Designer of the Porsche 911, Dies at 76 | Hacker News Reader

Designer of the Porsche 911, Dies at 76

nytimes.com

61 pointsmksm29 comments

"The Porsche 911 proved both an immediate and enduring hit, and the company has never replaced it, instead allowing the car to evolve over almost half a century."

Not quite. That was true till 1998, but the present 911 is just a similar-looking car with the same name, like the new Beetle, the new Mini, and the new Fiat 500.

Just out of curiosity, what makes the 996 and 997 models a different car from 993 and before?

Aqua

See the wikipedia[1] page. Basically, the 996 was a complete overhaul, new chassis, new engine (water cooled).

[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_911

I always liked the air cooled 911s myself because I remember playing with a MicroMachines 911[1] and they had all of the cool vents (which I guess are silly reasons), but man the new water cooled ones are fast. I think the eggplant headlight change from (I think) 97-01 was a bad move though. I'm glad they're back to the more traditional oval headlamps...

[1] http://www.toycollector.com/hwdphotos/uploads/1653/1691/Micr...

The evolving has happened mostly under the hood. You can't really see it but you sure feel it once you get behind the wheel.

You're saying that it stopped being evolution just because the engine finally went from air-cooled to water cooled? That seems like a feature upgrade, which is an evolution; not a new product.

It wasn't just the engine. The 996 was a new design. The 911 has been replaced twice, once in 1998 and once last year. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_911)

Sorry PG but you don't have the full story clear. The 911 is on its sixth major product evolution and to say that 996 was the first 'new design' is inaccurate. Kirk Seaman's retrospective here, while not complete, is a good starting point: http://blog.caranddriver.com/porsche-911-generations-the-leg...

to say that 996 was the first 'new design' is inaccurate

The article you link to calls the 996 the "first truly all-new 911."

Yeah, but it's like an axe. The 964 replaced the handle, the 993 replaced the head.

The 996 replaced both the head and the handle at the same time - but all 911s have evolved along the same lines,and the 996 just followed that line.

the 996 and the new 991 are all new designs, and not always for the better depending on your POV.

996: air cool -> water cool 991: hydraulic -> electric steering

Even from a physical standpoint the 996 on are positively large compared to 993 and earlier. Isn't a cayman about the same size as pre 90's 911s?

Those are two different things, though!

Refactoring the design was mandatory to meet statutory emission and fuel consumption limits. Moving to water cooling, reducing aerodynamic drag and using lightweight materials were all necessitated by this.

There's a DVD called "The Porsche Way" available at the Porsche Museum in Zuffenhausen in which F.A. Porsche himself defends the move to water cooling, justifying it with legislation.

As it is, Porsche already has to pay CAFE penalties in the US, and similar legislation exists in the EU as well, called Flottenverbrauch.

It's all a shame, there aren't enough 911s on the road for it to really matter what their emissions or fuel consumption are.

I'm in my mid-40s. When my dad was a kid, he always had a car lust for a Cadillac. When I was a kid, I had a car lust for a Porsche 911. I wonder what kids these days think would be the ultimate car? I presume a Tesla but I could be wrong.

Actually it hasn't changed that much. My cousins and other kids I know (age group 12-20) still like the newer Corvette's and 911's. Whenever they're putting up a supercar poster, its almost always a Lamborghini, one model or another going back right upto the Countach. Something about their design still holds the car-of-the-future attention in kids, even in 2012.

Don't forget those Lotus Elises and Exiges.

For the hairdressers.

More like right back to the Muira - the first, and to me the most beautiful, of the mid-engined supercars:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamborghini_Miura

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSj7GFLDhew

I'm all about the Acura NSX, the 20-year old car that still seems to be from the future.

But I'm a weirdo, most folks my age really like the Audi R8, and yes, the Tesla.

I'm 30 and i'd say Audi R8 and Aston Martin (doesnt matter which one ;) ).

I never got why people liked the Porsche cars, though. In my oppinion very uninspiring, even boring designs... But that's a matter of taste :)

R8 is a piece of art. Too bad, the waiting lists are over a year for that car. It would otherwise be sweeping the segment.

The Porsche is an experience that you just have to feel to "get". It's a similar aesthetic to Apple computers. A Porsche might not be the fastest, most expensive, or prettiest, but it is the /Porscheist/ :)

Very similar: Lotus. Try an Elise or and Exige some time. I'd love to have one set up for where I can really use it: on the track. IMO, any "street car" that does better than about 6sec 0-60 is wasteful on the street, and sadly most of these 911s are driven by lawyers and housewives of hedge fund managers who will never use them where they really shine.

It's interesting. I can see that the Audi R8 is a technical masterpiece and I find it visually attractive. However, I find it hard to get over the fact that it's an Audi and it shares design elements and some components with cars that I would consider to be quite mundane (e.g. standard A3). Marques like Aston Martin and Porsche seem more special to me because they only make 'special' cars - there are no mundane cars with these components or visual design.

If you are interested in Porsche and auto-manufacturing, then you will enjoy this episode of National Geographic Channel's Ultimate Factories [1] that features the manufacturing of the Porsche 911 GT3 [2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRwsKfQW7F0

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_Factories

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_911_GT3

Nothing was the same after 911.

The people downvoting this may wish to consider how it works not just as a cliche about September 11, but as a statement of the significance of Ferdinand Porsche's legacy....

It's a well placed double-pun.

Lets not lose our sense of humor while trying to keep HN topical. If the parent-parent comment isn't appropriate, then neither would this thread be.

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