Air-cooled Porsche 911 – cool year after year

November 15, 6:52 AMAutomotive ExaminerKyle Busch

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The newer Porsche 911s, like all modern cars, are water-cooled
with engines that develop maximum horsepower. However, the
911 was naturally cooled (air-cooled) from the car’s beginning in
1963 and remained that way until 1996.

The 911s of the late 60’s were air-cooled and these sports cars had
a character all their own. A character that still rings true with car
enthusiasts today.

The 911’s classic shape was styled by Ferdinand “Butzi” Porsche.
It was developed as a replacement for the company’s 356 and was
a sport evolution of the rear engined Volkswagen Beetle. The
911 made its debut at the 1963 Frankfort Motor Show. At first it was
the Porsche 901, however, Peugeot took Porsche to task as the French
automaker basically patented the right to name cars using three numbers
with zero in the middle. Porsche did not want to call the car 901 outside
of France and another name in France, therefore, it changed the name to
911 for all markets.

The 356 had a 4-cylinder 1600 cc 90 hp engine. The first 911s had
a 2000 cc 130 hp flat 6-cylinder boxer engine that was configured
like the 356 engine.

In 1966 Porsche developed a more powerful 911S that had 160 hp.
The car had Fuch alloy wheels with their distinctive 5 leaf design. Of
note is that Porsche used this powerplant developing 210 hp in the mid
engined Porsche 904 and Porsche 906 (Porsche freely used the three
number with the zero in the middle name because these cars were not
sold in France). This was a preview that the auto company could add
increasing power (as they have done repeatedly over the years) to the
flat six-boxer engine.

In 1967 an open roof Targa version of the car was developed. The name
Targa (which means “shield” in Italian) came from the Targa Florio sports
car race in Sicily, Italy. Porsche had seven victories in the Italian races
since 1956 and four more victories up until 1973. Porsche’s last win in
the event was notable because a 911 SC scored the win over the factory
prototypes from Ferrari and Alfa Romeo.

Also in 1967, a very limited (20 cars in all) production 911R was offered.
The car was a lightened race version with aluminum doors, a magnesium
crankcase, and an engine with twin-cylinder sparkplug heads making 210 hp.

In 1969 a B series of the 911 was introduced. The car’s wheelbase
increased from 87 to 891/4 inches. This helped the car to be more stable
when driven at the limit. Furthermore, fuel injection was fitted to the 911S
and a new middle model the 911E. The 2.2-liter 911E was known as a
special car from Zuffenhausen. This car was quicker in acceleration from
0-100 mph than the 911S.

In these early days of the 911, the cars were known for their relative
simplicity, their raw mechanical feel, their detail in design, and one of the
purest driving experience to be found.

The air-cooled Porsche 911 remains cool after all these years. It is a car
that wants to be driven by you!

Kyle Busch is the author of “Drive the Best for the Price…” He
welcomes your comments or car questions at his auto web site: www.DriveTheBestBook.com