gift.
Porsche sold Carrera 2 Cabriolets for 127,525DM with the standard manual gearbox and 133,780DM in Germany for the Tiptronic-equipped open car. U.S. dealers charged $70,690. Acceleration from 0 to 100 kilometers took 6.6 seconds.
The four-speed Tiptronic transmission allowed drivers to relax with the gearbox in full-automatic mode or slide the lever to the right and perform gear changes themselves. It added 6,000DM, about $3,600, to the price of the car.
At the time Porsche introduced the rear-drive Carrera 2 models for 1990, it brought Cabriolet and Targa bodies to the full lineup. Midway through that year, the company also introduced the new Tiptronic Typ A 50/01 computer-controlled four-speed gearbox that functioned both as a full automatic or semi-manual (without a clutch pedal).
YEAR
1989-1993
DESIGNATION
911 Carrera
SPECIFICATIONS
MODEL AVAILABILITY
Coupe, Targa, Cabriolet
WHEELBASE
2272mm/89.4 inches
LENGTH
4250mm/167.3 inches
WIDTH
1652mm/65.0 inches
HEIGHT
1310mm/51.6 inches
WEIGHT
1450kg/3190 pounds (Carrera 4)
1350kg/2970 pounds (Carrera 2)
BASE PRICE
$69,500 (1989 C4 coupe)
$58,500 (1990 C2 coupe)
$70,690 (1991 C2 Cabriolet)
TRACK FRONT
1380mm/54.3 inches
TRACK REAR
1374mm/54.1 inches
WHEELS FRONT
6.0Jx16
WHEELS REAR
8.0Jx16
TIRES FRONT
205/55ZR16
TIRES REAR
225/50ZR16 Speedsters
CONSTRUCTION
Unitized welded steel
SUSPENSION FRONT
Independent, lower wishbones, MacPherson struts w/coil springs, gas-filled double-action shock absorbers, anti roll bar
SUSPENSION REAR
Independent, MacPherson struts w/coil springs, gas-filled double-action shock absorbers, anti roll bar
BRAKES
Ventilated, discs, 4-piston aluminum calipers
ENGINE TYPE
Horizontally opposed DOHC six-cylinder Typ M64/01
ENGINE DISPLACEMENT
3600cc/219.7CID
BORE AND STROKE
100x76.4mm/3.94x3.00 inches
HORSEPOWER
250@6100rpm
TORQUE
229lb-ft@4800rpm
COMPRESSION
11.3:1
FUEL DELIVERY
Bosch DME with sequential injection
FINAL DRIVE AXLE RATIO
3.44:1
TOP SPEED
161mph
PRODUCTION
13,353 coupes, 1,329 Targas, 4,802 Cabriolets from 1989 through 1993
To accommodate the wider front and rear flared fenders of the new Turbo body, Porsche created a new doorsill molding. The car used “Carrera Cup” outside mirrors.
1991-1992 911 TURBO
One victim of Peter Schutz’s and Helmuth Bott’s departures was the 965 all-wheel-drive Turbo project. Designer Tony Hatter made the shapes of the 959 evolve from sketches to models to reality by adopting the rear cooling slots, nose and headlights, and integrated rear wing into his own concept for Porsche’s next-generation Turbo.
Bott and Fritz Bezner endured cooling and horsepower output challenges with the 965 engines, similar to those that troubled Paul Hensler with his 964 engines. This prompted Bott and Manfred Bantle to consider alternatives. They looked into developing either a V-6 version of Porsche’s newest V-8 Indy engine, with four valves per cylinder and dual overhead camshafts, or detuning a version of it. These options were viable but were time-consuming and costly. By late summer 1988, with Porsche internally in turmoil, water cooling a 3.5-liter variation of the flat six was the favored solution.