Goodwood Celebrates 911

It’s a glorious day of Goodwood sunshine and taking centre stage at the Festival of Speed this year is the Porsche 911.

The iconic sports car is 50 years old and seven generations of the Porsche coupe are on display at the event in a unique sculpture.

The bespoke 911-inspired art piece is a highly distinctive ‘ installation’ and is displayed, as has become the tradition, prominently outside Goodwood House.

Over 820,000 911s have been built since 1963, and examples of each of its incarnations will be present at the Festival of Speed.

From the very beginning the car has been at home on race circuits and rally stages all over the world, earning a reputation as a quick and dependable winner. In fact, two thirds of the 30,000 race victories achieved by Porsche to date have been recorded by the 911.

Marking the first half-century of the Porsche 911 at Goodwood is hugely appropriate in the 20^th anniversary year of the Festival of Speed.  To date, the legendary sports coupe has featured at every single Goodwood Festival, from the first event in 1993 – when an unexpectedly high 27,500 enthusiasts turned-up– to the 185,000+ visitors that attended the world’s greatest celebration of car culture last year.

Special Edition Porsche 911

Porsche has announced a special edition 911 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the legendary coupe.

Based on the 911 Carrera S, the 50 Years Edition, it’s powered by a rear-mounted, 400bhp flat six engine with a wider body combined with a two-wheel drive chassis.

Just 1,963 will be built – to mirror the year the car first appeared in 1963. It will go on sale in Porsche dealerships from September after being revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

Like the first coupe, the 911 50 Years Edition combines a distinctive silhouette with a rear-mounted, flat-six engine and rear wheel drive.

Over seven successive generations, the Porsche 911 continues to resolve apparent contradictions – such as between tradition and innovation and performance and efficiency – andhas become renowned as the quintessential benchmark sports car.

This special anniversary 911 is based on the 911 Carrera S, but is clothed in the wider body – 44 mm broader across the rear wheel arches – that is typically reserved for the all-wheel drive Carrera 4 models.

The 50 Years Edition sprints from 0-62 mph in 4.5 seconds (4.3 secs with PDK) and can reach a top speed of 186 mph.

Two unique colours are available for this anniversary 911; a darker Graphite Grey and a lighter Geyser Grey metallic. Black is also available. Each of the cars has a ‘911 50’ badge finished in two-tone 3D-style on the rear lid.

New Porsche 911 Turbo

This is the latest Porsche 911 Turbo, which goes on sale in September priced at £118,349. The twin turbo model features a 3.8-litre engine that produces up to 550bhp in Turbo S form (£140,852).

It’s 40 years since the Turbo was first introduced, this new version has revised all-wheel drive running gear with active rear axle steering, adaptive aerodynamics, and full-LED headlights.

An entirely new, lightweight design chassis has a 100 mm longer wheelbase, riding on larger diameter 20-inch wheels. The 0-60mph is reduced to a staggering 3.2 seconds.

The Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC) active anti-roll system, which is offered for the first time on the 911 Turbo models, increases the dynamic performance potential even more. This system is standard equipment on the 911 Turbo S, together with the Sport Chrono Package Plus incorporating dynamic engine mounts, and Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes (PCCB). These are also each available on the 911 Turbo.

As a consequence, the 911 Turbo S shortens the benchmark lap time around the Nürburgring-Nordschleife to well under 7 min 30 seconds.