2001 Porsche 911 on 2040-cars

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Porsche 911 Carrera 4, Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio and a chat with Jean Jennings | Autoblog Podcast #626

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Road Test Editor Zac Palmer, Associate Editor Byron Hurd and special guest Jean Jennings. The gang kicks off with a discussion about the cars they've been driving — 2020 Porsche 911 Carrera 4, 2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio and the 2020 VW Tiguan. They shift gears to talk about the latest news gleaned from a press conference concerning the 2021 Supra, then, they reach into the mailbag to help a listener buy a performance car. Lastly, Greg has a chat with special guest Jean Jennings. Autoblog Podcast #626 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving 2020 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio 2020 Volkswagen Tiguan R-Line 2021 Toyota Supra news Spend My Money Jean Jennings interview Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video:

2017 Porsche 911 Carrera First Drive [w/video]

The second seismic shift in the history of the Porsche 911 is happening as you read this. The first came in the late 1990s, when air cooling was thrown out and a more modern, water-cooled setup was put in place. People freaked out, and prices of air-cooled 911s are now skyrocketing. But I'll argue that this second major change is an even bigger deal: The free-breathing, naturally aspirated engine is gone, in its place a smaller, more powerful, turbocharged lump. But there's no need to panic. Purists be damned; "no replacement for displacement" shouters be silenced. This forced-induction heart beats beautifully in the 911's rump. I'm behind the wheel of a 2017 911 Carrera S coupe, stopped at the base of a winding mountain road on Tenerife, the largest of the Spanish-owned Canary Islands off the northwest coast of Africa. A nearly identical 911 is ahead of me, piloted by one of Porsche's test drivers. The road is closed. Hired spotters watch the corners. I'm about to run up the mountain at full charge, Porsche's expert leading the way. This forced-induction heart beats beautifully in the 911's rump. Behind me is the new engine: a 3.0-liter, twin-turbocharged flat-six. At idle, it still has that unmistakably Porsche, horizontally opposed hum. I've got 420 horsepower and 368 pound-feet of torque to work with, increases of 20 hp and 43 lb-ft compared to the old 3.8-liter, naturally aspirated six. If I launch it, I'll hit 60 miles per hour in under four seconds. Power is routed through the Porsche Doppelkupplung transmission – the best dual-clutch tranny in the business – and the fat, 305-section Pirelli PZero tires out back get all that thrust to the ground. There's a strong engine noise, complemented by the sound of the turbos sucking in air via the intakes just below the rear window. And then there's the exhaust. The standard Carrera comes with two large outlets and the Carrera S replaces those with quad pipes. But I've got the optional sport exhaust, not pictured on the car you see here, with two round outlets moved toward the center of the 911's hiney. Not only do they look way cooler, they're a treat for the ears. The Spanish may have decided to tunnel through many of Tenerife's mountainsides, but the pleasure of punching the throttle and letting the exhaust sing easily makes up for any loss of scenic views. The Carrera S' full 368 lb-ft is available right from 1,700 rpm, and there's no lag prior to arrival.

Porsche celebrates 50 years of 911 with some excellent pics

The Porsche 911 is one of the most iconic sports cars of all time, and to celebrate the car's first 50 years, Porsche has released a stunning set of photos showing how far the 911 has come from the original back in 1963 to its current 991 generation. Unlike the recent 60-year photo spread that Chevrolet put together for the Corvette, though, Porsche's gallery only shows the original 911 and the current car.
Each time the 911 is redesigned, the car's front fenders, roofline and the shape of the side windows are key focal points. Even some of the interior cues have remained the same over the years, including the positioning of the ignition key on the left of the steering column and the five-gauge instrument cluster layout.
Scroll down for Porsche's press release breaking down the seven generations of the 911, and be sure to check out our gallery with plenty of high-res pics for you to download as a desktop wallpaper. In fact, we're providing these at 1920-pixels-wide instead of our usual 1280 wide. Enjoy!