Harm Lagaay

select your language

VINTAGE PORSCHE
home

Tears for the downfall of the
real air cooled Porsche...

Das Maß aller Dinge

The Porsche 356 had a steady evolution from 1950 on. The design of Erwin Komenda would last for 15 years.
The car was improved year after year, but the engineers sticked to the beautiful shape and the unique concept.

The 911 (1963) career even lasted much longer. In 2003 it already existed 40 years and in 2013 will be the 50-year anniversary.
But is the fact, that the engine is still mounted in the back reason enough to give the current cars from Zuffenhausen the name of
the creation of the professor and his genious team, das Maß aller Dinge, the 911?

Let's have a look at what experts consider to be the most awesome Porsche of all times. I also give my vote to the '73 Carrera RS, with its weight of 975 kg and a power of 210 HP from 2.7 litre. The car that is rewarding perfect driving and that is a killer for clumbsy pilots. The Carrera RS was the result of only 10 years of 911 evolution and it is the ultimate drivers car.

210 HP and less than 1000 kg. Everything that came later was needless.
An original is priceless, but I have myself a recreation built now.
After the '73 RS, another 10 years of evolution followed. And another 10 years. And another 10 years. Till 1989 the engineers kept very loyal to Ferry's concept. But in the model year 1990 there were substantial changes. The 911 got bulkier, heavier, got ABS, power steering and a clutch that could be handled by women as well. And there was sound dampening (why??) around the engine. The solid 3.2 litre engine was enlarged to 3.6 litres, which resulted in an extra 19 HP, but primarily in a lot of extra torque. Allowing lazy gear shifting. In 1993 the headlights were tilted and slowly but surely the 911 lost its charasteristic appearance. Radical changes ocurred in 1996, because the 911 had to be 'updated'. The 996 model became a watercooled, comfortable and (more) quiet Gran Turismo.

Better is the enemy of good...

That's how the stubborn and exciting thoroughbread sportscar - as we knew it - turned into a billboard for the bank balance. Which primarily invites to two classic questions: what does it cost? and how fast can it go? Well over 300 km/hr! On what road people intend to do so? On the M5? True lovers with a little sense for tradition donot get impressed by this overkill, but they keep loyal to the air cooled concept. Because it's experience is so unique. The special sound of the 100.000 Watt vacuum cleaner in your neck and it's great character. The ticking of the engine and heat exchangers after shutting down the engine. From 1964 on I am obsessed by the 911, which design was so gorgeous that it would last for 25 years, almost in its initial form. Newer 911 models do not even come near. After a couple of years they need to be updated. Since I was raised with the old fashioned Porsches the primal 911 is in my genes and it is not easy to transfer that feeling to people that only seem to fancy newer, wider, faster, better. Better is the enemy of good, so I prefer the real and only air cooled 911! With the nice pure pre-89 shape, without power steering, ABS, ESP, automatic gearbox, airco, etc. In short, the nimble lightweight that sounds nice from itself, without artificial acoustics which are necessary nowadays to generate the Porsche sound that excites motoring journalists because they recognize the 'genuine' 911 sound. It shouldnot get sillier than this, because you can buy yourself a 'real 911' for less money. I mean a 3.2 Carrera. The driver's car where you still need guts, pilot skills and muscles. That can do with 230 HP for power slides and killing flies with the side panels. clik here If I am looking for comfortable transport I will select my Audi with DSG.

Particularly the pure experience of a sport car is getting more and more important, in a world where extreme speeding is no longer allowed and becomes impossible. Right now the complete European roads are provided with automatic traject speed control. Maximum speed is 100 km/hour and the chance to be caught is 100%. But Wendelin Wiedeking seems to ignore all this and therefore he keeps on stuffing the left lanes with even more horsepower. Year after year more cubic inches, more power, more top speed.

More luxury...
...more weight
more power!
Herr doktor Wiedeking happens to be an economist and a very good one on top. (note: this article was written 2004) The Porsche AG shares are on an all time high. If I would have been in charge, Porsche AG would have died in the nineties. But Elvis died as well, didn't he? And isn't this better? Living on as The King he is better off, even when the audience in Las Vegas was loaded every night to observe the indolent attraction that he has become at last. Untill - heavily on drugs - he suffocated in his own puke...

History learns that it is better to stop at the top.
With sportcars we shouldnot focus on power increase, but on weight saving! Firstly skip all the fuss, that's the first advantage. 0 to 100 in 5 seconds? Save on weight. Fast cornering? Save on weight. Short braking path? Save on weight. Wasn't this the victim strategy of Porsche in the fifties? Streamline, combined with low weight. Unfortunately, the current Porsche management has said goodbeye to this light weight philosophy.

Fortunately the air cooled 911's from the era of Ferry Porsche are constructed so well, that most of them are still around. There are plenty of them! By the way, did you know that the professor blew his last breath at almost the same moment that the last air cooled 911 left the factory in the spring of 1998?

The exuberant sales (what crisis?) of new Porsches has the advantage that it becomes easier to distinguish yourself. Because a classic Porsche is not only a good, but particularly a pleasant investment. Listen to the music of a 2.2 S or 2.4 S from the period '69 - '73, the golden era before the oil crisis. The time that sex was safe and racing was dangerous...

It is a sign, that the value of air cooled 911 is peaking now, and that applies strongly to the pure 3.2 models from the last manufacturing years till '89. With the excellent G50 gearbox. What a difference with 10 years back, when these 'obsolete' cars were offered for little money, because 'new' was hot. But it is like most things in life: you only start appreciating them when they are gone.

Does the pure 911 give most fun bottom line?

I agree. A Porsche can easily do without water...

There are strong rumours that Porsche - inspired by the success of the new Mini and the new Fiat 500 - is also developing a retro model. Of course this cannot be the 'new' 911, but it will be a light sports car with a 2 litrer 4 cylinder boxer engine at the back. The name for this car: New Porsche 356... The 356 is one of the most beautiful cars in the automotive history, still coveted by millions of fans. It would be great to revive this 356 'brand'. Picture a 356 without bumpers. The perfect example for the new 356 with crumple zones.

After all aberrations they seem to be back on track in Zuffenhausen. Only air cooling to be re-introduced...
I look forward to the performance of the successor of Lagaay, Michael Mauer, who was picked away from Saab. Mauer is a special person, who seems to do the triathlon as a walk in the park. I hope that he will not source his inspiration for the future 911 elsewhere, but where it is plenty, namely within his own company. And I hope that Mauer will visit the Komenda family, whose father has designed the 911. Butzi has - with the help of the Porsche PR machine - claimed the credits, but the truth is different. See who was the real designer of the 911?

Fifteen years after Porsche almost went bankrupt (the financial reserves diminished dramatically in 1992) the company is doing very well. Most of the credits went to the Boxter and currently to the Cayenne. This pimped Touareg has to be tolerated, since it genarates a lot of profit. Income, that secures the continuity of the 911, from which we know that the current - unmatched - record will be set on 50 years in 2013.

The professor be praised...

...and we thank him that he gave
so much beauty to the world.