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Porsche 911 991 Safari Concept
The Porsche 911 Vision Safari a sports car-based rally car concept, designed and built by Porsche in 2012, based on the Porsche 911 (generation 991) and harkening back to the original car, the Porsche 911 SC Safari from 1978. Features a raised suspension, reinforced wheel housings and large bumpers.
The 991.2 911 Targa 4S is powered by the latest water-cooled 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged flat-six from Porsche, producing 420 hp and 368 lb-ft of torque. It can be optioned with a PDK seven-speed dual-clutch automatic (a seven-speed manual is standard) and all-wheel drive is standard. Whereas the two earlier generations of Targas were little more than 911 Carreras with large glass sunroofs, the 991-series Targa nailed the look and feel of the original.
Towards the end of the 996 production run, Porsche introduced the Turbo S, boasting even more power than the standard 996 Turbo — 450 PS (331 kW) and 620 N·m (457 lb·ftf)— courtesy of the X50 package being standard. The Turbo S was limited to approximately 1,500 units worldwide, of which 598 were coupé (hardtop) and 960 were cabriolet (convertible). It was available with a 6-speed manual or an automatic (Tiptronic S) transmission, driving power to all four wheels. The basic price is EUR 122,500 for the Turbo S Coupé or EUR 131,100 for the Turbo S Convertible. Sprints from zero to 200 km/h in 13.6 seconds.
Based on the 911S, the 911 R was produced by Porsche to compete in the FIA’s GT 2.0 category. To make it competitive, the 911R was powered by a flat-six engine, Type 901/22 from the Porsche 906, capable of 210 hp. It went on a diet too, with weight savings coming from everywhere, getting the 911 R down to just 1,800 pounds dry. Four prototypes were constructed after which Porsche had coachbuilder Karl Baur build another 20 customer cars. In the end, because of the modifications to the 911R, the FIA refused to homologate the car.
The 935 tribute car was a non-street-legal collector's car built in a series of 77 cars. It was built from the 911 991.2 GT3 R racing car, fitted with the engine and transmission from the 911 991.2 GT2 RS street car and with the bodykit showing some design details from the 935 cars. The problem: it was not as powerful as the 1978 935 was with even smaller engine and the modern car is much heavier, so the power-to-weight ratio was almost 60% better 40 years earlier.
For 2009, engine power is distributed to all four wheels via the same electronically controlled Porsche Traction Management system found previously only on the Porsche Turbo. The electronic controls respond to driving conditions even more instantaneously than the previously used hydraulically activated all-wheel drive system. The Carrera 4S model, with a 3.8-litre engine developing 355 bhp, can go from 0 to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds and has a top speed of 185 mph.
Of all the 1580 Carrera RS 2.7s, only 200 were made were ordered with this lightweight ‘Sports’ trim which made the car more responsive and purposeful. In many ways these few cars were the ultimate road-going Porsche of the 1970s. Known as the Sports, Lightweight or even the M471 option code, these cars had improved the power-to-weight ratio. Reports of 75kg were stripped from the standard model by fitting lightweight body panels and lightweight glass.