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For over fifty years, one car has been the world's benchmark, the standard to which
every sports car is measured.
It's the very embodiment of tradition, refusing to change layout or body-line.
And yet, no matter what year you're looking at, no matter how old, it's one of the best
there is.
This is everything you need to know to get Up to Speed on the first car I ever wanted: the Porsche 911.
After the second world war,
Ferdinand Porsche, who was largely responsible for the Beetle, switched his company from
automotive consulting and racing, to production.
He and his son Ferry...
Dude named his son Ferry...
He and his son Ferry rolled out the Porsche 356 in 1940.
Sticking to the basic principles of his dad's Beetle design, Ferry and team make a circular
body with a flat-four air-cooled engine in the rear.
The result is a lean, mean performance machine that brought the Porsche badge off of the
racetrack and onto public roads.
Time goes by, the 356 sells fine, and the day comes when Ferry decides to upgrade to
a new model.
The new car, dubbed the 901, doesn't actually change all that much: it's just more.
The flat-four in the back becomes a flat-six, and the steering wheel
is designed to give the driver the best feedback possible from the tires.
But it wasn't just sportier: the 901 was engineered to be more practical too.
Look: a sports car with back seats!
Is that even possible?
The 901 was ready to take on the world'
France had decided that they were done being invaded by Germany.
Peugeot came along and said, "Ho ho, oui oui, you cannot use a zero in the middle of
your car name."
And Ferry said, "Vas?"
"Vhy not?"
"Because we are French and we have a copyright on all three-digit car names with a zero in
the middle."
"Scheisse!"
"Wait: seriously, you actually copyrighted any three-digit car name with a zero in the middle?"
"OUI, BECAUSE WE ARE FRENCH."
So Porsche was like, "fine.
Well call it the 911"
The car debuts at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1963, and hits dealerships a year later.
The completed product makes 130hp and blows its drivers away.
It might be a little tail-happy, but its precision-steering
and fantastic acceleration more than make up for it.
At the same time, the whole family can fit inside thanks to the back seats.
The 911 becomes a sensation, both in Germany and abroad.
But don't worry, Peugeot: you've still got that zero in the middle.
You do you.
With a bona fide hit on their hands, Porsche realizes that they need to capitalize on their
success by extending the brand.
After releasing the 912, a four-cylinder variant that never really caught on, Porsche decides that
instead of making the engine smaller, what if they made the roof come off?
Who doesn't like going topless?
Turns out: America!
"You put your clothes on this minute!"
"Mommy!"
Or so Porsche thought: somebody in Stuttgart got word that the US would be passing stricter
safety regulations around rollovers, which would make convertibles unsellable in the
biggest car market in the world.
The solution was to make an entirely new category of car, which Porsche called a Targa.
A Targa has a glass roof and a solid upper rollbar for structural support; the roof can
be folded away to get a convertible-ish experience,
and give the driver access to the open sky.
One minor detail: the US never actually passed those regulations.
Which meant this new Targa car category isn't really necessary.
Porsche keeps the Targa in production until 1989
"I'm just saying, it was a pretty good idea"
"Yeah, we know, it's sort of like un-german of you to start bragging about stuff like this"
"I'm from California!"
Going topless is all well and good,
Just ask Jessica at a music festival...
But what the people really want is to go faster.
And in 1966, Porsche responds to the people's pleas with the 911 S, basically the same great car with
30 more hp.
The S was so successful that Porsche has gone on to make S variants of their other variants.
You can't talk about the 911, without talking about racing, and boy is there a lot to talk about.
Pull up a chair.
The first 911 in motorsport was in 1965, at the Rallye Monte Carlo.
Turns out, it would do pretty damn well.
In it's first time out, the 911 finished 5th overall.
Nice job Porsche!
But the Monaco trip wouldn't be the last competition of the Porsche.
They've won sports car championships, endurance championships, hill climb events, autocross,
and of course, more rally.
It's just.
that.
good.
So going into the 70s, Porsche knows exactly what it needs to do: make more 911s.
With even MORE SPEED.
For the ten-year anniversary, Porsche unveils the 911 Carrera RS.
This marks the first time a 911 is called a Carrera, named after my ex-girlfriend, Carrera Panamericana
"Carrera...Carrera Panamericana"
"She's beautiful"
"I really love the way you touch my butt..."
Name after the Carrera Panamericana race,
and the first time the RS, or, "Racing Sport" title is used,
It's the first 911 to come with a spoiler, and with its 2.7L 210hp engine,
it's the fastest 911 so far.
In 1975, Porsche releases the 911 Turbo, internally called the 930.
If you don't know Porsche, this might get confusing- all 911s have an internal code
denoting WHICH series of 911 they are.
So the first 911 is a 911, and the 930 is a 911.
The 930 is one of the very first road cars to use turbocharging technology.
In fact, with that turbocharged rocket of an engine over the rear wheels, the 911 Turbo
can get up to 260hp, making it the fastest car in the entire German auto industry.
They call it the fu**ing"window maker"
Because it's fast as fu**, and it kills dudes.
This car is timeless.
Mid-engined supercars?
Fu** that.
Why have a V8 when you could have a flat-six?
In 1989, Porsche decides it's time at long last to give the 911 a full refresh.
While still called a 911, the refresh was internally called the 964, and is sold and
marketed as the Carrera.
This is the best looking car in the history of the world.
It has a rear wheel drive version just like all 911s before it,
but for the first time, an all-wheel drive version too.
Sigh'...but you know what they did to the engine?
That's right, they kept it a flat-six, and kept it in the back!
Because this is a 911, dammit, and we aren't changing it!
That blend of tradition and innovation works again, as the 911 continues right on into
the 90s as one of the best-selling, and just plain best, sports cars on Earth.
But unlike the original, the 964 isn't destined to stick around for twenty-five years.
Sound familiar? Dad? Dave? Daddy? Dad-do, David, Papa Pump, Dickhead...
So in 1995, it was already farewell to the 964 and hello to the 993.
With this incarnation, Porsche really has perfection.
This is also when Porsche upgrades from a single-turbo to a twin-turbo.
The engine was pushing out 400hp: that's more than the Ferrari
F355, which had a V8.
Flat-six.
Still.
Always.
Family!
In 1999 it's fare thee well to the 993, and with it, the air-cooled engine.
The new 996 is...
The new 996 is water-cooled.
Going into the 21st Century armed with the new engine, Porsche decides to really hammer
home the 911's pedigree as a performance machine.
So it was time for Stuttgart to start taking their racing-specced cars and putting them
onto the road.
First up is the GT3
A stripped-down, lightened, and amped-up version of the 911 meant for
a new racing class called'yeah you guessed it, the GT3.
"Vhat shall ve call ze GT3 car?"
"Ze GT3?"
"Haaaa? I love it!"
"You do?"
"Yasss, I doooo"
"I love you."
"Vaas?"
"Nothing..."
The Car hits the market with a smash.
But for the truly insane, Porsche created an even more bonkers, even more hardcore version
called the GT2.
Guess what class of race that was named after?
The GT2 class.
Like the GT3, the GT2 is also a lighter, harder version of the 911, except the GT2 is even more.
which makes it more...
crash-y?
With these cars, Porsche is extending the 911 into supercar territory.
That makes the 911 one of the most diverse sports cars on the market.
And Porsche still isn't done yet.
When Stuttgart unveils the GT3 RS,
Stripped of non-essentials like rear seats, sound insulation, and air-conditioning
the GT3 RS is a for-maniacs-only rocket on the road.
And still, Porsche wants more.
The GT2 RS followed not long after, a 620hp monster that was even lighter than the stripped-down
GT3 RS.
The 911 model range has gotten so broad, it's practically its own subsidiary within Porsche.
Just want a usable, daily car?
The 911's got you.
Want to set your tires on fire and blast a hole through time?
There's a 911 for that, too.
All together, what does this mean?
One million units sold.
Stuttgart built its millionth 911 in 2017, and keeps it in their museum at their headquarters.
Which happens to be...at my house.
There aren't a whole lot of high-end sports cars that sell anywhere near that many.
And yet, according to Porsche, 70% of them are still on the road.
A family car, a sports car, a supercar, and an absolute legend.
All under one name:
The Porsche 911is the most iconic sports car in the history of the world.
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This is everything you need to know to get up to speed on the Porsche 911.
Possibly the most iconic sports car
I know a lot of you guys are gonna be like
"Yo, what about Ferrari", "Yo, what about Lamborghini"
What's your favorite generation Porsche?
Mine is either their 993 or 964
What do you think of the front engine Porsche?
I like em'!
Aircooled, watercooled, battle, go.
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I love you.
(Burps)