Porsche 911 - World Of Classic Cars -

Porsche 911SC 1980

The Porsche 911 is a luxury two door sports coupé with a distinctive design, rear engine and independent rear suspension, an evolution of the swing axle on the Porsche 356. It has undergone continuous development although the basic concept has remained little changed. Throughout its lifetime, the 911 has been modified by private teams and by the factory itself for racing, rallying and other forms of automotive competition. It is among the most successful competition cars ever. In the mid 1970's, normally aspirated 911 Carrera RSR's won major world championship sports car races such as Targa Florio, Daytona, Sebring and Nürburgring, even against prototypes. The 911-derived 935 turbo also won the coveted 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1979. In the 1999 international poll for the award of Car of the Century, the 911 came fifth. It is one of two in the top five that had remained continuously in production (the original Beetle remained in production until 2003) and was until 1998 the most successful surviving application of the air cooled, horizontally opposed rear engine layout.