In 1984 the 911 celebrated it's 20th birthday. The 911 SC 3.0 was replaced by the new Carrera with a 3.2 engine. Although the bodywork, suspension, and most of the interior were taken from the SC the Carrera was in most aspects better then it's predecessor. It had more power, better brakes and was more luxurious.
After twenty years of producing the 911 it was expected that Porsche would come up with a new model to replace the 911. The new Carrera however proved the contrary, the 911 was just starting to mature. The model line-up was now really complete, with six styles to choose from. The new Carrera and Turbo could both be ordered as cabriolet, Targa or coupé, and in the next years even more models would become available.
One of the novities of 1984 was that the Carrera was now available with the wide body and spoilers of the Turbo. This 'turbo-look' was a real hit. The turbo-look was a lot cheaper than the actual Turbo but looked just as sensational and was equiped with the same chassis and brakes. Because of the increased wind-resistance and the wider tires the 'turbo-look' wasn't as fast as the regular Carrera, but the customers didn't really care. In 1986 the turbo-look also became available for the Targa and cabriolet.
In 1987 another limited-edition model was presented: the Carrera CS ( Club Sport ). This model was presented as a 'light-weight' model. This meant the car was equiped with only the bare essentials. Things like electric windows, electric seats, and radio were left out. The weight saving however wasn't spectacular ( as the weight saving on the '73 RS was ); the fabric claimed 50 kg less weight but in reality it was even less.
On the outside the CS was unmistakable with it bright graphics, and red wheels. Most where delivered in 'Grand Prix'-white, but it is known that some models have been sold in other colors. All were coupés, but one Targa that was custom built for a German client. In total 340 were produced.
Business was going well now for Porsche, and the 911 sold as never before. The management however wasn't looking at the future and was investing too much of the profit in the improvement of production. This allowed Porsche to sell even more cars, and make more profit, but unfortunately there wasn't enough money spent on the development of new technology and Porsche enthousiasts were disappointed in not seeing new features and technologies on the car. Porsche was losing exlusivity in the favour of short-term profits. Porsche didn't realise however that their new found clientele wouldn't be in the market for very long. All the yupies that were now buying 911's weren't interested in technology or history, they were just buying the latest trendy car. Trends change however, and in 1989 the sales had dropped to 7.000 cars compared to 17.000 in 1987.
In 1988 however things were still looking good, when the limited-edition 'Silver Anniverary' model was presented. This model featured diamand-blue metallic paint, with matching wheels and a silver-blue leather interior with Ferry Porsche's signature written on the headrests. The Silver Anniverary was available as coupé, Targa and cabriolet. 300 were built.
The last year of the 3.2 engine was also the most spectacular. Porsche introduced a new Speedster. Just like the 356 Speedster the Carrera 3.2 Speedster was based on the cabrio, but had a lower and flatter windscreen and a simpler manual top that folded beneath a fiberglass cover. The turbo-look was optional for the Speedster and it was so popular that only 171 of the 2065 produced were delivered without it.
The speedster was a very basic car. It didn't have electric windows, seats, and other electrical toys. The standard speedster was said to be 70 kg lighter than the standard car, but in reality it was only 40 kg. When the car was ordered in the turbo-look the weight difference was reduced to zero.
The 911 was standard equiped with 'dial'-wheels, but the Fuchs wheels were also available in black, white, or platinum-metallic. After 1988 the 'dial'-wheels disappeared and Fuchs-wheels were ( again ) standard.
engine | |
1984-1989 911 Carrera 3.2 (european) |
1984-1986 911 Carrera 3.2 (US & Japan) |
1987-1989 911 Carrera 3.2 (US & Japan) |
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weight | |
1984-1986 911 Carrera 3.2 (european) 1984 911 Carrera 3.2 (US & Japan) 1987-1989 911 Carrera 3.2 (european) 1987-1989 911 Carrera 3.2 (US) 1987-1988 911 Carrera 3.2 (Japan) 1987 911 Club Sport (european) 1988-1989 911 Club Sport (european) 1988-1989 911 Club Sport (US) 1989 911 Speedster (european) 1989 911 Speedster (US) |
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* All Targa's and Cabrio's weighed 50 kg more. |
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wheelbase | |
All models |
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Track (front / rear) | |
Normal models Turbo-look <1986 Turbo-look 1986> |
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Length, Width | |
All models |
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