PORSCHE

930 Turbo

The Porsche 930 Turbo was the turbocharged flagship of the 911 range, manufactured between 1975 and 1989 and born directly from Porsche's racing experiments with forced induction in the early 1970s. Originally conceived to homologate the marque's competition cars, the Porsche 930 Turbo reached the public in 1975 and instantly became the fastest and most exotic Porsche money could buy, instantly recognisable by its dramatically flared rear arches and the enormous "whale tail" rear spoiler that housed the intercooler. The first cars used a 3.0-litre flat-six fed by a single KKK turbocharger, with roughly 2,850 of these early 3.0-litre Porsche 930 Turbo models built between 1975 and 1977. For 1978 Porsche made its most significant change, enlarging the engine to 3.3 litres, adding an air-to-air intercooler and bigger brakes, and this definitive 3.3-litre Porsche 930 Turbo would run all the way to 1989, with around 17,792 examples produced. The car earned the fearsome nickname "the Widowmaker" thanks to its savage turbo lag followed by an explosive surge of boost that could snap the tail loose if a driver lifted mid-corner. For most of its life the Porsche 930 Turbo was sold only with a four-speed gearbox to handle the torque, gaining a five-speed only for its final 1989 model year. Across fourteen years the Porsche 930 Turbo defined the supercar of the 1970s and 1980s, and today it is a blue-chip collectible cherished for its raw, analogue turbocharged character.