Porsche 911 Turbo #1 (1974), chassis no. 911 560 0042, last owner, late Louise Piëch, now museum car, originally fitted with 2.7-l engine.
1974 Porsche 911 Turbo #1 chassis no. 911 560 0042. First owned by the late Louise Piëch (older sister of Ferry Porsche), the car is now on display in the Porsche Museum
In 1973, the Porsche 911, by now a decade old, was ready for a make-over. The 3-litre engine had reached its development ceiling, and it was thought that lessons learned from turbocharging the 917 Can-Am racers in the early ‘70s could be put to good use in a production environment. Turbocharging the 911 would open a world of new opportunities for the model, and today Porsche are widely regarded as world leaders in the field of turbocharging.
1974 Porsche 911 Turbo #1 chassis no. 911 560 0042. First owned by the late Louise Piëch (older sister of Ferry Porsche), the car is now on display in the Porsche Museum
But back in the early ‘70s the world was changing on many different fronts. Russia sent its Luna 21 module to the moon, and the US launched Pioneer 11 to study the distant planets Jupiter and Saturn. The first mobile (cell) phone call was made in New York, while Chrysler and other US motor manufacturers closed a number of car plants affecting 100,000 workers. OPEC stunned the world when they announced a two hundred per cent increase in the price of oil. While these big events hit the headlines around the world, the relatively small Stuttgart motor manufacturer, Porsche, was about to announce its own big news story, the introduction of the 911 Turbo, at the 1974 Paris Motor Show.
1974 Porsche 911 Turbo #1 chassis no. 911 560 0042. First owned by the late Louise Piëch (older sister of Ferry Porsche), the car was photographed in the underground car park of the Porsche Museum where it is now on display
The principle of forcing air into the combustion chambers to boost power may seem like an obvious solution to us today, but to get this system working efficiently and at reasonable cost on a production car in the 1970s, was not without its difficulties. This not insignificant obstacle might account for the reason why, up to that point, no other manufacturer had really put this technology into practice on a production car, until that is, Porsche proved that it could be done.
1974 Porsche 911 Turbo #1 chassis no. 911 560 0042. First owned by the late Louise Piëch (older sister of Ferry Porsche), the car is now on display in the Porsche Museum
The story of turbo power at Porsche started with the 917/10 Can-Am Spyder race car. Firstly, George Follmer made the American series his own in 1972 driving the Penske 917/10, scoring twice as many points as Denny Hulme in the McLaren M20. This was followed in 1973 by Mark Donohue who steamrollered the series with the 1100hp Penske Sunoco 917/30, scoring more than double Follmer’s points that season. Of course, development and testing on these race cars would have taken place during 1971 in order for the turbo system to be ready for the 1972 season, but the engineers must have already had one eye on a production car application.
Can-Am Round 8, Los Angeles GP, Riverside, 28 October 1973: Driving the #6 Penske Sunoco Porsche 917/30 (chassis #003), Mark Donohue powers his way to victory in the final round of the 1973 championship which he dominated, winning six of the eight rounds convincingly
Following a runaway success with turbo power in competition, it wasn’t long before the technology found its way into the realms of the production department and in 1973, the 911 Turbo prototype was shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show for the first time. This was a decade after the introduction of the 911 model at the same show, a minor milestone in itself, and a year later the Turbo was shown at the Paris Motor Show.
1974 Porsche 911 Turbo #1 chassis no. 911 560 0042. First owned by the late Louise Piëch (older sister of Ferry Porsche), the car is now on display in the Porsche Museum. On the day of the photo shoot, the car had to be removed from its position on display in the Museum, and taken down into the underground car park to be photographed
Louise Piëch (née Porsche) was Ferry Porsche’s sister and married to Anton Piëch, one-time head of the Volkswagen factory at Wolfsburg. For Louise’s 70th birthday on 29 August 1974, the Porsche factory gave her the very first 911 Turbo produced in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. The silver car, chassis #9115600042, was fabricated just prior to the annual August shutdown on 17 July 1974 but, as with all Porsche prototypes or racing cars, they do not adhere to the traditional production model years.
1974 Porsche 911 Turbo #1 chassis no. 911 560 0042. First owned by the late Louise Piëch (older sister of Ferry Porsche), the car is now on display in the Porsche Museum
The early chassis number above which has a ‘911’ prefix would appear to support the plans for limited production of the Turbo model. A limited production run after all, would not require additional expensive chassis and body modifications. This plan for limited production of the Turbo would prove to be a complete underestimation of the market’s hunger for a high-performance 911. The series soon took on its own ‘930’ prefix that commenced with the first production cars in 1975 – for example, #9305700001, where the first three digits identify the turbo model, and the ‘5’ refers to the model year.
1974 Porsche 911 Turbo #1 chassis no. 911 560 0042. First owned by the late Louise Piëch (older sister of Ferry Porsche), the car was photographed in the underground car park of the Porsche Museum where it is now on display
Delivery of the first Turbos to customers started in March 1975 but initially the factory planned a production run of just 500 units. This decision must be seen in context with the times as, at around DM65,000 each (about $24,000), the Turbo cost almost the equivalent of two 911 Carreras. The automotive world had also just been turned on its head by the oil crisis a year or so before, but the response of the public to the 911 Turbo was overwhelming. The first batch of 500 cars was sold out almost before you could say ‘wheel spanner’ and so a second run of 500 cars was commissioned, followed by a third.
1974 Porsche 911 Turbo #1 chassis no. 911 560 0042. First owned by the late Louise Piëch (older sister of Ferry Porsche), the car was photographed in the underground car park of the Porsche Museum where it is now on display
The Piëch car has several unique identifying features. Firstly, and in support of the plans to produce just a limited number of cars, a standard narrow-chassis 911 Carrera body was used. This is evidenced by the ‘Carrera’ badge that the car still wears on the engine cover. Secondly, this car sports a rather ambitious 10,000rpm rev counter which was taken from a race car, and this was done quite possibly because there was one to hand. Both the regular 911 Carrera, as well as the production Turbo, were fitted with a rev counter that was only marked up to 8000rpm with a recommended usable limit of 7200rpm.
1974 Porsche 911 Turbo #1 chassis no. 911 560 0042. First owned by the late Louise Piëch (older sister of Ferry Porsche), the car has covered just 31,999km. Note the rev counter marked to 10,000rpm and the 300km/h speedo
A third, and unexplained feature in this car was the engine, which was originally a 2687cc turbocharged unit and not the 3-litre engine as used in the 911 Carrera at the time, and later in the production Turbo when it was launched in ’75. Despite the best efforts of all concerned at Porsche today, no-one could explain why this 2.7-litre engine was first installed, but suffice it to say that a 3-litre turbocharged engine does now reside under the engine lid.
1974 Porsche 911 Turbo #1 chassis no. 911 560 0042. First owned by the late Louise Piëch (older sister of Ferry Porsche), the car was originally fitted with 2.7-l engine but now has the correct 3-litre engine
The Piëch car’s odometer reads 31,999km, so this car was obviously well used and not just parked up. This fact is also supported by the presence of the Austrian vehicle authorities’ autobahn tag on the front right fender which shows that it was registered in that country for road use in August 1979. The Porsche and Piëch clans have a family home at Zell am See in Austria, and no doubt this car was used on a few trips back and forth between the family home and Stuttgart.
1974 Porsche 911 Turbo #1 chassis no. 911 560 0042. First owned by the late Louise Piëch (older sister of Ferry Porsche), the car is now on display in the Porsche Museum – note the Austrian vehicle authorities’ autobahn tag
When your family name is written on the factory building it is a little easier to get your new vehicle ordered with the colours and options of your choice, especially if these differ from the standard options list. With this in mind, Louise Piëch selected the McLaughlin tartan interior finish to match the silver exterior colour, which, upon reflection, is a handsome combination. During the research for this article at the Porsche Museum, the author asked if they had any evidence of the original paint and interior colour samples. This request prompted a flurry of activity in the depths of one of the storerooms, and before long, wearing a broad smile, my contact emerged with the official interior colour chart for the Piëch car showing the owner’s name and date (17.7.74) of implementation. I was informed that these early vehicle detail cards were only kept for cars destined for the Porsche and Piëch families, and other senior company officials or dignitaries.
Factory colour sample card showing the different interior coverings and upholstery colours chosen by Louise Piëch for the 1974 Porsche 911 Turbo #1 – dated 17.7.74
Traditionally the Stuttgart manufacturer had adopted a fairly conservative approach to colours and styling, but at this time Porsche was experimenting with some external styling and decoration. In 1973, the Carrera RS 2.7 appeared with some bold scripting along the bottoms of the doors and some almost brash optional lettering was even available for the front luggage compartment cover. It is therefore perhaps no surprise to also find the tartan styling applied to the name Porsche running along the bottom of the door of the Piëch Turbo, in fact it was all rather typical for the ‘70s.
1974 Porsche 911 Turbo #1 chassis no. 911 560 0042. First owned by the late Louise Piëch (older sister of Ferry Porsche), the car was photographed in the underground car park of the Porsche Museum where it is now on display
The fitting of impact absorbing bumpers in line with US Federal regulations posed more than a few problems for many manufacturers. Porsche designer Tony Lapine set about turning this potential problem into a styling success so as not to disturb the styling of the timeless lines of the 911, and it became a feature on all Porsches as from 1974. As from the 1976 model year (autumn 1975) the 911 received an electrically adjustable, heated, body-coloured exterior wing mirror but, as the Piëch 911 was produced in ’74, this car’s mirror may have been retro-fitted.
1974 Porsche 911 Turbo #1 chassis no. 911 560 0042. Note the impact bumpers on this model
Of course, one of the 911 Turbo’s most prominent characteristics is its large rear spoiler. Porsche was the first manufacturer to introduce the concept of a rear spoiler on a roadgoing sports car, when it appeared on the 911 Carrera RS 2.7 in 1973. The rear wing was received with mixed feelings at first, as there were those who said it spoilt the classic lines of the 911, while others said it gave the car a more aggressive look. Taking this concept a step further, two years later the Turbo’s rear wing was larger, flat and had a polyurethane rim to it which was required by the authorities, lest a passer-by should walk into the protrusion injuring themselves on a sharp corner! Some years later, this wing had been further developed in that it remained submerged in the engine lid for low speed driving, extending automatically at higher speeds.
1974 Porsche 911 Turbo #1 chassis no. 911 560 0042 showing the familiar rear wing of the Turbo model
Factory records show that in May 1977 a service was carried out on the Piëch 911 Turbo, at which stage the odometer read 30,500km. The following year Louise Piëch handed the vehicle back to the factory to become part of the Museum collection. Considering the Turbo’s odometer reading of 31,999km today, it is interesting to note that most of the distance travelled by this car was in fact done by Mrs. Piëch prior to it entering the Museum collection in ’78.
(Above and right) 1974 Porsche 911 Turbo #1 chassis no. 911 560 0042 showing the bespoke front and rear interior colour scheme chosen by the late Louise Piëch. The car is now on display in the Porsche Museum
Turbocharging was responsible for much of Porsche’s success through the 1970s as the company sold 2850 units of the 3-litre model (1975-1977) and a whopping 14,500 of the 3.3-litre model (1978-1988). The Turbo model has expanded over the years to include the Targa, Cabriolet and Turbo-look derivatives, as well as powerful versions such as the ‘Slant nose’ cars. On the race track in the 1970s and 1980s, the 934 and 935 turbo-powered models rose to such prominence that they were almost unbeatable even against more powerful cars, as the victory of the Kremer 935 K3 in the 1979 Le Mans 24-Hour bears witness.
1974 Porsche 911 Turbo #1 chassis no. 911 560 0042. First owned by the late Louise Piëch (older sister of Ferry Porsche) – note the rev counter marked to 10,000rpm
From humble beginnings, the Turbo has grown far beyond the wildest dreams of its creators, and today enjoys its own niche following around the world. But then Porsche always were über-conservative in their estimation of the market’s reaction to new, radical and exciting products. Long may it continue…
1974 Porsche 911 Turbo #1 chassis no. 911 560 0042 first owned by the late Louise Piëch (older sister of Ferry Porsche). This car still carries a ‘Carrera’ badge on the engine cover, confirming that the body was taken from the standard 911 production line and built as a prototype
Technical specifications
Model
Porsche 911 Turbo No. 1
Year
1974
Engine capacity
2687cc
Compression ratio
N/A
Maximum power
240PS (176kW)
Maximum torque
N/A
Engine modifications
None
Transmission
4-speed
Suspension front
Independent suspension with wishbones and McPherson struts, one round, longitudinal torsion bar per wheel, hydraulic double-action shock absorbers, anti-roll bar
Suspension rear
Independent suspension with light-alloy semi-trailing arms, one round, transverse torsion bar per wheel, hydraulic double-action shock absorbers, anti-roll bar
Brakes front
Ventilated discs 282.5 x 20, 2-piston fixed aluminium callipers
Brakes rear
Ventilated discs 290 x 20, 2-piston fixed cast-iron callipers
