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History

The 911 was launched in 1963 (as the Porsche 901, before Peugeot's complaints led to a name change) as the replacement to the 356. The car had a 2 L, 6-cylinder, air-cooled boxer engine at the rear and a five speed manual transmission. The styling was by Butzi Porsche , son of the company founder Ferry Porsche. Erwin Komenda, the leader of the Porsche car body construction department, was involved in the design.

Early developments included lengthening the wheelbase from 221 cm to 227 cm, adding fuel injection and increasing the engine displacement to 2.2 L and later, 2.4 L. In 1967Events January January 4 British motorboat racer Donald Campbell dies while attempting a water speed record in Coniston Lake. January 4 Algerian revolutionary Mohammed Khider is shot in Madrid. January 6 Vietnam War: USMC and ARVN troops launch " Operatio the TargaTarga top or targa for short, is a semi- convertible car body style with a removable roof section and a full width roll bar behind the seats. The rear window can be fixed or removable. The word targa comes from the 1966 Porsche 911 Targa (which itself was version was introduced, named after the Targa FlorioThe Targa Florio was an open road endurance automobile race held near Palermo, Sicily. The race was created in 1906 by the wealthy pioneer race driver and automobile enthusiast, Vincenzo Florio, who had started the "Coppa Florio" race in Brescia, Lombardy, a motoring event held on the island of SicilySicily Sicilia in Italian) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,700 sq. 1 million inhabitants. Towns and Cities Sicily's principal cities include the regional capital Palermo, together with t, in which Porsche had various successes. The Targa had a removable roof panel, a removable plasticThe term plastics covers a range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic condensation or polymerization products that can be molded or extruded into objects or films or fibers. Their name is derived from the fact that in their semi-liquid state they are ma rear window (although this was soon replaced by a fixed glassFor eyeglasses, see spectacles The physics definition of a glass is a uniform amorphous solid material, usually produced when a suitably viscous molten material cools very rapidly, thereby not giving enough time for a regular crystal lattice to form. item) and a stainless steelIn metallurgy, stainless steel is defined1 as a ferrous alloy with a minimum of 10. 5% chromium content. Such steels have higher resistance to oxidation ( rust) and corrosion in several environments. It was invented in 1913, at the research laboratory of roll bar. The reason for using this design was that Porsche thought (incorrectly) that fully open convertibleConvertible can also refer to a convertible (security A convertible is an automobile built with a folding, retracting, or removable roof. The collapsible roof section is typically made from flexible canvas or vinyl, although plastic, aluminium and steel hs would be banned in the US, an important market for the 911. In 1973 a special 911, called the 2.7 Carrera RS, was developed for homologation in GT racing. This lightened car had a 2.7 L engine that developed 210 bhp (157 kW), widened wheelarches and a 'ducktail' rear spoiler. Although Porsche was only required to make 500 cars for homologation, the Carrera's sales success meant that just over 1500 were eventually made. This car is now widely considered to be one of the best small sportscars of all time.

In 1974 the appearance of the 911 had its first major change with new front and rear bumpers, wing mirrors and indicator units. At the same time, engine capacity was increased to 2.7 L. In 1975 the first turbocharged 911, the 930 was introduced. Since then a turbocharged variant has been an almost permanent part of the 911 range. The engine capacity of the naturally aspirated models was increased to 3.0 L and 3.2 L in 1976 and 1984 respectively and in 1986, for the first time a Cabriolet was available.

In the late 1970s, Porsche attempted to replace the 911 with its 924 and 928 models, but demand for the earlier car continued to be strong.

In 1989 the 911 underwent what were at the time its most major changes, both in terms of styling and mechanics, with the 964 series, the first 911 to be available with four-wheel-drive. The 1994 model (codenamed 993) had further styling changes.

The following model, launched in 1997 (codenamed 996), has a fully water cooled engine and technically shared little with its predecessors. Its centre section was changed for the first time since the wheelbase increase. It was criticized initially for sharing its front end with the Porsche Boxster, although the 996 was on the drawing board first. Otherwise, the Pinky Lai -penned shape followed the original Butzi Porsche one.

In July 2004, the current model, (codenamed 997), was launched and its front end aped earlier 911 models.

A 998 series is expected around 2008.

A notable variant of the 911 was the Porsche 959, a turbocharged, four-wheel-drive supercar of the late 1980s.