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In my last Carrera RS update, I voiced my distress at seeing most of the front end of the car in a rust-riddled and singed heap on the workshop floor. The situation rapidly improved as new panels were welded into place and front wings and doors temporarily attached to ensure that everything was aligned properly. With the Porsche once again looking like a more-or-less intact car, I was lulled into imagining that the job was almost there. Hmm. How foolish of me.

Dating from its launch in 1990, this shot of the 964 Turbo also shows its principal creators, Paul Hensler (left) and Friedrich Bezner. As 911 project manager, it was Friedrich’s idea of filling the gap left by the abandonment of the 969 with a 3.3 Turbo 964. Paul was readily supportive and oversaw the modifications to the 930 engine to ensure that it delivered a sufficient power margin over the 250ps 964 Carrera. Both career Porsche men, they arrived at the company from different backgrounds.

The 993’s historical journey is well known. Peter Falk, the famed Porsche engineer, produced a Lastenheft in the late 1980s that found the incoming 993 would have to achieve new levels of agility and responsiveness – not to mention refinement – and so the new 911 was born with its multi-link rear axle and six-speed transmission, among other improvements.

Unveiled at the 1999 IAA show in Frankfurt, Porsche Carbon Ceramic Brakes – PCCBs for short – first appeared on the 996 model GT2 of 2001. This was the first production sports car to use the technology. Disc brakes may have been patented in 1902, but it took until the middle of that century for production cars to perfect the technology, including Porsche’s development of the ventilated disc brake, first used on the 906-8 Bergspider of 1965 and utilised on the 911S the following year.

Britain voted to leave the EU in 2016. Despite ongoing wrangling, the general consensus is that Brexit is indeed done. What impact has that decision and the many economic changes had on the 911 market? Sales debate“That’s an interesting topic,” says Jonathan Ostroff, sales manager at Hexagon Classics. “Brexit hasn’t affected the UK right-hand drive car values, as they were never very sought after by our EU partners (excepting Eire, Cyprus and Malta),” Jonathan rightly points out.

In my previous report, I noted my dismay at how much rot was exposed after the Carrera’s bodyshell was blasted and that I had given Steve Kerti the nod to start cutting out the gangrene and commence restorative surgery. My next visit to Dunkeswell, Devon, home of Classic Fabrications (classic-fabrications. com), provided an even greater shock. Much of my beloved RS was gone!

The 30th anniversary of the 911 was its first real landmark and the car was feted in Stuttgart with due ceremony. Its 25th had passed almost unnoticed, but given the uncertainty and managerial turmoil at Zuffenhausen in autumn 1988, few would have been in the mood. Total 911 recounts the story behind a famous picture from Porsche’s past… Five years on, however, the outlook was improving.

There are seemingly endless models and factory options to choose from along the timeline of 911 production. Yet that variety only just begins on the dealer spec list. What of cars that have been altered over the years since they left the showroom? From rat rods to restomods, ‘Big Reds’ to RSR wings… you name it, someone will have done it over 50 years of fashions. Is there a market for a modified 911 today, or is originality best? Paragon sales manager Jamie Tyler says yes and no.

Lucky 13 This unique 911 backdate became one man’s lockdown obsession My name is Martyn Luke, and this is my 911 backdate, which is nicknamed ‘Starlight’. It’s based on a 993-generation manual 1994 Porsche 911 Carrera 2, and was built by a Yorkshire-based company called 911 Retroworks. It’s a bespoke build that they call a 993 GTR. I commissioned it in April 2021, during lockdown. It took 13 months to build, is the 13th 993 GTR built by the company, and was delivered on Friday 13 May!

Safety has always been a concern at Porsche, and throughout the 911 development various ideas have been introduced to keep occupants safe while maximising driver enjoyment. The three-part safety steering system and Targa roll bar are both examples of Porsche’s safety-derived developments, but legislation also has played a part, like the impact bumper. Technology explainedMore recently as crash protection laws developed, so did requirements for passenger safety.

Interest and enthusiasm for owning a 911 of any era has never been greater. Everyone knows and covets an RS, GT3 or Turbo, keenly eyeing values and ads, but aside from those go-tos, which models are currently overlooked by the market? Sales debateIt’s fair to say our panel struggled to immediately call out a list of forgotten models. In today’s market, there’s a buyer for all 911s.

You can thank the gorgeous 1973 Carrera 2.7 RS for kicking off this fabulous look, swiftly followed by the RSR in ’74. By adding a little more metal these cars could carry more rubber, meaning better handling and faster lap times. The aesthetics? Almost a happy by-product. When the 911 Turbo burst on to the scene in 1975, complete with wings, wheels and spoilers, the die was cast for almost all range topping 911s to have a more ample derriere.

It would be naive to think that global lockdowns and disruptions from a pandemic wouldn’t bring with it some changes, but has it left a mark on the used 911 buyer? Two respected specialists concur it has. Sales debate“Yes, buyers’ habits certainly changed,” says Jamie Tyler of Paragon. “A lot more people are buying remotely now; this has continued from the days of only being able to buy cars via ‘click and collect’.” For that to thrive, stock must be of a quality to support worry-free purchase.

With an ear to the ground, there are rumblings that the used 911 market is losing momentum. Undoubtedly we’re in times of global uncertainty, hot on the tail of a global pandemic, but is there any truth in it? Sales debate“In short, no,” says Philip Raby, of Philip Raby Specialist Cars, while highlighting the difficulty in predicting future trends. “When Russia hit, everything dropped overnight, but it came almost straight back,” he adds.

Epic pace, reasonable price and awesome all-weather performance make the 996 Turbo a hugely appealing machine. BUYING GUIDE: 911 TURBO 996Offering incredible performance for its price, the 996 Turbo is a sensational used buy Words DANIEL BEVIS Photos TOM GIDDEN In turbocharged form, the 996 transcended its perceived ‘bitsa’ roots (at least in the eyes of those cynics who were suspicious of the aesthetic Boxster connection) to become a truly phenomenal performance car.