Porsche 911: 50 Years - Hardcover

by Randy Leffingwell (Author)

Best-selling 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.

• 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
• The 996, 997, and 991, the liquid-cooled cars that brought the 911 into a new millennium

Front Jacket

Porsche 911: 50 Years provides the Porsche fan with everything he or she could possibly want in a book. All the iconic 911 models are here: the original 901 prototype that set the standard; the legendary RS models that made the Porsche a dominant force on the world's race tracks; the infamous Turbo, the car that kept the peformance flame alight during the dark, dismal 1970s; the fabled 959, the Porsche that redefined the term "supercar"; 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 millenium. But more than just telling the story of these cars, author Randy Leffingwell tells the story of the people behind their creation: Ferdinand "Butzi" Porsche, the son of legendary Porsche founder Ferdinand "Ferry" Porsche who, along with Erwin Komenda, designed the instantly recognizable 911 shape; Peter W. Schutz, the Porsche CEO who saved the 911 from extinction; and Dr. Helmuth Bott, the mad engineering genius behind many of the groundbreaking technologies that have defined the 911, like fuel injection, turbocharging, and all-wheel-drive. This book also tells the story of the 911 community--the clubs and culture that surround the car. No Porsche fan will want to miss this fantastic book.
Author bio: Randy Leffingwell, best-selling Motorbooks author and renowned photographer, has earned a reputation as one of the most thorough Porsche historians working today. He has written and photographed over two dozen books on topics ranging from farm tractors to motorcycles to cars to barns.

Back Jacket

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.

Author Biography

Randy Leffingwell wrote his first book, American Muscle, in 1989 while still on staff at the Los Angeles Times. Since then, he has authored more than 50 other titles, covering subjects from sports cars to motorcycles to farm tractors. Leffingwell is considered one of the top transportation photographers and historians working today. Some of his previous best-selling Motorbooks titles include Art of the Corvette, Porsche 911: Fifty Years, John Deere: A History of the Tractor, and The Harley-Davidson Motor Co. Archive Collection (with Darwin Holmstrom). He lives in Santa Barbara, California.