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The two-liter flat-six developed 120 horsepower using pushrod-operated overhead valves. Between the valve system and the twin fans, the engine was too loud for anyone’s liking. Porsche Archiv–Photo by Jens Torner
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Following Ferry’s approval of the Klie/F. A. Porsche resin casting, modeling started in Werk I on the full-size Plasticine 754 T7 model. As with every concept proposal, an “A” and a “B” side were mandatory. Porsche Archiv
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The T7 at this stage in early 1961 still carried over the slight break in the rear body. A and B rear window treatments made the inset more apparent. Porsche Archiv
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Work in the basement studio at Reutter saw the prototype 754 T8 come together. Wheel covers from the 356C model accommodated the disk brakes. Porsche Archiv
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With the new engine still in development, Reutter mechanics installed a 356B version in order to create a running prototype. Gerhard Schröder recalled that Porsche staff and Reutter personnel worked long days, regularly returning to the studio after a dinner break with family and then laboring long into the night. Porsche Archiv
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With every model, a few more changes massaged the forms into place. On this late-1961 1:7.5 Plasticine version, the roofline stayed straight for a longer distance, but on the sides of the model, the first indications of door cut lines appeared. Porsche Archiv
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For their home away from home, F. A. Porsche, who was design boss by this time, hosted a Christmas party for his and Reutter’s workers. Gerhard Schröder remembered that F. A. not only hosted the party, but he played chef as well, preparing the sausages and other Swabian specialties. Porsche Archiv
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The completed Typ 754 T7, while it represented the work of dozens of stylists and modelers, revealed clearly F. A. Porsche’s strong interest in industrial design sense. Erwin Komenda believed in floating doors and deck lids within expanses of body panels while F. A. utilized the seams of those panels as boundaries for functional panels. Porsche Archiv
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It was very nearly there. By late 1961 there remained only subtle details and gentle nudges to lines and forms to finish the car. Porsche Archiv
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The back end of the F. A. Porsche team 754 T7 had a bit further to go to reach the configuration that went into production. Air intake and cooling came through the side of the rear quarter panels, which proved insufficient. Porsche Archiv
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Erwin Komenda’s 754 T9 appeared in January 1962. This was one of three variations his design team produced. Porsche Archiv
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Engine ventilation became an issue that plagued the design staff and engineers as the car closed in on its debut. This was the back end of one of Komenda’s team T9 proposals. Porsche Archiv
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The configuration of the 901 engine with its large central 11-blade fan and its centrally mounted air-intake filter left engine compartment room at a premium. While Hans Mezger’s engine offered abundant capabilities for growth and for racing, its height made convertible-top storage impossible. Porsche Archiv
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Its contents page headlines often were as exciting as anything else inside Auto Motor und Sport. The July 27, 1963, issue taunted its readers with the word “Adventurous,” and photos of the camouflaged and winged 901 prototype nicknamed der Fledermaus, the bat. Porsche Archiv
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The 901 was well formed by the time it reached the Stuttgart University wind tunnel in March 1964. This was hardly its first trip to the tunnel, and by this time, one or another of the 901 prototypes had been on display at the six most important auto shows in Europe. Porsche Archiv
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This was perhaps the most highly visible of all the early 911s as sales director Dieter Lenz took the car on a 50,000-kilometer sales tour around Europe. This fifthbuilt prototype ended its life when Porsche engineers dropped it from a crane to test its front-end crash strength. Porsche Archiv
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Porsche designer Hans Ploch and styling engineer Werner Trenkler developed two cabriolet prototypes in mid-1964. This car, 13 360, also saw duty as one of the Targa prototypes. Randy Leffingwell
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Careful inspection showed structural changes where the prototype Targa bar was fitted to and removed from this car in May 1964. Experimenting with the open 911 revealed no place to store the hood or its bows, and the chassis was not stiff enough to support an open car. Randy Leffingwell
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Called the Offener-Wagen, this drawing, completed May 23, 1964, showed Porsche’s thinking about its open 911. Barely two weeks later, Ploch and Trenkler had a full-size prototype to demonstrate. Porsche Archiv
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Chassis 13 360 appeared with a mockup rollover bar and removable roof panel on June 12, 1964. At this point concepts for the rollover bar remained in body color. Porsche Archiv
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