Porsche 911 Celebrates 50 years

Ask any motorsport professional or hardcore driver, which car appeals to them the most, and nearly everyone would probably say the Porsche 911. Thanks to a legal challenge by Peugeot, the German sports car maker was forced to rename the 901 into the 911, and ever since then the name has stood around for 50 years and has grown to become one of the most famous numbers in car history. The 911 was first shown to the world in 1963 and was officially launched in 1964. At that time the legendary car featured an air cooled 6-cylinder engine that produced 130bhp and it could hit a top speed of 210kmph.

According to sales figures, the Porsche 911 is also the most successful sports car of all time, with over 820,000 cars sold since its debut. Now in its seventh generation, today the 911, after five long decades of competing against the world’s best sports car manufacturers, is celebrating 50 years of its existence. The 911 is at the heart of the Porsche brand and from the Cayenne to the Panamera, every Porsche carries a piece of the 911 philosophy.  The main reasons for the cars success is its sporty characteristics, flawless and unique design, and its practicality, where unlike some sports cars you can’t really manage to drive on a daily basis – this makes the 911 stand above the others, whether it’s on a track or a city street, it feels right at home.

To begin celebrations, Porsche will be organizing a wide variety of anniversary events including a dedicated exhibition at the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart. Celebrations will kick start this month at the  ‘Retro Classics’ automobile show in Stuttgart where four special exhibits, an early-model 911 Turbo Coupé, a 911 Cabriolet study from 1981, a 1997 road-going ‘street’ version 911 GT1 and the pre-series Type 754 T7 will be in display. The company is also sending an authentic 1967 model 911 on a world tour. Over the course of the year, this classic car will travel to five continents where it will be shown in places like Pebble Beach California, China, Goodwood in the UK, Paris and Australia. It will also be on display at many international fairs, historical rallies and motor sport events.