Porsche model names

So I referred to the Porsche Carrera Turbo in my last post. The astute car enthusiast (which is clearly you if you're reading my car posts) will know that I'm talking about the 911 Turbo - the true Porsche snob will call it the 997, the manufacturer's internal designation.

Take a look at the other models - nay a digit in sight. There are certainly internal designations by number still, but on the Porsche USA web page, the only model with a number is the 911. Why? The 911 rules the roost among the aforementioned Porsche snobs. Porsche tried to kill it before, and was roundly shouted down by 911 owners. "If it's not rear-engined, with an air-cooled flat-6, it's not a real Porsche." Thus, the 911 will probably never die, although those same Porsche snobs won't admit that the 911 has become the super-GT that the engineers at Porsche attempted to replace it with, and have since designed around the inherent driving-dynamic flaws of an engine hanging off the ass of the car.

What am I getting at? Despite what you might think from the above, I really like the 911. I'd love to own one. But take a look at a 911. What does the big badge on the back say? That's right, Carrera. It's a Porsche Carrera. The 911 designator was simply the internal numbering used at the time. It was originally going to be the 901, but Peugeot claimed the rights for car model numbers with "0" in the middle (ironically, Mr. Broccoli's estate came down like a ton of bricks on Peugeot's attempt to name a car the "1007"). Porsche then just decided on 911. Luckily, in my opinion, as 901 doesn't have much of a ring, but 911 does. It was followed up with a 912, and a 930 was the turbo. The numbers kept going up. But 911 stuck.

This is the beginning of my one man crusade - it's the Carrera from now on! At least until I own one. Then it will be the 911, of course.