The 991-generation of the Porsche 911 is finally no more, despite the current 992-generation being well into production. The last 991 911 just rolled off the line. And no, it wasn’t a base Carrera that you or I could buy in a few years’ time; it was a Speedster. So I guess we all dropped the ball on this one because it’s so expensive, anyway. Nobody can afford that car.
The Speedster, if you’ll kindly recall, has a modified Carrera 4 body but uses the chassis and engine from the GT3. Meaning that it has a 9,000-rpm, 4.0-liter flat-six with 500 horsepower. There is also a six-speed manual and a nosebleed-inducing price tag of $274,500. It sure is gorgeous, though.
And with it marks the end of the 991.
I liked the 991 generation. A lot of stuff happened in between its launch in 2011 and now. Made primarily out of aluminum, it was the first 911 that was actually lighter than the car that preceded it. The chassis grew, as did interior space, and the taillights are some of the prettiest tail lights on any 911. It was also the first 911 to be controversially offered with electro-mechanical power steering, as opposed to the hydraulic steering in past models.
But! It also offered a seven-speed manual, which was an industry-first.
The subsequent 991.2-generation saw all 911s go turbocharged. You didn’t have to just go for the Turbo and Turbo S model if you wanted a turbocharged 911 anymore. This was also controversial; for one, didn’t that then make “Porsche 911 Turbo” redundant?
Porsche reports in its press release the 991 was the most successful 911 generation to date. It produced 233,540 cars and saw the milestone of the one millionth Porsche 911 sold. I’m sure the fact that modern 911s just keep getting easier and easier to drive and use every day certainly helped boost sales, too.
We’re still early into the 992 era. But maybe this is the generation where we’ll see a hybrid 911 at last. Can you imagine the purists shitting themselves over that?
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