The Porsche 911, everyone knows it, everyone loves it. For its engine, its sound, that screaming, spurting and bursting 6-cylinder boxer engine, the emotions it exudes when driving, its performance on the asphalt, the close connections that spring from racing, its perfectionist workmanship and its unique, inimitable shape. A sports car, as the Duden dictionary would describe it.
We are devoting ourselves to the beginnings of this Porsche work, which has been leaving the factory halls in Zuffenhausen since 1964. In particular, we are devoting ourselves to the 2nd generation in 2nd version, the G-model as the Porsche 930 Turbo.
In fact, the vehicle does not have the type designation 911 in its name; it is so special that it has been given its own type designation despite being part of the legendary 911 series. It is the first Porsche vehicle to have a turbo engine installed as standard. At the time, this fun-to-drive machine was also known as the "widow maker". In its status as the fastest production sports car in Germany up to that point, it lived up to this name.
Unfortunately, we at Concrete Modelz can only depict the shape of this work of art on 4 wheels. Starting with the typical 911 lights at the front, which make the shape so characteristically unique, the slightly lowered roof specially designed for the 930 Turbo, which allows the 911 to cut through the air better. Then there is the protruding fender at the back, which makes the 930 look so wide when viewed from behind, and the legendary "ducktail" that underlines the performance claim of this sports car. But we believe that there is much more to this car than just the iconic shape that makes this vehicle stand out so unmistakably in any room. It is also the technical details and the history that make this vehicle what it is. We want to convey this too. So buckle up and learn a little more about this model:
The Porsche 930 Turbo was built between 1974 and 1989 in a total of 4 different versions. Until 1987 it was only available as a coupe, before convertible and targa versions could also be ordered in the last two years of production. All versions have a vehicle length of around 4.30 meters. The 930 sits flat on the asphalt at just 1.3 meters. Until 1989, all versions also had a manual 4-speed transmission, until a 5-speed gearbox, also hand-made, was offered in the last year of production. The sprint determined by the 4-speed gearbox usually ended before the bends in the deceleration of the disc brakes. When the Turbo 3.3 was introduced, these were replaced by perforated disc brakes, which enabled better brake ventilation and cooling. With the 3.3, the 930 was fitted with 16-inch wheels instead of the 15-inch wheels of the 3.0, with a tire width of 205 mm at the front and 225 mm at the rear. Only the 3.3 with the factory power increase to 330 hp got 245 mm at the rear for better traction. The variants were also united by purism at the time. No power steering, no ABS, no control electronics or other assistants. The driver drove the car, not the car the driver. Just like a sports car should be driven.
It appeared in 1974 as the Porsche 930 Turbo 3.0. The model name is derived from the displacement, which was 3 liters at the time. This air-cooled boxer 6-cylinder engine, co-developed by Hans Mezger, had 260 hp with an exhaust turbocharger and accelerated the 1,200 kg vehicle to 100 in 5.5 seconds with 343 Nm of torque. The sprint ended at 250 km/h. Not bad figures 50 years ago. But the 3.0 had a crucial problem. The air cooling was not sufficient, so the intake air was much too hot at 150 degrees Celsius. As a result, the engine became too hot and much more air had to be compressed to maintain the necessary oxygen concentration in the gasoline-air mixture that was fed into the combustion chambers.
Driven by the desire for optimization, the engineers under Mezger developed the Porsche 930 Turbo 3.3, which was delivered from 1978. The larger bore and longer stroke resulted in 3.3 liters of displacement instead of the 3 liters of its predecessor. With 300 hp and 413 Nm, it sprinted to 100 in 5.2 seconds, and the speedometer now revved up to 260. But the power did not come solely from the larger displacement, because the problem with the intake air still existed. The team led by Hans Mezger came up with a brilliant idea: they reworked the ducktail and used it in its classic function of generating downforce. However, it was much more important to integrate the tail into the cooling process. The ducktail was opened at the top with a grille and an intercooler was attached underneath. The 930 Turbo 3.3 thus became the first production car in the world with a built-in intercooler. This meant that the air taken in only had a temperature of 50 degrees Celsius, which resulted in a much higher oxygen concentration in the amount of air taken in. This also made the engine block cooler and enabled a much cleaner and more efficient combustion of the fuel-air mixture. This resulted in a significant increase in performance, which even made it possible to install a smaller turbo than the 3.0 and still achieve more power. This also reduced the turbo lag in the lower speed range, because the turbo only kicks in at 4,000 rpm and accelerates the vehicle with maximum power.
The climax of these developments was the 930 Turbo 3.3 with factory performance upgrade (WLS), which could be purchased by Porsche customers from 1984. With larger turbochargers, four-pipe exhaust systems, an additional oil cooler and a modified intercooler under the ducktail, the engineers managed to squeeze 330 hp and 430 Nm out of the 6-cylinder boxer engine.
The fourth and probably least known variant, as it is the one that is the least often built, is the 930 Turbo 3.3 flat-bottomed. Due to increasing demand from American customers, it was offered as a conversion model from 1981 based on the Porsche 935, the racing version of the 930. For this purpose, a 930 Turbo was converted for an additional charge, of course, so that the characteristically protruding headlights of the 911 were replaced by a flat hood and pop-up headlights. Despite its relatively low popularity, this variant is the most expensive of the 930 series on the used goods market due to its rarity.
Incidentally, this idea of adopting the flat design from racing is quite obvious. Porsche's idea of installing a turbo in a production car, like so many things that Porsche brings to the road, originally came from racing. Even today, the top models of the 911 still rely on the knowledge gained from motorsport. It is therefore hardly surprising that customer teams with the standard 930 Turbo 3.3 achieved class victories in both the legendary and probably most famous race in the world, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the 1000 km of the Nürburgring.
We at Concrete Modelz can provide you with these truly impressive facts and figures and present them in the form of our Porsche 930 Turbo model to give you the opportunity to bring a part of this history into your home. Because this vehicle is definitely unique and very special in all its facets. And if you ever have the pleasure of getting behind the wheel of this vehicle after looking at this model for a long time in your closet, on the shelf or on your desk, remember: With Porsche, the ignition key is on the left - a practical product of motorsport, this Porsche 930 Turbo.
