40 years is an amazing amount of time for a single car design to still be in production. But sadly, as we all know, the 997 isn't really the same design as 40 years ago. That design was left behind around '88/'89.
But there is another 911...well 1911 design (originally designed in 1908 to be exact) that is still state of the art.
Like the 911s many of us have built from 70's 911s, the sum of the parts often provide a higher level of performance than the originals. But the design has stayed true to the original 911.
With very little change the basic 1911 is still the current state of the art in handguns. Like a 911 it will give a attentive and skilled owner the performance that nothing else to date can.
A 1927 A1
same design with a change to R rubber.
J. M. Browning's original design has been manufactured from 1910 to date without interuption. That is 94 years with
no changes! It appears it will go on for another 50 years at least.