The iconic Porsche 911 of the popular 993 generation celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. The novelty presented in 1993 brought with it a significant technological innovation of the chassis as well as a standard six-speed manual transmission.
He was the last “breather”. The official Porsche Museum reminds us these days on social networks that this September it will be thirty years since the ceremonial moment when the car manufacturer presented the last air-cooled “911”. The iconic Porsche 911 generation, internally named 993, debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1993 and brought with it a huge intergenerational evolution.
At first glance, it may not seem like it, but at the time the new 993 was only twenty percent identical to the previous generation 964. The most striking design innovation was a more aerodynamic front with less vertically positioned round headlights. The new “nineteen eleven” was designed by the English designer Tony Hatter, who retained all the characteristic features of the previous models.
The most significant evolutionary innovations were of a technical nature. For the 993, Porsche engineers developed a new rear independent multi-link axle made of aluminium, which they mounted to an aluminum subframe. The innovative solution was shown for the first time on the prototype of the four-door sedan Porsche 989 and helped to more refined and comfortable driving characteristics as well as calm down the typical oversteer of the 911 in moments when the driver took off the gas sharply when going through a corner quickly.
The 993 generation was also the first Porsche 911 with a standard six-speed manual transmission. All previous generations were equipped with only four or five-speed gearboxes. This made it easier to keep the six-cylinder boxer as close as possible to peak torque above 4,500 rpm.
Rear-wheel drive was standard on the new Porsche 911 at the time, four-wheel drive was optional, and customers less interested in the driving experience could opt for a four-speed Tiptronic automatic, first introduced in the previous generation 964. The base Carrera with a 3.6-liter heart, manual and rear-wheel drive promised acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.6 seconds and a maximum speed of 270 km/h.
Understandably, it accelerated with each more powerful version. In the following years, Porsche also rebuilt much more powerful versions of the Turbo, Turbo S, Carrera S/4S, Carrera RS, GT2 and Speedster. Between 1994 and 1998, a total of 68,029 units left the production line in Stuttgart in four body styles – coupe, convertible, targa and speedster.
In 1997, the 993 was succeeded by the new generation 996, with a controversial new design and standard liquid-cooled boxers. Even though the more modern version was technically more advanced and dynamically faster, it is difficult for enthusiasts to surpass its predecessor. The Porsche 911 of the 993 generation is still described as one of the best “911s” of all time.
2023-09-21 16:54:00
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