Car & Driver tests the "new" 911 (1965, images)

[emcon5]

Car and driver tests the new Porsche model, the 911, including a nice ad for the 356.

Also available here as a 2.5MB PDF (easier to read) file,
http://members.rennlist.com/emcon5/65_new_911.pdf

Enjoy.

[emcon5]

[emcon5]

[Sonic dB]

Another classic post, literally. Thanks for interesting reading. Its always fun to look back at how classics were actually regarded in the beginning.

[masraum]

very cool. I save every one of these old articles that I find.

[dd74]

"Hey! What is that thing? Is that a new kind of car?"
"It's called a P...P...Poach something...nine...e...leven..."
"Poach, huh? As in 'egg?'"
"Yeah, I guess, dear."
"Well can't this Plymouth so-called Fury go any faster, honey? I wanna' see it up close!"
"I'm trying, dear! I'm trying!"

***Quote taken from an interstate-travelling couple upon seeing their first 911, circa 1965.

Thanks for another great post, Emcon.

BTW: got anything on the 911R and 911ST?

P.S. aren't you infringing upon a whole lot of copyright laws?

[Sonic dB]

I had to laugh at the 356 ad where it says "shift gears and understand why this fast, smooth transmission is built under liscence from Porsche into racing cars many times the price of a Porsche"

That was a predecessor to a 915 right>

By the way, I just saw a silver 356 parked outside a restaurant here in Redondo Beach.

[TYPE 901/05]

emcon5, you rock. That was a great post, keep emcom'in.

Sonic dB, the fast and smooth racing derived transmission the manufacturer describes...is in fact the famous porsche 901 trans. You may be able to replace your 915 with an early 912 trans...don't be discuraged. :-)

Shawn.

[k9handler]

very nice

[Chuck Moreland]

Some interesting quotes:

"it ought to weather the years without looking dated" - on the body design. 40 years later it doesn't look contemporary, but definitely not dated.

"we would estimate that 180 horsepower is within reach" - on the engine. Even the last street versions topped 300 hp, let alone the race motors.

"Porsche has indicated its confidence in the new engine by extending the warranty from six months/6000 miles to a full year and/or 10,000 miles" - Sounds unbelievable in an era of 10 yr / 100,000 miles warranties.

"it has the odd effect of banking the wheels into a turn, like a motorcycle rider" - on the then-unusual McPherson struts. I guess the idea of increasing camber on compression was very unfamiliar in '65.

"The 911 uses 15-inch wheels. A 14 inch wheel would be more aesthetically pleasing" - Whhhhaaaattt! Funny how tastes change.

"In corners, you can forget all about the sudden, vicious oversteer of rear-engine cars....It takes a ham-fisted clot to upset the back end in the dry" - Remember they are talking about a SWB car. I'm going to have ham-fisted clot tattood on my forhead.

"The 911 is a superior car in every respect...the stuff legends are made of" - they called that one right.