While Porsche competes in the realm of super-fast electric vehicles with its Taycan Turbo S, that battery-electric car doesn’t have a turbo, or even an engine, for that matter. But it does have a sibling in the Porsche family with a 640-horsepower twin-turbo engine for real: the 911 Turbo S. Boosted with even more power two years ago, the 911 Turbo S delivers breathtaking acceleration, tenacious road-and-track handling, and top luxury in coupe and Cabriolet (convertible) styles, starting around $230,000.
Happy 60th birthday, Porsche 911! In fall 1963, Porsche unveiled a new sports car, at first called “901,” as a successor to its first model, the 356. The new car entered production a year later and not long after got a badge change to “911.” This sports car icon remains in production, in much evolved form and with a choice of 25 variants this year. To celebrate 60 years, Porsche is offering a new pinnacle 911 model, called “S/T,” after a lightweight race-prep 911 from the early Seventies. Porsche will build 1,963 of these special 911s, with a starting price of $290,000.
The spark that launched Porsche’s road racing dynasty began with the “Fuhrman engine” in the landmark 550 Spyder racecar. Bringing that engine to the 356’s option list in 1956 and calling it “Carrera” boosted Porsche’s racing pedigree while also setting the foundation for special high-performance Porsche models to come. The expensive and complex Carrera engine was rarely ordered when new, and cars so-equipped demand a huge premium in the collector car market today. A 1956 Porsche 356A Speedster Carrera offered by Mecum Auctions in Monterey is expected to sell for up to $1.2M, or nearly 400% more than a Speedster without it.
If you’re keeping up with the Porsche 911 family, there are currently 28 different versions showing in the Porsche U.S.A. website configurator. (Yes, 28!) Not a single 911 could ever be considered middle-of-the-road, but sitting around the middle of the lineup you’ll find five versions of the 911 Carrera GTS. Hotter than the Carrera S but not as extreme as the GT3 track machine, the GTS delivers a wallop of supercar performance while remaining street-friendly for everyday driving if you please. The intense fun starts at around $152,000.
The letters on your modern car’s trunk lid might have no real meaning, but the “S” on the back of a classic Porsche 911 signified a major performance upgrade over the standard car. Porsche’s marketing for the original 911S cautioned, “This is no car for a novice.” The 911S rewarded skilled drivers while being known to put a scare into those unfamiliar with its handling traits. RM Sotheby’s is offering a rare concours-restored 1968 911S at no reserve at its Amelia Island auction in March. Expect hot bidding.
Capitalizing on the 911’s rich rally-winning history, Porsche introduced its 2023 911 Dakar at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Porsche’s new overland 911 version – reflecting road testing of Dakar prototypes over 300,000 miles, including 6,000 off-road miles – is based on the Carrera 4 GTS, and equipped with a 473-hp twin-turbo flat-six, eight-speed PDK automatic transmission and all-wheel drive, capable of 0-60 in 3.2 seconds. Porsche plans to build only 2,500 911 Dakars, with a starting price of $220,000 in the U.S. and plenty of options to take that higher.
Porsche launched its Heritage Design series with the 2021 911 Targa 4S Heritage Design Edition. The new 2023 Porsche 911 Sport Classic pays homage to the 1973 911 Carrera 2.7 RS. Porsche plans to build 1,250 911 Sport Classics, reportedly priced at $272,300. That’s $89,400 more than a 2022 911 Turbo. Read what makes the car worth that price.
Lime Rock Park boasts one of the most beautiful natural settings of any race track, precisely because it’s located in the beautiful Northwest Corner of Connecticut. Rich Taylor of Vintage Rallies’ favorite loop will take you throughout Litchfield County, into neighboring New York State and the Berkshire Mountains of southwestern Massachusetts.
To mark the one-millionth 911 built since 1964, Porsche built a one-of-a-kind 911 Carrera S, and toured it around auto shows and lent to media for road tests.
