The Porsche 911’s most ardent critics lament its supposedly unchanged 50-year-old design and once-close relationship to the lowly Volkswagen Beetle, but neither of these now tired condemnations have really been relevant since 1989, when the 964 was launched.
The 911 underwent a dramatic (relatively speaking) design overhaul as it morphed into its new generation. The 964 was boldly claimed to be 85% new compared with the then-25-year-old original 911, gaining integrated bumpers in place of the old extended items, an electric rear spoiler and a plusher interior. More significantly, the 964 did away with the 911’s antiquated torsion beam suspension in favour of a coil-sprung set-up and gained power steering and anti-lock brakes as standard.
It also underwent a heart transplant, with the old car’s 3.2-litre flat six swapped for a 3.6-litre engine that packed 247bhp as standard – plenty for a car that still tipped the scales at less than 1400kg with a manual gearbox.
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A controversial new Tiptronic automatic option – available only on the rear-wheel-drive Carrera 2 – added around 100kg to the kerb weight and 0.7sec to the 0-62mph time but retained a good percentage of the manual car’s dynamic charm. It’s worth seeking out if you do a lot of urban driving, and you only have to read a couple of contemporary reviews for reassurance that it’s a lot slicker than you might think.
If you want full-bore, tail-out antics, however, only the top-rung Turbo shall suffice. The blown 964 packed an uprated version of the previous generation’s 3.3-litre motor until 1993 and came with up to 376bhp in stripped-out, stiffened-up S guise, and it was one of the most unhinged performance cars of its era. It took the fight to bedroom-poster heroes such as the Ferrari Testarossa, and today’s prices reflect its legendary status. Expect to pay upwards of £110,000 for a pre-1993 example and several times that for the most exclusive versions of the one-year-only 3.6-litre model of 1993.
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So much so, I said it 3 times...
Sorry.
The ultimate 911 for me...
I guess that's why Singer use the 964 as the basis for their amazing cars.
The ultimate 911 for me...
I guess that's why Singer use the 964 as the basis for their amazing cars.