Porsche 911: 50 Years [Hardcover]

InPorsche 911: 50 Years, bestselling authorRandy Leffingwellcelebrates 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. Randy tells the whole story--design and development, racing and competition, engineering and technology, style and culture. All the iconic 911 models are included: 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; and the 996, 997, and 991, the liquid-cooled cars that brought the 911 into a new millennium. Beyond telling the story of the cars,Porsche 911: 50 yearsalso spotlights the people behind them: Ferdinand Butzi Porsche, the son of legendary Porsche founder Ferdinand Ferry Porsche, who co-designed the instantly recognizable 911 shape; Peter W. Schutz, the Porsche CEO who saved the 911 from extinction; and Dr. Helmuth Bott, the engineering genius behind many of the groundbreaking technologies that have defined the 911, including fuel injection, turbocharging, and all-wheel-drive. Leffingwell also tells the story of the 911 community--the clubs and culture that surround the car. Together, all of these facets makePorsche 911: 50 Yearsthe most essential book in any Porsche owner or fan's library.

Randy Leffingwellwrote his first book,American Muscle, in 1989 while still on staff at theLos Angeles Times. Since then, he has authored another 47 titles for Motorbooks and its sister publisher Voyageur Press covering subjects from sports cars to motorcycles to farm tractors. Leffingwell is considered one of the top Corvette historians working today, and he enjoys a close wol³&