As part of my job, I’m sometimes whisked halfway around the world to sample the newest cars out there. On this occasion, however, it was different. In celebration of 50 years of Turbo, Porsche wasn’t letting me drive some upcoming vehicle or prototype. Instead, they brought out several cars straight from their museum including this 1975 Porsche 911 Turbo.
Designed, engineered, sold, and discontinued even before I was born—this is the OG Turbo. This is the stuff not just of bedroom posters, but of legend as well. Its gut-punching, giant-killing performance also earned it another nickname: the Widowmaker.
First, a bit of history. Porsche had been using and developing turbocharger technology in motorsports since the 70s. Fresh from their first victory at Le Mans, they soon set their sights on the North American Canadian American Challenge Cup or Cam-Am. The carmaker was going to use the 917—already a highly successful racecar, but the question was: which engine do you use? There were two finalists: an air-cooled normally-aspirated 16-cylinder or a turbocharged flat-12. Thanks to the development of the wastegate, which prevented the turbo from developing excess boost during partial load and on overruns, it helped tip the scales in favor of the turbo. The final deciding factor? The 4.5-liter flat-12 was lighter and more compact too.
When BMW showed off a gullwing sportscar concept built to commemorate the 1972 Munich Olympics called the BMW E25 Turbo, Porsche wouldn’t take that sitting down. Wanting a direct connection with their successes on the racetrack and the open road (while beating BMW to the showroom floor in the process), the decision was made to shoehorn the turbo into the 911.
In September 1973, Porsche showed it off as the 911 RSR Turbo. Almost a year later, Ferry Porsche gave his sister, Louisa Piëch a one-off 911—the Turbo No. 1—that used a turbocharged 2.7-liter flat-6. A few months after that, the production 911 Turbo appeared for the first time. Its front and rear suspension were derived from the 911 Carrera RSR racecar of the time, but most important of all, its 3.0-liter flat-6 produced 260 horsepower at 4,000 rpm and 343 Nm of torque from 4,000 to 5,000 rpm.
Those numbers seem pedestrian today, but in 1974, those were genuine supercar numbers. 100 km/h came in at just 5.5 seconds which made it as quick as a Lamborghini Countach. Top speed? 250 km/h. Capable as the 911 Turbo was, it had none of the high-strung, melodrama typically associated with exotic cars. Like all the Turbo models that came after it, it was about fusing uncompromising sportiness with everyday usability.
Yet, for all the 911 Turbo’s claim of being a daily driver, don’t mistake it for being civil. It was nicknamed the Widowmaker due to several crashes and deaths that can be attributed to its handling characteristics. Driving one, they said, was like being on the knife’s edge. Apply too much throttle and the heavy rearend would swing outward, like a pendulum, causing it to spin out.
This brings us to this Ice Green Metallic 911 Turbo—one of the first 30 production Turbos ever built. Originally delivered to a French customer, the Porsche Museum, in this rare circumstance, purchased it since they didn’t have an early 911 Turbo in their collection. It came fitted with standard luxury car accoutrement of the time—leather seats, air conditioning, and power windows. Heck, it even had a power antenna that telescopes out of the front fender whenever the Blaupunkt cassette deck was switched on.
Its infamous reputation meant my first few kilometers were taken at a cautious pace, perhaps too cautiously as my Turkish journalist carmate, Okan Altan could attest to. To my defense, after just driving the current 911 Turbo, the 997.1, going back to the 50-year-old original needed more than just a couple of minutes of readjustment.
As the rest of the Turbo convoy sped off, it was time to up the pace. A few kilometers in, I was happy playing around with the throttle, diligently checking the tach to make sure I don’t overrev it. Surprisingly, I found the engine remarkably tractable. It was happy to cruise along at 2,000 rpm at fourth gear. Drop the clutch and swap a cog down, however, and it takes on a different personality. As the turbocharger delivers pressure into the induction system, you’ll see the speedometer climb. And with limited gears to play with, you’re just in it for the ride after you floor the accelerator.
By modern car standards, the sledgehammer blow whenever the turbocharger comes on isn’t there. But there’s still a noticeable difference whenever the car goes off or on boost. Whenever the turbo sings at its octave, quick progress is assured even in areas of the Autobahn with derestricted speeds. With a four-speed manual, it’s made for hardcore acceleration. First gear allows runs to 80 km/h, second to 145 km/h, and third to almost 209 km/h.
Keeping the revs up sounds simple enough, since you can tackle most winding roads using just second and third gear. However, the limited ratios and the turbo’s limited operating range, also means that you’ll inevitably drop boost pressure if you scrub too much speed mid-corner. It takes quick hands, big balls, and trust in the Almighty God to drive this sportscar right. It doesn’t tolerate sloppiness or half-heartedness. The only way to drive it is with a bit more speed and full of confidence.
It sounds counterintuitive, especially in a 50-year-old car, but you must carry a bit more momentum through a corner. And mind you, you don’t do that by lifting off the gas pedal; doing so instigates the dreaded pendulum effect. Rather, you want to maintain drive to the rear wheels, to keep them under load. At the same time, you don’t want to send too much torque to the back to send the car sideways. It’s a constant reminder to obey the laws of physics; to toe a fine line as you take each switchback at speed. With no ABS, traction control, or stability control, the only computer you can rely on to keep this 911 in check is the one in your head.
Driving the first-ever 911 Turbo ticks off one for the automotive bucket list. As the world’s first series-production sportscar with an exhaust-gas-controlled turbocharger, it was one of the fastest cars of its time. Sampling one on the roads around Stuttgart connects me not just with the road, but also with a history that goes back 50 years.
What’s even more impressive than its place in automotive history is that the 911’s recipe for success hasn’t changed much in the eight generations of Turbo since. Constant technical evolution has always been the most important secret of success and it’s a formula that looks to bring Porsche and the 911 just one step closer to the perfect sportscar in the years or even decades to come.
Classic is in.
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