The Complete Book of Porsche 911
Page 18
9.0Jx18
WHEELS REAR
11.0Jx18
TIRES FRONT
235/40ZR18
TIRES REAR
285/35ZR18
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, drilled discs, 4-piston aluminum calipers
ENGINE TYPE
Horizontally opposed DOHC six-cylinder Typ M64/04
ENGINE DISPLACEMENT
3746cc/228.6CID
BORE AND STROKE
102x76.4mm/4.02x3.00 inches
HORSEPOWER
300@6500rpm (325@6900rpm RSR)
TORQUE
266lb-ft@5250rpm
COMPRESSION
11.3:1 (11.4:1 RSR)
FUEL DELIVERY
Bosch DME with sequential injection
FINAL DRIVE AXLE RATIO
3.44:1
TOP SPEED
168mph (165mpg RSR)
PRODUCTION
55 (50 RSR)
CHAPTER 6
THE FOURTH GENERATION 1994–1998
1994-1997 911 CARRERA
1994-1997 911 CARRERA
1995-1997 911 GT2 AND GT2 EVO
1996-1997 911 GT1
1997-1998 911 TURBO S AND CARRERA S
Ulrich Bez and Harm Lagaay arrived at Weissach in 1989 from BMW. Lagaay pulled designer Tony Hatter off other projects and started him sketching concepts for the next 911. Peter Falk, the competition director, suggested that agility had been engineered out of the 964. He felt its appearance reflected that.
Hatter labored to make this new Porsche very much a 911. He created a significantly changed 911. It had wider, flatter front and rear fenders, which began with raked-back elliptical headlamps and subsided into the trailing edge of the roofline, which then angled downward into the rear bumper. The body provided a slightly larger front trunk and room for the mechanical, safety, and comfort features that buyers had come to expect at that performance and price level.
1996 Ruf Turbo R Coupe
The reworked engine developed 490 horsepower at 5,500 rpm. Cars weighed 1,491 kilograms (3,280 pounds) and sold for 298,000DM (roughly $198,700) at the factory.
Performance in all its connotations received prime consideration. Throughout the Weissach campus, engineers strived to address complaints about 964 handling. There was rear suspension noise on both C2 and C4 models. Bez and Paul Hensler intended to provide buyers with more horsepower, but they questioned if that was possible without reinventing the 911 engine.
They reviewed the 965 proposals for water-cooled six- and eight-cylinder engines. The V-8 they ran in the Indianapolis Typ 2708 for Quaker State and Foster’s Lager offered possibilities. They discussed another of Bez’s interests: a four-door sedan designated the Typ 989. Engineers produced concept drawings and calculations for a 2.5-liter (152.5-cubic-inch) V-6 that developed 220 DIN horsepower and a turbocharged 3.3-liter (201.3-cubic-inch) V-8 with as much as 408 horsepower. The calculation that killed each of these proposals was cost, so engineering returned to the 3.6-liter flat six in the 964.
1995 Carrera Cabriolet
The new interior provided drivers a slim airbag-equipped steering wheel as well as new seats and door panels. The wind-blocker behind the seats was integrated and deployed itself on lowering the roof.
The reworked and heavily revised 3,600cc (219.6-cubic-inch) flat six Typ M 64/05 developed 272 horsepower at 6,100 rpm. A six-speed manual gearbox was standard with American, Austrian, and Swiss buyers getting taller gears from second up to reduce engine noise and emissions and improve fuel economy.
Engineer Herbert Ampferer took on the engine. One objective was to eliminate the torsional vibration damper used on the crankshaft to keep the engine running smoothly. By switching to lighter pistons and connecting rods and by making the crankshaft itself stiffer, he succeeded, and from there he and his staff incorporated self-adjusting hydraulically operated valves in the heads. This reduced valvetrain weight and eliminated a service item. When the new engine entered production, it developed 272 DIN horsepower at 6,100 rpm and 243 lb-ft of torque at 5,000. It was quieter and smoother than any 911 engine before it.
With several goals in mind, engineers added a sixth gear to the G50 transmission. This helped the new car meet or exceed U.S. and rest-of-the-world fuel economy standards and reduced engine noise. Although first gear was lower, sixth allowed a top speed of 270 kilometers (169 miles) per hour at 6,700 rpm. At the same time, they improved the four-speed Tiptronic for those who preferred to let Porsche shift gears for them.
Body engineers glued the windshield into the frame rather than letting it float as it had in the past. This increased torsional stiffness and improved handling. Engineers racing against the calendar and budget restrictions to complete the 964 had to attach the rear suspension directly to the car body. This transferred road and suspension noise and movements directly into the interior. The 965 Turbo design introduced parallel wishbones; Fritz Bezner and project manager Bernd Kahnau hoped to adopt this configuration for the new car. The board judged it too costly, but Bez convinced them that the new car needed a better rear suspension if Porsche was to improve on the 964. He had championed the Typ 989 sedan project, and he intended to make it a technological marvel incorporating all-wheel steering, among other innovations. Bezner designed a rear suspension system with a lower wishbone and a wishbonelike pair of converging links on top that would accommodate four wheels turning. When Porsche chose not to pursue that expensive technology further, engineers adopted the 928’s revolutionary “Weissach” rear axle geometry. This multilink rear suspension countered the transitory effects that induced oversteer or caused rear axle squat on acceleration or lift on hard braking. Bezner’s components arrived at Zuffenhausen already mounted on a subframe by the outside supplier. Porsche called it the LSA, for “lightweight,” “stable,” and “agile,” in partial acknowledgment of Peter Falk’s attention-getting memorandum.
This not only was a new car, it was a distinctively new 911 shape. The characteristic stovepipe front fenders flattened and grew wider, which raised the front deck lid 40mm (1.6 inches) and increased luggage capacity.
Where Helmuth Bott’s intent with the 964 C4 had been all-wheel traction, Bez and his eventual successor, Horst Marchart, pursued superior handling. Engineers inserted a viscous coupling at the front transaxle to connect the torque tube from the engine to a much smaller (and exposed) differential that split power to each front wheel. This assembly weighed 50 kilograms (110 pounds), accounting for half the 964’s collection of computers and planetary gears. The lighter weight in front brought the car closer to their goal of agility.
Designers and engineers reworked the convertible top for the first time since introduction in 1983. Interlocks required drivers to apply the parking brake while raising or lowering the cloth top.
Porsche introduced the next-generation Typ 933 version of the 911 in late 1993 at the Frankfurt International Auto Show. The Carrera 4 coupe and cabriolet arrived for model year 1995. The coupe sold for 134,3400DM in Germany, $69,100 in the United States.
The Cabriolet arrived in the lineup in March 1994. It sold for 142,620DM in Germany, $73,000 in the United States. It accelerated from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in 5.6 seconds.
Ulrich Bez pushed Porsche’s engineers and designers to make the car look appropriate to its legacy and less expensive and less time-consuming to manufacture. He wanted this new car, the Typ 993, completed in a very short time. He didn’t tolerate delays. Weissach staffs knew this character trait, and the backlash it caused reverberated to the Supervisory Board. In the interest of peace, the board chose to not renew Bez’s contract. He left in the fall of 19
93 but not before he drove a 993 prototype.
Wendelin Wiedeking, who had been back at Porsche for several months by this time, dedicated his efforts to reducing costs and streamlining procedures. He studied Toyota Motor Company’s legendary efficiency in purchasing and manufacturing and its adherence to a Japanese philosophy known as kaizen, continuous improvement. Two former Toyota executives had founded Shin-Gijutsu, a consultancy dedicated to introducing and embracing new technology, and Wiedeking coaxed the founders to visit Zuffenhausen. What they saw there did not impress them. Viewing parts shelves standing 3 meters (10 feet) tall in the assembly plant, one of them shouted, “Bring us to the factory! This is a warehouse.” Wiedeking took a power saw to the shelves. Soon afterward, he adopted “just-in-time” delivery practices that reduced assembly-floor parts inventories from 28 days on hand to 30 minutes. Wiedeking forced companies to reexamine their techniques or lose business to competitors who adapted more quickly. Suppliers became subassemblers who, for example, delivered rear shock absorbers mounted in entire rear suspension subframes minutes before assemblers attached them to unibodies.
Porsche introduced its VarioRam induction system starting with 1996 model year for all 933 Carrera and Carrera 4 versions of the M 64/21 engine. VarioRam debuted on European-only 993 Carrera RS models in 1995. The 3.6-liter flat six developed 285 horsepower at 6,100 rpm.
While Porsche worked toward the 993 launch at the Frankfurt show in late 1993, Wiedeking put the company through the biggest makeover in its history. It was an enormous leap of faith. Before leaving, Ulrich Bez and Chairman Arno Bohn administered a DM 500 million ($310 million) new car program. Yet sales revenues through 1992–1993 had slipped to DM 1.9 billion ($1.2 billion at the time). Zuffenhausen manufactured only 8,341 964 rear- and all-wheel drive and Turbo models. Worse, only 1,188 968s and 119 928S4 models left the plant. Accountants totaled up the year and had to buy red pencils; Porsche set a record it had never sought, losing DM 253 million, or $160 million.
The company assembled 2,374 Typ 993 coupes and another 22 pilot production cabriolets before the Christmas/New Year holiday break. Named the 911 Carrera in its rear-wheel-drive platform, this first model remained in Europe. Impatient American buyers and journalists received their cars—both coupes and open cars—in April 1995.
The cabriolet weighed 1,370 kilograms, 314 pounds. It accelerated from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in 5.4 seconds with the manual transmission. It sold for 150,800DM in Germany and roughly $78,350 in the United States.
“The cabrio was tricky,” Tony Hatter said, explaining his work on the top and roofline of the open car. Porsche’s first 911 cabriolet had been the 1983 SC. It carried over the same roof through the 964. “I never liked the look of the early cabriolets,” he continued. “The classical Nine-Eleven shape is the coupe. With the Nine-Nine-Three, we tried to get some form into the roof. It was the first time, I think, that we tackled the roof.”
The 993 Carrera 4 appeared, substantially improved over its 964 predecessor, in midyear as a 1995 model. Customers craving a turbocharger made do with 964 carryover versions until the new 3.6-liter model appeared when the C4 arrived. This was no coincidence; the new Turbo appeared with four-wheel drive and a new six-speed gearbox.
The 993 was a tremendous success. Zuffenhausen assembled 7,074 cabriolets, 7,865 coupes, and 100 new 305-horsepower 993 Carrera Cup cars to update the ongoing series throughout Europe and the United States. Magazine reviewers were pleased, judging in print that the 993 was what they had hoped the 964 would be. The situation was better for everyone; because of Wiedeking’s watchfulness and Bez’s bullying, Porsche introduced the new cars at a base price $5,000 less than the final 964. By the end of 1994 fiscal year, accountants saw totals in black numerals again.
YEAR
1994-1997
DESIGNATION
911 Carrera
SPECIFICATIONS
MODEL AVAILABILITY
Coupe, Cabriolet
WHEELBASE
2272mm/89.4 inches
LENGTH
4245mm/167.1 inches
WIDTH
1735mm/68.3 inches
HEIGHT
1300mm/51.2 inches
WEIGHT
1370kg/3014 pounds
BASE PRICE
$69,100 coupe - $73,000 cabriolet
TRACK FRONT
1405mm/55.3 inches
TRACK REAR
1444mm/56.9 inches
WHEELS FRONT
7.0Jx16
WHEELS REAR
9.0Jx16
TIRES FRONT
205/55ZR16
TIRES REAR
245/45ZR16
CONSTRUCTION
Unitized welded steel
SUSPENSION FRONT
Independent, light-alloy lower wishbones, MacPherson struts w/coil springs, gas-filled double-action shock absorbers, anti roll bar
SUSPENSION REAR
Independent, light-allow multi-wishbone, progressive coil springs, gas-filled double-action shock absorbers, anti roll bar
BRAKES
Ventilated, drilled discs, 4-piston aluminum calipers
ENGINE TYPE
Horizontally opposed DOHC six-cylinder Typ M64/05;
Typ M64/07 for US 1994-1995;
Horizontally opposed DOHC six-cylinder Typ M64/21;
Typ M64/23 for US 1996-1997
ENGINE DISPLACEMENT
3600cc/219.7CID
BORE AND STROKE
100x76.4mm/3.94x3.00 inches
HORSEPOWER
272@6100rpm (M64/05 1994-1995)
285@6100rpm (M64/21 1997-1998)
TORQUE
243lb-ft@5000rpm (M64/05 1994-1995);
251lb-ft@5250rpm (M64/21 1996-1997)
COMPRESSION
11.3:1 (M64/05)
11.5:1 (M64/21)
FUEL DELIVERY
Bosch DME with sequential injection
FINAL DRIVE AXLE RATIO
3.44:1
TOP SPEED
167mph (M64/05) 171mph (M64/21)
PRODUCTION
14,541 coupes; 7,730 cabriolets in 1994, 1995;
8,586 coupes; 7,769 cabriolets in 1996, 1997
In addressing customer desire to participate in worldwide endurance racing events, Porsche developed a series of cars for the category GT2, more closely based on production cars. These cars, according to co-developer Jürgen Barth, were a cross between Carrera RS models and the 911 Turbo.
1995-1997 911 GT2 AND GT2 EVO
As the economy ground to a halt during the early 1990s, the FIA watched entries at Le Mans drop to just 28 cars in 1992; prototype racing had become too expensive. It ended the Group C series. Their events, especially Gran Turismo—GT-class competition for production-based closed cars—continued drawing entries and audiences. However, many countries had their own rules for GT cars, often slightly different from each other. This made it a corporate gamble to manufacture a car for one series or another. Barth raised the issue with two colleagues, Patrick Peter, who organized the Tour de France for automobiles, and Stéfane Ratel, owner of Venturi, a company with serious racing ambitions. Together the three men launched the BPR series, using the first initials of their last names as the acronym. As competitors themselves, they created rules that made sense to other racers.
Porsche developed cars to meet BPR criteria, starting with the rear-drive 1993 Carrera RS 3.8. Engineers enlarged cylinder bore from 100mm to 102 but kept stroke at 76.4 to achieve this new displacement of 3,746cc (228.5 cubic inches). Using Bosch’s Motronic 2.10 system, the engines developed 300 DIN horsepower at 6,500 rpm. Weissach mounted aluminum doors and front deck lids, as well as a fiberglass rear deck lid and spoiler. Underneath, an adjustable anti-roll bar allowed competitors to tune the chassis to individual circuits. Porsche charged DM 225,000 for the cars ($140,625 at the time), and buyers in Europe could option them with radios and air bags for road use or a roll cage and onboard fire extinguishing system for competition. This ho
mologation version helped legalize the RSR 3.8, the real race car welcomed in BPRs GT3 and GT4 events. This all-out machine sold for DM 270,000 (roughly $162,650) and offered center-lock wheels, built-in pneumatic jacks, and supplemental brake cooling. Porsche conservatively rated the engine at 325 DIN horsepower at 6,900 rpm. Throughout 1993 and 1994, the RSRs justified their prices and proved their reputation with overall victories in Spain, Belgium, and Japan and a class win at Le Mans in 1993. The cars routinely claimed class victories throughout 1994.
As the BPR series grew in popularity among entrants and spectators, Barth and his partners added a new series category, GT2. Rules called for manufacturers to assemble 25 cars they intended to enter each year. Barth, Roland Kussmaul, and others within the Customer Sports Department at Weissach developed, introduced, and quickly sold 45 993 GT2s for the 1994 season. (Another 43 followed in 1995, and Weissach sold 14 more in 1996. Porsche equipped 21 of these cars for road use, starting in 1995.)
The GT2 took inspiration from the 911S LM, carrying over its aluminum door panels and front deck lid and its paper-thin side and rear window glass, and eliminating anything not needed for racing. Racing versions weighed 1,112 kilograms (2,447 pounds), while road models were 1,295 kilograms (2,850 pounds). Road cars delivered 430 DIN horsepower through modifications to the 3.6-liter 911 Turbo engine. Porsche sold the car for DM 276,000 ($170,370 in 1994); racers paid a base price of DM 248,500 ($153,395) and got 480 horsepower, but fully optioned racers, with onboard jacks and fire systems, went for as much as DM 335,000 (roughly $223,300) in 1996. Customer Sports built both road and racing models on rear-wheel-drive platforms only, flying in the face of a series production philosophy putting all-wheel drive underneath customer cars with more than 400 horsepower. The GT2 was a practical decision; BPR races had no classes for all-wheel-drive vehicles.