CARvs the 911? It's complicated. The 911 arrived not long after CAR, and we’ve marked its landmark changes in our pages… but not always favourably.
NOVEMBER 1963
It’s an inauspicious start. The now-iconic sports car barely warrants a mention in assistant editor Doug Blain’s report from the Frankfurt motor show, and is nowhere to be seen on the cover, which majors on the Marcos GT and Ford Anglia. ‘Porsche’s long-forespoken flat-six 901 can hardly fail, despite the ASA [short-lived budget Ferrari rival] overtones in its blunt and perhaps disappointing bodywork,’ he notes.
DECEMBER 1974
It takes 11 years before the 911 makes it to the cover, pictured being driven through a field above the very ’70s line: ‘We ride Porsche’s chargin’ Turbo’. The Turbo in question is a 930, yours for £14k. Mel Nichols rides alongside racing driver Nick Faure, experiencing the gut-wrenching effect of turbocharging the 3.0-litre flat-six. ‘It has made Porsche’s 911 into a supercar of almost unbelievable proportions.’
SEPTEMBER 1987
The 911-adjacent 959 plays a starring role on one of CAR’s most celebrated front covers, jockeying for space with the Ferrari F40 and other new supercars united by the line: ‘There will never be another month like this’. Gavin Green calls it ‘a car unlikely to be rivalled for many years to come’ but admits he’s strangely unmoved by the ultimate 911. ‘In its determination to make the world’s greatest road machine, Porsche has forgotten to involve the bloke behind the wheel.’
JULY 1989
On the cover, we trail Gavin Green’s review of the new all-wheel-drive 964-generation 911, and we call it ‘The best supercar money can buy’. Inside, though, Gavin’s test is joined by the dissenting voice of columnist Russell Bulgin, disappointed by a Carrera SE. His eloquent feature-length takedown sums up the case against the 911. He chides the ergonomics, wet handling and greedy pricing. ‘Instead, I’ll take a Porsche 944 Turbo.’
JAN UARY 2012
When we test the new 991, co-authors Georg Kacher and Jethro Bovingdon place it first ahead of a diverse field of rivals: Audi R8, BMW M3 and Nissan GT-R. ‘It spoiled us with instant feedback, 3D responses and a crystal-clear dialogue between car and driver… It’s the best sports car that money can buy.’ All four cars do well during the three-day test in very mixed conditions in the Alps, but the 911 has a breadth of ability none of the others can match.
