The Porsche 911 Story

“The Porsche 911 Story” by Paul Frere. 187 pp. 9 1/4 in 6 3/4 in., Patrick Stephens Ltd., Bar Hill, Cambridge, CB3 8EL. £4.95.)

Porsche history has by now been very well documented and that talented and industrious author, Paul Frere, has himself comributed “The Racing Porsches—A Technical Triumph”, from the same publishing house as this book is issued by. But the great 911 is a car that merits separate treatment and in his latest book Frere has covered everything that the most rabid Porsche 911 owner or admirer will want to have to hand.

He covers the birth of this model, its development in its earlier forms; and then he goes on to deal with ten years of flat-six development, up to things such as a Carrera RS that he timed to do 149 m.p.h and to accelerate from rest to 60 m.p.h. in 5 1/2 sec., to 100 m.p.h. in 13-sec., on to the Type 930 Turbo, Transmission evolution, suspension improvements, and body developments, and a résumé of the 911’s competition exploits and the 1976 racing models, (an-whale a book liberally provided with pictures (some in colour), drawings, power curves, and tabulated data, all very nicely reproduced and set out. Dr. Ferry Porsche has contributed the Foreword, and in writing the book Frere had the help of Dr. Fuhrmann, Managing and Technical Director, Dipl Ing H. Bolt, Chief of Development, and others who were liberal with stories of failure as well as of success, and of racing “secrets”. In consequence. this book is important motoring history and to Porsche 911 owners should be as indispensable as a handbook and considerably more readable. W.B.