By Derek Tam-Scott
Admit it: when you see someone whiz (or perhaps merely cruise) by you in a new Porsche 911, you think “what a dick”. Maybe he’s a businessman, or a techie; he’s trying to recapture his youth, or expressing the fact that not only is he having a mid-life crisis, but that he can afford to express it in a hopelessly impractical and overpriced object that, when you get down to it, is just an accessory. ...Or perhaps it’s an old-ish woman who has clearly indulged in plastic surgery yet still looks as though she would be better suited to navigating a big Buick station wagon (surely the word “driving” is not nearly nautical enough) with fake wood paneling on the side.
Surely you aren’t thinking: “the contour of the roof and the rear quarter window…it’s almost exactly the same as it was when the car was first introduced in 1963” or (if it’s a 1998 or earlier 911) “that door is exactly the same dimensions and uses essentially the same pressings as the door of the first 911”.
The fact of the matter is that today, the Porsche 911 is all of those things. It is a car, it is a sports car, it is a status symbol, it is the culmination of nearly 100 years of engineering experience, it is a modern expression of individuality, it is a piece of history, it is an icon…much more than merely a car then. While many other cars can claim to be one or several of these things, there are few cars that have such staying power, are as instantly recognizable, and are so culturally imbedded. Both culturally and among automotive enthusiasts, it is the quintessential sports car.
For over forty years, the Porsche 911 has been an iconic design. In addition to representing certain unique engineering dogmas, it has remained fundamentally unchanged in many striking and unusual ways.
I intend to begin by exploring the design of this car and the evolution that it has undergone since 1963 when it was first introduced. By exploring the car's unconventional packaging, in addition to the numerous details that have remained the same for so long, I will establish the unique durability of this concept, and through examining them, I hope to discover why the design has had such staying power. I also think it would be extremely interesting to explore how each of the iterations of the car has reflected the era in which it was produced, in addition to considering the ways in which the design refused to succumb to contemporary trends.
As an artifact, I think it will be interesting to consider the following:
- how the 911 epitomizes an entire genre of car
- its transformation from an obscure and idiosyncratic niche product to a universally recognized icon (and a fashion accessory as well)
- how, despite the numbers produced, there is an intimate relationship between the factory, the workers, and frequently, the owners as well. this makes it an interesting blend of modern automation and cottage industry pride of individuality and craftsmanship.
My primary source will be my own personal experience with and knowledge about these cars, which I have accrued over nearly two decades of living and breathing them. My other sources include many books, the cars themselves, internet forums (www.early911sregistry.org, for example), and interviews with individuals who have meaningful personal experience with the cars.
Thirty years of 911, depicting cars from approximately 1965, 1980, 1988 (This is actually a 959, an extremely rare limited edition car), 1994, and 1998.
A Brief History of Porsche and the 911
What was it like to own a 911 in Chicago in 1970?
Detail Notes: Driving Experience and Interior
Visit the Factory: Who builds the 911?
The Relationship Between a 911 and its Owner
Conclusions on the 911
Posted at Feb 19/2007 09:44PM:
Cori: Hi Derek, this looks good so far.
