porsche 911 (964) 40th aniversary edition

8/4/2019 Porsche 911 (964) 40th aniversary edition

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SEPTEMBER 2003 55

PORSCHE 911:

1989-1993

Words: Brian Laban Photography: Antony Fraser

The third installment of our 911 history sees Porsches future cemented withthe introduction of the 964, and elaborated with the 993.


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the 944 but grateful, still, for the continued

contribution of the revitalised 911. After the

golden days of the yuppy boom, Porsche

survived the inevitable stock market crashes of

1987 too even though the company had

become unhealthily dependent on US exports,

which were amounting to some 62 per cent of

all Porsche production by 1987.

It even survived losing Schutz himself in

December 1987, when the man who had beenin the driving seat since 1981 left his post as

chief executive, amicably enough, but a few

months before he was actually due to go. Hed

done a fantastic job overall, hed doubled

production and the number of employees,

trebled turnover, and seen profits rise tenfold.

But his biggest contribution of all had been to

commute the death sentence that had been

hanging over the 911 when he arrived.

The man who succeeded him was Heinz

Branitzki. On the face of it, as former finance

56 GT PURELY PORSCHE

Having seen the 1970s draw to a close

with record production numbers

(thanks mainly to the success of the

924), Porsche may have contemplated

the 1980s, and the approach of the 911s third

decade, as a future in which the 911 was just a

part of the past. But even as it was planning

the 911s end, it had been heading for a new

beginning. As it turned out, that was just as

well. Some people at Porsche might not havethought so at the time, but they still needed it.

And as we saw last month, for 1983 they got

precisely the 911 they did need, in the shape of

the 911 Cabriolet championed by Peter Schutz.

That turned out to be the catalyst for ailing 911

sales, and followed up with the new 3.2

Carrera started another new lease of life for the

911 now it just had to sustain the momentum.

The 911s survival had been a close-run thing.

The late 1970s boom hadnt lasted, and the very

end of the decade had seen depression kicking

in, with Porsche production in freefall and

profits at a five-year low. And the 1980s began

exactly as the 1970s ended, as a turbulent time

for Porsche with profits still at rock bottom in

1980 and 1981, while the world itself seemed

to stagger from one crisis to another US

hostages in Iran, famine in East Africa, soaring

unemployment and industrial unrest in Britain

as the motor industry approached meltdown,

John Lennon shot dead, Reagan elected thenshot in a failed assassination attempt, a similar

attempt on the Pope, one that worked on

Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, riots in

Brixton and Toxteth. The world seemed to be

falling apart, and it hardly looked like a dream

marketing time for Porsche, but it hung in.

As Charles married Di and Britain took the

Falklands back from Argentina, Porsche had

clawed back from annual sales of barely

28,000 cars, and kept fighting back all the way

through the 1980s helped by the success of


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director, he was a bean counter where Schutz

had an engineering background but hed

been deputy chairman since 1976, and he had

seen that the 911 still worked. So the next

generation, too, was safe, and it was launched

in January 1989, type numbered 964.

It looked like a 911, a beautifully

understated 911, but it was virtually a new car

according to Porsche, sharing only 15 per

cent of its parts with its predecessors, the lastof which had been the New K Series. That

New K may have been clutching at straws

slightly with body options including the latest

Speedster, with Turbo and flat-nose variants,

but the 964 wasnt just a tarting up exercise, it

really was different and very promising. It

introduced new engine, suspension, brake and

body parts, and it introduced new badges and

new thinking, first in the four-wheel drive

Carrera 4, then, from late 1989, with the

Carrera 2. With the 964, Porsche took the

civilising and the refinement of the 911 to new

heights. It even softened its bite, but without

removing its sting.

In December 1989, Autocar, testing the

Carrera 2 for the first time, summed up what it

had achieved: The 26-year amelioration of the

911s handling deficiencies, it said, reached its

apogee with the Carrera 4, which, through

sheer weight of technology, crushed tailslides,

precipitated merely by lifting off the throttlemid-bend, out of existence. That the Carrera 2

displays a similar disinclination to let go at the

back is even more impressive, especially since

it is paired with a sense of agility and

adjustability seldom apparent in the C4

Like many others, Autocarreckoned the

Carrera 2 the best 911 yet. The Fours four-

wheel drive apart, Carreras 2 and 4 shared the

same new suspension, the same new engine,

the same beautifully understated new shape

with its smoothly integrated front and rear

bumpers and subtle, pop-up rear

wing. And although Porsche reckoned this 911

was 85 per cent new, it was easy to see that it

was still 100 per cent 911.

Capacity reached 3.6 litres, with new

crankcase, crank, rods, pistons, twin-plug

heads with twin distributors, revised inlet and

exhaust plumbing, and the very latest Bosch

Motronic electronic engine management. With

250bhp it became the most powerful naturallyaspirated 911 production engine to date. Yet

with almost twice the power of the first 911, it

had far better manners. It still had struts and

lower wishbones at the front, semi-trailing

arms at the rear, but now it adopted coil

springs all-round, as well as ABS brakes. And

for the first time outside the lofty world of the

959, the new family offered that four-wheel

drive, with variable torque split, in the ground-

breaking Carrera 4.

It offered a nominal torque split of 31/69

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By 1991, it seemed, the world in general, and Porsche inparticular, had simply accepted that the 911 would

be around for as long as it would be around


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per cent front/rear, with a version of the 959s

electronically-locking PSK differential system

to vary that split according to conditions, in

hundredths of a second and in theory with

the ability to send up to 100 per cent of the

drive to either end. It also offered an

automatic gearbox, the 911s first since 1979,

and a sophisticated one at that. Based on the

PDK double-clutch system of the 962C

endurance racer (jointly developed with Boschand ZF), Tiptronic offered both fully

automatic or clutchless manual changes, with

intelligent shift programmes. Its gate featured

both a conventional PRND32 auto and a +/-

position for one-touch clutchless manual up

and downshifts. There was lots of development

to come, with more ratios and even more

refined and sophisticated shift programmes.

But from the start, far from being a slow and

dull, lazy drivers self-shifter, Tiptronic was

genuinely sporty, allowing full-power up or

downshifts without even lifting off the throttle

all backed up by clever electronics to prevent

any inappropriate shift which could damage

either engine or handling balance.It was just one more feature on a brilliant

new generation of 911. These new Carreras,

both rear- and four-wheel drive, were almost

universally reckoned to be the most competent

yet, with greater refinement again, and the

most user-friendly handling so far. But of

course, there had to be a catch. Finally, the

same testers who had once criticised the 911s

nervousness now wondered if it had perhaps

grown a bit too friendly, too clinical. No

change there, then.

Whatever their reservations (and to be

honest, they were mainly just going through

the motions) by 1990 you couldnt buy

anything but a 964, as all the remainingpre-964 variants (which were mainly on the

fringes anyway) were finally dropped. But that

didnt mean the range was depleted, far from

it, because you could now have both Targa and

Cabrio styles on either Carrera 2 or Carrera 4,


Schutzs biggest contribution had been to commutethe death sentence that had been hanging

over the 911 when he arrived


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with that impressive Tiptronic option on the 2,

too. Then for the 1991 model year the 964

followed the familiar path and introduced its

first version of the big one, the Turbo.

The 1991 911 Turbo reflected both turbulent

times and Porsches progress. A replacement

for the previous generation Turbo with all the

best genes of the new Carreras, 2 and 4, it had

been conceived while economies were

booming and any Porsche was the car ofchoice for the yuppy aristocracy. That made

this the most powerful, the most sophisticated,

and by far the most expensive Turbo to date.

But by the time it was unveiled, in Geneva in

1990, the yuppy boom was beginning to turn

to bust and worldwide environmental

conscience was growing. For once, it looked as

though Porsche, in an attempt to capitalise on

a market which was about to collapse, may

have been caught out.

In a new age of cynicism, reviewers even

questioned whether the new Turbo was

different enough for surviving buyers, or

extreme enough. It looked, said Autocarafter

its first sighting, like a mellow 959 butthere was a general feeling that Zuffenhausen

should have waited a year then it would

have featured the new six-speed manual

gearbox and a four-valve version of the 3.6-

litre Carrera 2 engine with another 50 or so

bhp. In the face of supercar activity

from Lamborghini and Ferrari and

the coming Bugatti, Jaguar XJ220 and

Mercedes C112, the Turbo is no longer the

supercar standard setter Worrying words.

But the new Turbo was another Porsche to

defy logic. In the short break after the previous

Turbo ended production, extensive

modification (including new manifolding, a

bigger turbo and intercooler, a more efficientwastegate and revised electronic management)

had hiked the two-cam, two-valve 3.3 Turbos

output to 320bhp, while catalysts had reduced

emissions, and a double mass flywheel from

the new 3.6 Carreras had reduced both noise

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Classic Cup alloys were first featured on the 964; the brakes, as per usual, were superb and were just part of the 85 per cent new 911.

and vibration. And if some people were

disappointed that it still only had five gears

instead of six, they neednt have worried

332lb ft of torque meant that was all it needed.

While it missed out on the new Carrera

four-cam, four-valve architecture, it did adopt

the new generations coil-spring suspension in

place of torsion bars in this more potent car

with stronger rear arms to cope with the added

power and more rubber on the road, plus

stiffer springs, dampers and anti-roll bars. New

geometry also introduced a small amount of

passive rear-steer action, in another tweak topacify the inevitable 911 tendency towards

lift-off oversteer.

The Turbo, too, was shifting subtly towards

a more user-friendly character. The interior

detail hadnt changed much, but for the first

time, a Turbo offered power steering, ABS on

even bigger ventilated and cross-drilled discs

with four-piston calipers, and more grip from

wider rubber on larger diameter five-spoke

alloy wheels (which were big enough to

distinguish the Turbo at a glance, even from

the latest Carreras). It looked more aggressive,

too, with its deeper front and rear bumper

airdams, neat, low sills, wider wheel arches,

and the big, old-style picnic-table fixed wing

(incorporating the intercooler) rather than the

new 964 Carrera 2 and 4 familys smaller and

more discreet pop-up type.

Post-959, it put the Turbo back at the top of

the range in performance terms, and kept

Porsche head to head with its production

supercar rivals. It would nudge 170mph, hit

60mph in less than five seconds, reach

100mph from rest in less than 11.5 seconds,

and 120mph in under 17 seconds. But

for once there was more to the Turbos

personality than extreme performance alone.

Or perhaps less

The consensus was that while the new

Turbo was massively fast (given its head), had

a brilliant chassis, staggeringly effective brakes,

impressive steering feel and feedback even

with its new power assistance, and had plenty

of old-style 911 flat-six aural character, it also

had its shortcomings. It wasnt as refined as it

might be, but far worse, it wasnt as

immediate. The big new turbocharger had

promised better responses but didnt deliverthem in fact, from low speeds in high gears

it had brought back the old demon, turbo-lag.

It made the new Turbo more demanding to

drive quickly, and by being less responsive it

squandered some of the gains of the brilliant

new chassis.

Then there were smaller irritations. The

wider, lower-profile tyres and stiffer suspension

settings, while undoubtedly enhancing control,

introduced a degree of harshness in the ride,

and a level of road noise on poor surfaces, that

other 911s had long left behind. Oddly, in

developing in a direction which was supposed

to make the Turbo less uncompromising, it

had created compromises in the core character

of the car. Which begged the obvious question

had the ultimate 911 finally revealed the

classic models outer limits?

The answer, as it always had been, was

obviously no. The rabid 381bhp Turbo S, on

offer for the 1992 model year, may have been

a bit of an aberration, built to order, and with

only 80 takers, but it was onwards and

upwards for the mainstream Turbo, too. So in

1993, inevitably perhaps, following the


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One thing that did survive was the snarling, wooflingaural character confirming that a

993 was still a 911


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The 964s interior was typical 911 solid, simple and a little staid, but that was no bad thing; the self-raising rear wing helped to retain the classic lines without resorting to fixed aerodynamic addenda.


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capacity lead of the Carreras, the 3.6-litre

version of the Turbo started production. It

took peak power to 360bhp and peak torque

to 383lb ft both substantial increases over

the 3.3-litre Turbo and enough to bring the

0-60mph time down by another couple of tenths

and push the potential maximum speed ahead

by another 7mph, but there still werent many

voices complaining that it had all gone too far.

Nor, in 1993, in spite of the retirement ofFerry Porsche and the first concept car

sightings of what would become the Boxster,

were there any further worries about the

imminent demise of the 911. By now, it

seemed the world in general, and Porsche in

particular, had simply accepted that it would

be around for as long as it would be around,

and it would change when it was time for it to

change. As it was about to, again.

But in 1993 it wasnt minor tweaks time, it

was yet another significantly new evolution:

the 993 family. By now, the essential 911 shape

had acquired 30 years of familiarity, and

although an early 1990s 911 was very different

from an early 1960s one, there was still no

mistaking the heritage. Which may be why

many of the same people who worried about

where 911 technology was going every time anew version came along were also very

apprehensive when the new 993 promised a

radically updated shape. But they neednt have

been so concerned, because Porsche wasnt

about to break the mould completely.

It was about to make a major leap, though.

Because beyond being just another 911 update,

this was a genuinely new car the biggest

single departure from the

evolutionary line so far, with a new

platform, significantly different rear

suspension layout, a heavily revised interior,

improved clutch action and lighter gearshifts,

and a further revised 3.6-litre flat-six. Plus, of

course, the new looks which, more than

anything, underlined just how new the 993

generation was.

The new shape created arguably the bestlooking 911 of all, by achieving something that

hardly seemed possible making the 911s

shape even simpler. Or at least smoother than

ever, both visually and aerodynamically, with a

new headlamp style and far better integrated

front and rear bumper assemblies which no

longer appeared to be add-on components as

they always had been before. Whats more, the

The 1991 911 Turbo reflectedboth turbulent times and

Porsches progress


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new body was heavily updated under the skin,

with new computer design processes making

it usefully stiffer but no heavier. And if

anything, the smoother look made the latest

911 look even more toned, even more

muscular but without being artificially

pumped up with add-ons.

The interior changes were aimed at makingthe latest 911 more comfortable and more

user-friendly, with much improved seats and a

rather more effective new heater system, plus a

new four-spoke steering wheel to

accommodate the now mandatory driver

airbag but still with enough Porsche

idiosyncrasies (especially the floor-mounted

pedals) to mean that it really couldnt be

anything but a 911.

Nor could the drivetrain, which was still

one generation short of the impending switch

from air- to water-cooling. So the essentials

were entirely familiar, with the air-cooled

flat-six behind the rear axle and a choice ofeither six-speed manual or four-speed

Tiptronic automatic transaxles, the latter with

a choice of fully automatic mode or one-touch

clutchless manual shifts, either through the

central selector lever or via steering wheel-

mounted buttons.

But again, the details were extensively

upgraded. Capacity carried over from the final

964 Carreras, at 3.6 litres, but plenty had

changed inside. The crankshaft was

strengthened, pistons lightened to liberate

more revs, more use was made of lightweight

materials in the ancillaries, and a new

generation of Bosch electronic management

was introduced increasing peak output to

272bhp. One thing that did survive, however,

was the snarling, woofling aural character

and that, as much as anything, was what

confirmed that a 993 was still a 911.

Beyond platform changes prompted by

modern design techniques and improved

production technologies, there was one more

fundamental chassis change, from the familiar

semi-trailing arm rear suspension to a multi-

link layout, again with coil springs all round,

With the 964, Porsche took the civilising and the refinementof the 911 to new heights. It even softened itsbite, but without removing its sting

but basically set up to be a bit softer in

standard form, with the option of a more

extreme Sport pack comprising stiffer springs,

dampers and anti-roll bars. And according to

most testers, it had been a successful

programme of revisions, because the new 993

generation was widely reckoned to have

quicker and more communicative steering,better front to rear balance, and better front-

end grip than the last 964s which were

generally thought to have lost a bit of the

earlier 911s sharpness. Once again, Porsche

had made a 911 that was more accessible to

more ordinary drivers.

In another familiar progression, the brakes

were even more powerful and responsive, with

ventilated and cross-drilled discs, four-piston

calipers, and a new generation of ABS

anti-lock as standard.

All of which, naturally, became the

foundation for another extended family of

911s, which kept on developing through the993s relatively short production life of barely

four years. There were Carrera 2s and 4s, and

while the Speedster was finally dropped, the

Cabriolet again became a core part of the

family (in two- or four-wheel drive 272bhp

Carrera versions). Soon afterwards, Porsche

also added a completely new spin on the

Targa. A brilliantly effective and handsome

spin, too, which was much closer to the

standard coup shape than any previous Targa

had been, and featured an all-glass central roof

section, in thermally-filtered glass which was

electrically retractable at the touch of a button,

between strong side rails which were a lot

neater than the old Targas rear roll-hoop.

Then there were the Turbos (including the

993 version of the Turbo S) and the even more

extreme versions such as the original GT2. And

they were all outstanding. In fact, by the time

the radically different water-cooled 996 family

was due to replace the 993s in 1997, the

general view was that the final 911s were

the finest 911s of all. Now it was the next

new generation that would have to win over

the cynics


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porsche 911 (964) 40th aniversary edition

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