1969 Porsche 911S

The Porsche 356 was rapidly approaching its development limits by the mid-1950s and its small-displacement four-cylinder engine effectively limited Porsche's racing program to contest class, rather than overall, victories. The successor to the 356 was based on sketches penned in 1959 by Ferdinand A. 'Butzi' Porsche, envisioning a larger, more powerful, and more comfortable model. During its development, it was internally code-named 'Technical Project 7' or simply 'T7.' Power was from a new 2.0-liter six-cylinder engine with a similar layout to that of the 356 design but incorporating the lessons learned from the company's Formula 1 racing program of the early 1960s.

Testing commenced in November of 1962 at Porsche's new Weissach facility and the following September, the '901' debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show. French automaker Peugeot objected to the naming scheme, heralding in the '911' designation. A four-cylinder model dubbed the 912 joined in 1965 to help smooth the transition from the four-cylinder 356 to the six-cylinder 911. The 911 was immediately tested in a number of racing venues around the world, including at the 1965 Monte Carlo Rally where Peter Falk and Herbert Linge finished a creditable fifth. British Porsche racer Vic Elford convinced Porsche's competition manager, Baron Huschke von Hanstein, to initiate a racing program for the new 911. Elford would earn a third-place finish at the 1966 Tour de Corse and won the UK's first-ever Rallycross event which was televised and generated immense excitement for the 911. In 1968, Elford won the Monte Carlo Rally and from there, the 911 would serve as the cornerstone of Porche's racing program, and many of the lessons learned on the track and international rally stages would directly benefit the road-going versions.

Introduced in 1966 for the 1967 model year, the high-performance 'S' or 'Super' gave rise to the lightweight racing variants that were highly successful in their respective classes. Upgrades endowed upon the 'S' included forged pistons with raised crowns, high-performance cams with increased overlap, enlarged valves, a compression boost, stronger connecting rods, high-performance chassis revisions, and many other improvements. Peak power was found higher in the rev range, with the 911S capable of a top speed in excess of 140 miles per hour. Porsche period advertising described the 911S as '…no car for the novice.' Road tests by Car and Driver revealed a zero-to-sixty mph time of 6.5 seconds, en route to a 15.2 second trip over the quarter-mile.

In 1968, the 911 line included the entry-level 911T or 'Touring,' with 110 horsepower, the mid-level 911L or 'Luxus' with 130 BHP, and the 911S or 'Super.' All three trim levels were offered in both coupe and Targa body styles. The following year, the 'L' was succeeded by the 911E, with the 'E' denoting the adoption of Einspritzung, German for fuel injection. Importantly, the Bosch mechanical system, shared with the 'S,' allowed Porsche to be the first German manufacturer to comply with the stricter emissions regulations in America.

The implementation of the B-Program in 1969 (produced from August 1968) led to a number of significant and noteworthy and positive upgrades. The wheelbase was extended by 57 mm to reduce the 'dumbbell' effect when cornering and the rear wheel arches were slightly flared to accept wider rims. Overall length remained unchanged with the rear wheels simply relocated aft via extended rear trailing arms. Along with improved passenger room, the primary purpose of these revisions was intended to stabilize handling during aggressive cornering.

The Porsche 911S was equipped with a single overhead cam flat-six cylinder engine displacing 1991cc. It had a Bosch Mechanical fuel injection system and a five-speed manual synchromesh gearbox. An independent suspension in both the front and rear. Flared rear fenders and wider six-inch wheels accommodated the newly enlarged and more powerful four-wheel disc brakes.

The base price for the 1969 911S was $7,695 for the coupe and $8,215 for the 2+2 Targa. For 1969, there were about 14,446 examples of the B-Series Porsche 911 produced.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2012