Porsche model numbers - where's the logic?

[daveknott5]

So, for 911 we had 996, then 997, and now 991. For Boxster/Cayman, we had 986, 987 and now 981 - where's the logic? anyone now why Porsche didn't just call them 998 and 988?

[AndyBrew]

pretty sure this has been discussed before, it might even have been me that raised the question, but the way I understand it every car Porsche develop has a number associated with it, a lot don't see the light of day, hence there will come a point when they run out of 900 - 999 numbers to use :-)

[sundayjumper]

See also: BMW have run out of "E" numbers and started using "F".

[daveknott5]

Ah ha, thanks chaps, I feel enlightened

[pikey]

I'm not !

I only understand 998 as a 997 successor

[theRossatron]

said:

I'm not !

I only understand 998 as a 997 successor

Perhaps there were 995 scrunched up pieces of paper on the drawing room floor before they came up with the 996?

[Rugbyman]

I thought it used to be the case that they were named after design drawing numbers - ie 924 was the 924th design drawing - then 944, 968, 993

but I believe that stopped with 993

[stevod]

^although started at 9xx, the first being the 901, although wasn't that renamed 911 just to satisfy Peugeot?

[Ady128]

Ducati did a 998. I don't know whether that's anything to do with it. And a 999?

[Tripe Bypass]

the 3 in 993, the 6 in 996/986, the 1 in 991/981 refers to the intended year of release. 998 will be the next 911 in 2018.

[LeighB]

Tripe Bypass said:

the 3 in 993, the 6 in 996/986, the 1 in 991/981 refers to the intended year of release. 998 will be the next 911 in 2018.

And the 964?

[_gez_]

Tripe Bypass said:

the 3 in 993, the 6 in 996/986, the 1 in 991/981 refers to the intended year of release. 998 will be the next 911 in 2018.

So how do you explain the 997?

[Roadrunner996]

Porsche have planned two 7 year life cycles for the 991 so if you don't like it now......

[Tripe Bypass]

_gez_ said:

Tripe Bypass said:

the 3 in 993, the 6 in 996/986, the 1 in 991/981 refers to the intended year of release. 998 will be the next 911 in 2018.

So how do you explain the 997?

The 997 wasn't a new platform.

[Dblue]

_gez_ said:

Tripe Bypass said:

the 3 in 993, the 6 in 996/986, the 1 in 991/981 refers to the intended year of release. 998 will be the next 911 in 2018.

So how do you explain the 997?

Exactly.
I dont think its anything other than coincidence.
The fact is that these are internal model/project references and there's no real logic to them.
911 is of course the original 9 model in the first place.

Sometimes Porsche use the 9 number as a model name sometimes (usually) they dont.
They haven't used all the possible numbers up by any means yet so they are filling in the gaps.

So to go from the beginning as far as I can recall;

901 - Original number for the 911. Contested by Peugeot and famously changed to 911.
904 - Racing car
906 - Racing car
908 - Racing car
912 - 4 cyl version of 911
914 - VW joint project
915 - gearbox name??
917 - Racing car
918 - Brand new hybrid hypercar
924 - Front engined 4 cyl 2+2
928 - front engined 8 cyl 2+2
930 - Original Porsche Turbo based on the 1970's impact bumper model 911
934 - Racing car
935 - Racing car
936 - Racing car
944 - 924 follow on
956 - Racing car
959 - Hi Tech Hypercar from the 80's intended as a basis for Group B competition
961 - Racing version of 959
962 - Racing car
964 - 1989 update of the 911
965 - Turbo version of the 964
968 - Heavily revised upgrade of 944
981 - New Boxster
986 - Original Boxster
987 - Mark 2 Boxster
991 - New 911
993 - Mid 90s update of the 911
996 - Late 90s watercooled update of the 911
997 - Early 00's update of the 911

There's quite a few more but what is clear is the despite being very German Porsche have absolutely no consistency with the allocation and use of the internal 9 code numbers.

And there's many numbers they haven't used as far as I know. I stand to be corrected.

Frankly they're all over the place!!

[Tripe Bypass]

I'm just repeating what I was told when I asked while doing some prototype work for Porsche 996/986 components in 1994. From the 993 onwards they were to incorporate the year into the platform code.

[RSGulp]

According to "Excellence was Expected" the earliest Porsche 'Type Number' (the first Porsche Office design) was:

Typ 7 - 1930-31 Wanderer 1.86 Liter Chassis

Other interesting ones are:

Typ 60 - 1934-41 Kdf-Wagen Small Car (later became what we know as the Beetle)
Typ 205 - 1942 180-tonne Tank, Maus
Typ 300 - 1944 Jet Engine to power V-1 vengeance weapon
Typ 687 - 1956 Gearbox for Vanwall Grand Prix car



P.S. Type '965' in 1988 was actually a 'planned range-topping four-cam twin-turbo 911 Carrera variant' with obvious '959' styling cues (pic below). '969' was the planned marketing designation for Type '965'. The original '965' was deemed to expensive and complex, so what we now know as the 965 (964 Turbo) was hurried in to the model line instead.

http://www.total911.com/news/the-rea-965/

[RSGulp]

Just found a Wiki so saves typing them all in...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_production_nu...

[mollytherocker]

Logic? Do you want too much logic in a Porsche? Have you seen an air cooled dash or where they put the 911 engine?

I love the idiosyncrasies of Porsches, in fact I often moan on here about the normalising of the cars in recent years.

Lets leave logic to ford and vauxhall shall we?

The best Porsches have laughed in the face of logic.

[Zyp]

sundayjumper said:

See also: BMW have run out of "E" numbers and started using "F".

And I thank the fk for that - my son seems to go all hyper when he gets into our E92.