1963 Porsche 901

The Porsche 901, the forerunner for the famous 911, was the first 'new' vehicle Porsche had ever produced. Prior to the 901, there was the 356. This vehicle had lived a relatively long lifespan and was nearing its end, both in mechanical capabilities and in appeal. Many variations of the 356 had appeared during its production-run, most improvements were mechanical with very few visual improvements. Albeit, the 356 was a very beautiful car and improvements to its design were not necessary.

In the Mid-1950's, the Porsche company began producing prototypes for the successor of the 356. The result was a vehicle built on the same unitary structure used for the 356 but with a new front suspension, front disc brakes, and a six-cylinder engine. The design was penned by Ferri 'Butsi' Porsche and was dubbed the 901. The name would not last due to the French company, Peugeot. Peugeot used the naming scheme where numbers were on the outside with a zero in the center. The 901 name was infringing on Peugoet's claim to the name, so the vehicle was designated 911 a year later. As a result, only a few Porsches used the 901 name.

The Porsche 901 was introduced to the public in 1963 at the Frankfurt Motorshow. The silhouette body was available only in fixed-head coupe form. In 1967 a Targa body style became available featuring a removable center roof section. The 1991 cc flat-six engine was air-cooled. It's 2-litre capacity was the same as its predecessor. The six-cylinder engine was chosen over the four to allow more room for growth and improvement in the future. Two Solex carburetors aided in the 130 horsepower output.

This time-tested design and unmatched performance have made the 901/911 a legend.

by Dan Vaughan

Coupe
Chassis number: 13327

In the early 1960s, Porsche prepared to introduce a new model that would eventually replace its venerable 356. Over the years, several early design and engineering studies were built, based in part on 356 principles.

As production of the new model approached, Porsche reserved ten consecutive 'replacement chassis' numbers for pre-production cars. Factory records show that only four numbers were actually assigned to bodies, and only one is still known to exist - chassis number 13327, the vintage Porsche on display at the New York International Automobile Show.

As a prototype, this car exhibits noteworthy detail differences from the later production versions. Its manual sunroof slides forward to open, in contrast to the electrically-operated, rearward-opening roof that went into production. Instruments are housed in two pods, rather than the large central tachometer and four flanking gauges which have always been a trademark of the production Porsche 911. On the prototype, hot air was ducted to the side window sills to keep the glass free of condensation; early 911s were not so equipped. The front lid is counterbalanced by torsion bar springs, and the engine cover is held open by coil springs; the production version would adopt gas struts to hold the lids open.

Many components of Porsche #13327 are immediately recognizable to 356 owners. A passenger assist handle from the 356 C model is attached to the right A-pillar. The steering wheel and horn ring were also taken directly from the late 356 models. Its braking system, too, is taken over nearly unchanged form the last of the 356 line, the 356 C.

Porsche has always prided itself on cars that are 'made by hand,' but nowhere is this more evident than on this prototype 911. The fuel tank is built up using more than 20 hand-formed steel panels, welded together to form a single fuel cell. The door sills and seat rails are also hand-made, with abandoned seat mounting holes and file marks in evidence. The car was obviously the object of extensive experimentation. Over time, several different, mutually exclusive heating and ventilation systems, including a gasoline heater, were installed; experiments finished, the abandoned openings were sealed by small aluminum plates.

In the exotic world of hand-crafted, custom-bodied automobiles, it is not unusual for two cars to have apparently identical but subtly different bodies or even to exhibit dimensional differences from side to side. The first 911 showed some of these trails, indicating that it was built to a tight schedule, possibly from one of the major European auto show of early 1964. Some trim items vary dimensionally from side to side, and the backs of the gauges bear a September 1963 date stamp.

by Vehicle^s Owner

Coupe
Chassis number: 13327

The stunning Porsche 901 Prototype may at first appear to be an early 911. But in fact, it is the oldest remaining 911, one of ten hand-built test vehicles constructed prior to the start of production of the 911. It is the only 911 Prototype known to exist. Upon close examination, one can still see the holes left throughout the car as various components and their placements were tried. The instrumentation cluster is unusual, different from any 911 produced in the intervening 44 years. The factory engineers gave her the nickname of 'Barbarossa.' After service as a prototype and showcar, she was owned by Richard Von Frankburg, the Editor of the factory newsletter Christophorus. Note: the sunroof retracts forward.

When Porsche decided to replace the 356 with the 911 in the early 1960's, the question arose as to whether an open car should be offered to replace the popular cabriolet. By 1964, Porsche had already built its thirteen 901 pre-production Coupe prototypes. Since Karmann had historically built all 356 Cabriolets for Porsche, the decision was made to commission an open 901 prototype body in June of 1964.

The completed body was delivered to Porsche Research in September of 1964 and development of different types of open concepts began on this car. At a Porsche Management Board meeting on February 1, 1965, they decided to go with the innovative Targa concept for the open 911, using this car as the primary example and test bed. A second Targa prototype was then commissioned and both were on the Frankfurt Auto Show stand in November of 1965 when the Targa concept was introduced to the world.

This was found in Germany in 2000 and is in essentially the same condition it was when it left its vigorous regimen of factory testing. Porsche denied the existence of this car until it was proven by a German factory worker who remembered it.

Designed as a replacement for the venerable 356, the 901 was first introduced to the automobile world on September 12th of 1963, at the Frankfurt International Auto Show, with production beginning a year later off the Zuffenhausen assembly line. Just a month after introduction, the name was changed from 901 to 911, as Porsche was contacted by Peugeot's legal department claiming trademark infringement of using a 0 between two numbers.

Coupe
Chassis number: 13327

This Porsche, Barbarossa, as she was known to engineers, is the only survivor of the 13 pre-production prototypes built. It is the oldest existing 911 Porsche. As a prototype, this car exhibits noteworthy differences from the later production cars. Its manual sunroof slides forward to open, in contrast to the electrically-operated, rearward-opening roof that went into production. Instruments are housed in two pods, rather than the large central tachometer, and four flanking gauges which have always been a trademark of the production 911.

The front trunk lid is counterbalanced by torsion bar springs, and the engine cover is held open by coil springs, the production version uses gas struts to hold the lids open. Porsche has always prided itself on cars that are 'made by hand,' but nowhere is it more evident than on this prototype 911.

The fuel tank is built up using more than 20 hand-formed steel panels, welded together to form a single fuel cell, and the door sills are handmade of wood. The car was obviously the object of extensive experimentation. Hot air was ducted to the side window sills to keep the side glass free of condensation.

Several different mutually exclusive heating and ventilation systems, including a gasoline heater was installed, and when the experiments were finished, the abandoned openings were sealed by small aluminum plates. After service as a prototype, Barbarossa was used as a road car by Richard Von Frankenberg close friend of Professor Porsche.

Coupe
Chassis number: 13326
Engine number: 9-00-022

Porsche's second series-production car began as the 901; its numerical reference changed to the 911 with the sale of the first production cars in late fall of 1964. Among the 901 prototypes, this is prototype number 6, which was showcased at the 1964 Geneva Auto Salon. It was the first prototype to feature the new dashboard that became the actual 901 dashboard. Like its predecessor, the eventual production car was destined to be a rear-engined 2+2, but it was more comfortable and quicker, powered by a 2.0-liter flat-six. After its debut, this prototype was driven for a time by Ferdinand Piech, the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche. Piech was then a mechanical engineering graduate in his early years with Porsche, but he would rise to become Chairman and CEO of Volkswagen Group. Thereafter this prototype passed through the hands of Hans Mezger, and Walter Vetter, who crashed it. Alois Ruf purchased the damaged car in 1964, fixed it - and has kept what was his first Porsche to this day.