Porsche 911: 50 Years

In Porsche 911: 50 Years, bestselling author Randy Leffingwell celebrates a half-century of one of the world's premiere sports cars, focusing on the major themes that have defined Porsche's rear-engined wonder. Randy tells the whole story--design and development, racing and competition, engineering and technology, style and culture. All the iconic 911 models are included: the original 901 prototype that set the standard; the legendary RS models that made the little Porsche a dominant force on the world's racetracks; the infamous Turbo, the car that kept the performance flame alight during the dark, dismal decade of the 1970s; the fabled 959, the model that redefined the term sports car; the 993, last of the original air-cooled models; and the 996, 997, and 991, the liquid-cooled cars that brought the 911 into a new millennium. Beyond telling the story of the cars, Porsche 911: 50 years also spotlights the people behind them: Ferdinand Butzi Porsche, the son of legendary Porsche founder Ferdinand Ferry Porsche, who co-designed the instantly recognizable 911 shape; Peter W. Schutz, the Porsche CEO who saved the 911 from extinction; and Dr. Helmuth Bott, the engineering genius behind many of the groundbreaking technologies that have defined the 911, including fuel injection, turbocharging, and all-wheel-drive. Leffingwell also tells the story of the 911 community--the clubs and culture that surround the car. Together, all of these facets make Porsche 911: 50 Years the most essential book in any Porsche owner or fan's library.

“"Porsche 911: 50 Years is above all a celebration of a peculiarly individual car which in a rational world would never have existed and yet survived and prospered through a half century, evolving and adapting but never losing its highly distinct character. No other brand has ever managed this and Leffingwell's achievement is the focus he brings to this compelling story. Some of the face-to-face discussions the author was able to hold with current Porsche movers and shakers would have been impossible only a few years ago and this greater openness has extended to the company's image collection: the book is illustrated by a superb selection of previously unseen Archive photography. Leffingwell has created a splendid monument to the Porsche 911, which more than just the definitive sports car, has defied conformist pressures to become a symbol of endeavour and excellence." - Total911.com”

'an exhaustive history of the 911... I wholeheartedly recommend it.' Oversteer.org.uk

Randy Leffingwell wrote his first book, American Muscle, in 1989 while still on staff at the Los Angeles Times. Since then, he has authored another 47 titles for Motorbooks and its sister publisher Voyageur Press, including his most recent Complete Book of Porsche 911 and Corvette 60 Years. He has just finished Porsche 911: Fifty Years, a reexamination of the 911 story based on nearly two dozen new interviews. He lives in southern California, about 100 miles north of Los Angeles. Learn more about him on his website:

Porsche 911: 50 Years celebrates the first half-century of one of the world's premier sports cars. Author Randy Leffingwell has interviewed the key players involved in the creation and design of Porsche's rear-engined wonder and uncovered never-before-told stories about the development, production, and competition history of the cars, providing an inside look into every aspect of the 911. Covering every iconic 911 model-from the 901 to the RS models to the Turbo to the 959 to the 993 to the latest 991-this book tells the 911 story by combining Leffingwell's first-person interviewswith never-before-seen new and archival photography. All of this makes Porsche 911: 50 Years an essential book in any Porsche fan's library.

In Porsche 911: 50 Years , bestselling author Randy Leffingwell celebrates a half-century of one of the world's premiere sports cars, focusing on the major themes that have defined Porsche's rear-engined wonder. Randy tells the whole story--design and development, racing and competition, engineering and technology, style and culture. All the iconic 911 models are included: the original 901 prototype that set the standard; the legendary RS models that made the little Porsche a dominant force on the world's racetracks; the infamous Turbo, the car that kept the performance flame alight during the dark, dismal decade of the 1970s; the fabled 959, the model that redefined the term sports car; the 993, last of the original air-cooled models; and the 996, 997, and 991, the liquid-cooled cars that brought the 911 into a new millennium. Beyond telling the story of the cars, Porsche 911: 50 years also spotlights the people behind them: Ferdinand Butzi Porsche, the son of legendary Porsche founder Ferdinand Ferry Porsche, who co-designed the instantly recognizable 911 shape; Peter W. Schutz, the Porsche CEO who saved the 911 from extinction; and Dr. Helmuth Bott, the engineering genius behind many of the groundbreaking technologies that have defined the 911, including fuel injection, turbocharging, and all-wheel-drive. Leffingwell also tells the story of the 911 community--the clubs and culture that surround the car. Together, all of these facets make Porsche 911: 50 Years the most essential book in any Porsche owner or fan's library.

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