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Porsche 911 50 Years
![In March 1995, Porsche introduced the 993 Turbo at the Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland. It offered buyers 408 horsepower at 5,750 rpm. Porsche Archiv](https://volksbibliothek.com/porsche-911-50-years/9780760344019_139.jpg)
![To homologate the 993 Carrera RSR 3.8 for racing, Zuffenhausen produced a run of 1,014 street-legal 300-horsepower RS 3.8 models in 1995, including this yellow coupe. On the right is the M003 RS 3.8 Club Sport, of which Porsche assembled 227. Porsche Archiv](https://volksbibliothek.com/porsche-911-50-years/9780760344019_140.jpg)
![Weissach conceived a radically different Targa concept on the 993 platform using a large glass panel that retracted inside the rear window. Zuffenhausen assemblers mounted the glass roof structure onto a cabriolet platform. Porsche Archiv](https://volksbibliothek.com/porsche-911-50-years/HDK-7737.jpg)
![Porsche launched the C4S for 1996, adapting the Turbo coupe body to the all-wheel-drive platform. It followed for 1997 with the Carrera S coupe, a similarly bodied rear-drive model. Porsche Archiv](https://volksbibliothek.com/porsche-911-50-years/9780760344019_143.jpg)
![Horst Marchart’s innovative idea to create two cars using the same face challenged engineers and stylists alike. The result, the 986 Boxster, and this, the 996 model, saved Porsche millions but initially confused some buyers. Porsche Archiv](https://volksbibliothek.com/porsche-911-50-years/9780760344019_144.jpg)
![Design, engineering, and development testing took place simultaneously on both 986 Boxster and 996 car lines. Engineers performed close-follow tests such as this to challenge door seals and interior and engine filter systems. Porsche Archiv](https://volksbibliothek.com/porsche-911-50-years/9780760344019_146.jpg)
EVOLUTION VERSION 2.0
FROM AIR TO WATER THE FIFTH GENERATION: 996 ”In 1991, we had one big problem in the company,” Horst Marchart recalled in an interview in 2012. Marchart had just joined the Porsche board. He had started as a design engineer in the engine department in 1960, and from 1972 till 1988, he served as a leader for external projects at Weissach. In 1988, after Helmuth Bott left, Ulrich Bez pulled Marchart back into Porsche’s mainstream, making him responsible for the complete development for cars. He supervised 350 people. He had watched this “one problem” as it emerged, sometimes seeing it from the perspectives of Porsche’s outside clients. “The 944/968 was an excellent car,” Marchart acknowledged, “but no one said it was a true Porsche. Next was the 928—the original concept to replace the 911. This split the company—one side was for the 911. The other side was for the 928/924/944. It always made a competition inside the company. And outside the company, it was a competition of appearance—the 911 was the true Porsche and the 928 was a Porsche, but not the true Porsche.” When Marchart joined the board, Wendelin Wiedeking gave him the task of solving the one big problem, and the others that grew from it. “We had three products with no common parts,” Marchart said. “My job was to reduce the company to two products with a lot of parts similarities. And it was my idea to use the same face for both cars to give the identification equally. And with the Boxster and the 911, nearly the same from the nose to the front of the doors, we show it is possible for Porsche to build two cars that are both true Porsches.” One more issue had been present from the start. Fuhrmann had attempted to resolve it with his 924 and 928, but it eventually became clear these were not the best solutions to a real problem. “Our next big situation was to stop the air-cooled engine. Nobody in the world had air-cooled engines except us. With all the regulations in the various countries, all that we had to respect, we had these special engines that needed special parts unlike any other manufacturer. We could only have two valves. We needed a special cooling and heating system, different from everyone else in the world. It took a lot of money to make special systems since we could not share technology with anyone else,” Marchart said. He considered making immediate changes. The 964 was ready for release, but among the gasps heard during finance man Branitzki’s suggestion to keep that car around forever were Marchart’s 350 engineers with a much clearer view of coming safety and emissions standards. The development of 993 began even before Branitzki spoke those words. “We made studies and investigations to make the 993 water-cooled. But we had special conditions. We would have needed a new heating and cooling system for a water-cooled engine, and we didn’t have the room in the car body. So we decided to let the 993 stay with the air-cooling and we would start fresh with the next car, the 996. “In the meanwhile, we also had made the studies for a four-wheel steering system, which we liked. But we could find no partners for it. Bosch asked for 60,000,000 DM at that time (about $40 million) to develop the electronics and cooperate with us in development. At that time we had no money in our pockets, so that made the decision to stop that project easy but disappointing. But that was the reason why, in the 993, we had the subframe. We had started to develop the system, and it required the subframe. Then Bosch needed too much. The comfort was excellent. We decided we will stay with the subframe and stabilize the rear axle. And I think it made us the most comfortable 911 ever, in the 993.![With its wind deflector in place, the 996 Cabrio showed off the graceful lines Pinky Lai had labored to produce. Cabrio buyers received an aluminum hardtop as part of their purchase price. Porsche Archiv](https://volksbibliothek.com/porsche-911-50-years/P02_0949_a4.jpg)
![Tight design and development budgets originally eliminated the elevating rear spoiler, but it appeared in production. The 996 grew slightly in dimensions over the 993, stretching the wheelbase from 2,272 millimeters to 2,350 for the new car. Porsche Archiv](https://volksbibliothek.com/porsche-911-50-years/9780760344019_148.jpg)
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