Gallery: See the Evolution of the Famed Porsche 911 in 7 Photos
Photography by Porsche Archiv, Porsche-Werkfoto, from <em>Porsche 911</em>, Copyright Gestalten 201701Porsche911-Wired-p056-057.jpg
1963-1973: The original. Designed by Alexander Ferdinand Porsche, the 911 was the automaker's second production car, but the first that really mattered. Its basic design has evolved over the years, without losing its distinctive look.
Photography by Porsche Archiv, Porsche-Werkfoto, from <em>Porsche 911</em>, Copyright Gestalten 201702Porsche911-Wired-p082-083.jpg
1974-1989: The G Model. A decade after its debut, the 911 had built its reputation, and there wasn't much sense in changing the car. The "G Model" hardly touched the proportions or interior, and skipped frills for elegant simplicity.
Photography by Porsche Archiv, Porsche-Werkfoto, from <em>Porsche 911</em>, Copyright Gestalten 201703HDI-45034.jpg
1988-1994: The 964. The late 1980s weren't so good for Porsche, which was dealing with a sluggish German economy as well as heated competition from cars like Acura's NSX. And so it overhauled the 911, adding four-wheel drive, power steering, ABS, and a rear spoiler that deployed above 50 mph.
Photography by Porsche Archiv, Porsche-Werkfoto, from <em>Porsche 911</em>, Copyright Gestalten 201704Porsche911-Wired-p132-133.jpg
1993-1996: The 993. Porsche boss Heinz Branitzky had hoped the 964 would serve for 25 years. Expensive to produce and beaten by the competition, it came nowhere close. So in 1993, the Germans brought out the 993. The last hurrah of the air-cooled Porsche, the 285-hp sports car offered improved, and more comfortable, handling.
Photography by Porsche Archiv, Porsche-Werkfoto, from <em>Porsche 911</em>, Copyright Gestalten 201705Porsche911-Wired-p148-p149.jpg
1997-2006: The 996. Heading into the new millennium, Porsche shocked traditionalists with the 996, the biggest break from the original look in more than 30 years of 911s. One 993 owner dismissed it as "a managerial limousine." It was a good car, Poschardt writes. Just not that good for a 911. And dropping the air-cooled engine for a water-based system still makes the old-school angry.
Photography by Porsche Archiv, Porsche-Werkfoto, from <em>Porsche 911</em>, Copyright Gestalten 201706Porsche911-Wired-p182-183.jpg
2004-2013: The 997. The successor to the troublesome 996 didn't bring things all the way back to the original look, but it came close enough to calm the nerves of those happier in the past. The 997 added some of the athleticism missing from its predecessor, and was soon deemed a potential classic.
Photography by Porsche Archiv, Porsche-Werkfoto, from <em>Porsche 911</em>, Copyright Gestalten 201707Porsche911-Wired-p212-213.jpg
2011- : The 991. Sitting alongside the car Ferdinand Alexander Porsche designed nearly 50 years earlier, the seventh generation of the 911 has clearly taken on modernity. The water-cooled engine stuck around, the edges softened, the nose extended. But anyone who spots it will recognize it as the Porsche 911.
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