10 Awesome Porsche 911 Variants: From Classic To Modern Masterpieces

Aug 09, 2023

Over the years, Porsche has truly perfected the 911 formula, and they've built some awesome variants along the way.

The Porsche 911 is more than just a car to us enthusiasts. It is an emotion that can hardly be put into words. It started its life as just another sports car from Germany, with its engine in an unorthodox place. That eccentricity is still the Porsche 911's USP, and it's the best thing about it. Porsche perfected the rear-engined format over the years. So much so that we find ourselves scratching our heads and wondering if this is indeed the best layout for a sports car. Basic physics tends to disagree and point more towards front-engined or mid-engined as the ideal format. However, over the last 60 years, Porsche has been defying physics and blowing our minds with the 911.

The Porsche 911 is one of the oldest names, and it has been through a monumental level of evolution since its inception in 1963. Despite this, the 911 has stayed true to its winning recipe, and it yet unmistakably features the iconic silhouette that we fell in love with 60 years ago. Take the 911 out of the picture, and Porsche becomes just another German carmaker with a fetish for driver's cars. It is the quintessential sports car and inarguably the best sports car of all time. The Porsche 911 has always been available in different iterations, with the range-topping versions entering the supercar territory with their otherworldly performance.

There are an infinite number of Porsche 911 models out there, and narrowing it down to the best 10 is nearly impossible. Every Porsche 911 is special in its own way and quite honestly, there is a Porsche 911 for everyone. But still, we try to rank the best Porsche 911 variants from classic sports cars to modern track monsters:

Let's kick this off with a modern Porsche that got everyone on this planet excited, even non-Porsche people, for all the right reasons. The 991 Porsche 911R was a throwback to the original 911R, a homologation special from yesteryear. The new one is basically a GT3 but with a sweet manual gearbox (a comeback and a huge feat back then), clean bodywork devoid of any wings along with an unwavering focus on driving nirvana. This is the peak modern Porsche 911 and the best car for someone who loves to drive. The 4.0-liter flat-six engine sings and makes 493 hp at 8,250 rpm and 339 lb-ft of torque at 6,250 rpm, enough for a zero to 60 mph time of just 3.7 seconds.

Lovingly known as the widowmaker, the 930 Porsche 911 Turbo is the first 911 to feature forced induction, and the result was so intense that it was a vicious killer back in the day. The turbo kicked in at around 3000rpm, taking the driver by surprise after a long waiting time thanks to turbo lag. This huge boost dump coming in hot around a corner proved fatal, and the Turbo developed up to 325 hp and 319 lb-ft of twist from its 3.3-liter flat-six turbocharged unit. The 930's design is also iconic with the whale tail which improved aerodynamics and also housed an intercooler. The 930 Turbo still remains one of the classic Porsches that is not for the faint-hearted.

A byproduct of some stringent homologation requirements resulted in one of the best and the rarest classic Porsche 911 models, the 911 ST. In its last guise, it featured a bored-out 2.5-liter version of the flat-six, with an output of 270 hp to the rear wheels. The 911 ST is a standard 911S that was put on a heavy diet to achieve the curb weight of 1,848 lbs. But being a race car, it came with many competition add-ons including chassis bracing, roll cage, and plexiglass windows. Today, it is one of the rarest 911s out there, as Porsche only made 24 cars during its short production run between 1970 and 1971.

The last of the air-cooled generation, the 993 GT2 is a turbocharged monster of a 911 that developed over 400 hp. However, the 911 GT2 fades into oblivion when we look at its ultra-rare alter-ego, the Porsche 911 GT2 Evo. Only 11 cars left the factory and in a nutshell, it is literally a GT race car for the road and the real deal. The 3.6-liter twin-turbo flat-six engine punched out a colossal 600 hp to the rear wheels, with a top speed of 190 mph. Without any doubt, the 911 GT2 Evo is also the most absurd looking 911 with a massive wing and a wide body that is barely road legal. A clean example was sold for $1.4 M in 2017 and that should give you an idea of its rarity.

This is the 911 that started the whole GT3 saga back in 2003. The 996 Porsche 911 GT3 RS marks the point in history where Andreas Preuninger commenced the GT RS division at Porsche, responsible for some of the best supercars from Stuttgart. The 996 GT3 was made to homologate the GT3 RSR race car, and it featured a 381 hp 3.6-liter NA flat-six that helped this lightweight Porsche reach 60mph in 4.2 seconds and ultimately 190 mph. Today, it is a sought-after GT3 model and a 911 GT3 RS that delivers unassisted old-school driving thrills.

The 997.2 Porsche 911 GT2 RS is the modern incarnation of the widowmaker. This is a 911 turned up to 11 with a twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter flat-six engine that developed a solid 612 hp of output and 553 lb-ft of torque. Porsche made only 500 cars back in the day, and this was the 911 that gave hypercars nightmares. This ultimate 911 could reach 186 mph in just 28.9 seconds, along with a top speed of 205mph. It still remains one of the fastest and most outrageous 911s ever made.

Related: How Porsche Will Convince American 911 GT3 Owners For The Manthey Performance Upgrade

Porsche built and sold the 964 Carrera RS 3.8 to homologate the 3.8-liter RSR race car. The road-going Carrera RS 3.8 featured the seam-welded Turbo body shell with additional reinforcements to handle the extra punch. The chassis saw many changes such as progressive springs, Bilstein dampers, a lighter steering rack, thicker anti-roll bars, bigger brakes, and three-piece magnesium wheels. The crown jewel, the dry-sump 3.8-liter NA flat-six, pushed out 300 hp and 266lb-ft of twist to rear wheels through an updated clutch and lighter flywheel. Porsche built only 55 Carrera 3.8 RS cars, along with 51 Carrera 3.8 RSR models — a story for another day.

Related: A Closer Look At Eddie Van Halen's 2016 Porsche 911 GT3 RS

The Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 3.0 from 1974 is known as the ultimate G-body Porsche and a step up from the iconic Carrera RS 2.7. Only 50 cars were built by Porsche for top-tier privateer racing teams back in the day. Power comes from a Typ 911/75 engine, which is a 3.0-liter race engine developing 330bhp at 8000rpm! The 3.0 RSR tipped the scales at a mere 1984 lbs resulting in a stellar performance and a 0-60mph time of 5.0 seconds. What makes the RSR special is the chassis, which is a stripped-out one solely built for dominating the racetrack.

Some consider the Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 to be the best Porsche 911 of all time. And we understand why. It is genuinely the finest-looking 911 of all time, with the narrow body with the quirky ducktail spoiler. The 2.7-liter engine developed 210 hp and 188 lb-ft to the rear wheels in a chassis that weighed 2,450 lbs. The result of this was an impressive performance, with 0-60 mph coming up in 5.8 seconds. The RS also featured stiffer suspension, bigger brakes, and an aerodynamic body, making it a 911 with a purpose.

Related: Why The 997 Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0 Is A True Unicorn Among Sports Cars

How do we put it? The 997.2 Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0 is arguably the best modern Porsche 911 version and the peak 911 in terms of raw and unadulterated motoring. The 4.0-liter flat-six Mezger engine revved to 8500 rpm and made 500 hp and 339 lb-ft of torque while doing it. This is a radical Porsche 911 GT3 RS that lapped the famed Nürburgring in 7.24 minutes. While the howling engine certainly had something to do with that, the brilliant unassisted chassis, carbon-ceramic brakes, and rear suspension from the GT2 RS definitely helped. This is the Porsche 911 that will go down in the books as one of the best.

It has always been cars for Adithya that he drifted from his engineering career to become a full-time Motoring Journalist. He has over 5 years of experience working for a leading automotive publication (ZigWheels) in India as well as a prominent search engine (Bing). His hobbies largely revolve around anything that is associated with a touge.