In the 1980s, greed was good, lunch was for wimps and for the red braces-wearing stockbroker boys on Wall Street, the Frankfurt Bourse or in London's Square Mile, a 911 was the car to be seen in, preferably in Guards Red. Porsche didn't feel the need to amend the range much until '83, demand was so strong. Performance (and fuel economy, although range was always more important than petrol costs for most buyers) was boosted, the 231bhp Carrera model - now with a 3164cc engine - became the standard non-Turbo option, and the front and rear spoilers grew larger and more prominent. And posers everywhere were delighted by the first fully-convertible 911, revealed at the '82 Geneva Motor Show and on sale the following year. This featured a manually operated canvas top and a zip-out rear window; although the Targa model remained on sale, demand for this tailed right off.
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At the time there were fears that Porsche was abandoning its traditional obsession with progress through engineering development in search of a quick(-er) buck. A convertible is heavier and less torsionally rigid than a coupe, and as such, is clumsier around corners. But the purists did take consolation from the fact that here was one of the very stiffest convertible road cars ever produced. It was, in the end, a real Porsche.
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Further nods to ostentation came with 1984's Turbo Look models: standard 911 Carrera coupes with the full Turbo body kit and whale tail spoiler. At least they were still outstanding performance cars in their own right - and Porsche won extra credibility for the 911 with a win that year for a four-wheel drive model in the Paris-Dakar rally. The introduction of the 959, a limited-edition "super-911", only boosted the brand's image further: fewer than 300 of these were made, selling at 420,000 DM each, to homologate the car for FIA Group B racing. With a smoothed-out bodyshell for maximum aerodynamics, six-speed transmission, electronically-controlled four-wheel drive and suspension, plus 450bhp from its twin-turbo, water-cooled 2.85-litre flat-six, it sprinted from 0-60mph in just 3.7 seconds. Car magazine pitched it against the Ferrari F40, Lamborghini Countach and a prototype called the Cizeta V16T - "three wedge-shaped Italian monsters, the most visually stunning supercars in the world... and the little German dumpling" - and although the F40 won out, the 959 was judged "the best road car, no doubt. It is the safest, the most secure, the easiest to drive fast, the greatest engineering statement and probably the fastest on a narrow Alpine pass in the hands of anyone short of Nigel Mansell's ability and bravery."
Although the 959 was out of the reach of the majority of buyers, at least many of its technological innovations and electronic trickery later filtered into the mainstream 911 range. The four-wheel-drive layout, for example, previewed the transmission of 1988's 911 Carrera 4, the 964-series with its engine now up to 3.6 litres and delivering 250bhp. This model marked the 911's 25th anniversary.
But still the purists carped. A Carrera 4 had two too many driveshafts, they complained, and that added weight and dulled the steering response. To a degree, these things were true, but such fine distinctions could only really manifest themselves at suicidal public road speeds or on a race track. The reality was that the Porsche C4 offered extra security and traction for those who felt they needed it. Track day heroes could still have a C2 if they wanted.
A look back at the 356 Speedster influenced the 911 Speedster concept unveiled at the '87 Frankfurt Motor Show. 2,100 were made the following year, based on the Convertible but with a cut-down windscreen, a lightweight tonneau cover and no rear seats. Also new for '88 was the Carrera Club Sport, with a stripped-out, low-spec interior to save weight, and the 911 Turbo finally gained five-speed transmission. The major overhaul came in the second half of 1989, when the '964' series was launched - the range to take the 911 into the 1990s.
1985 911 Convertible
1989 Speedster
Super-fast 959
