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Porsche 911: Evolution of a Beautiful Obsession

Cars

After 50 years and countless iterations we pay homage to the 911.

What is it that makes the 911 such a beautiful obsession – especially for the male of a certain age?

Part of the answer must surely lie with that early 1980s Scalextric Le Mans 24 Hours set featuring those 911 turbos with the working headlights.

The other part lies in this machine’s butch practicality. It has the same design principles as a trade spec power tool. It does a rough, tough high torque job and in the process manages to exude a kind of Bauhaus beauty.

The actual job it was created to do by Porsche was to replace the 356, which had been their only production model since 1948. And when it launched at the Frankfurt Autoshow in 1963 it was an altogether different beast than the lightweight 356.

911-Series 1 1964-1973

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