Verdict
A
Sports · Germany · 1963-Present
Porsche 911
Porsche 911 — spec data and generation history.
Years
1963-Present
Generations
5
Segment
Sports
The most influential sports car of the past 60 years. Five post-1996 generations covered: 993 (1994–1998) — last air-cooled, M64 flat-six. 996 (1998–2004) — first water-cooled, fried-egg headlights, M96 flat-six (IMS bearing risk). 997 (2004–2012) — return to round headlights, M97 (.1) and 9A1 DFI (.2) flat-six. 991 (2012–2019) — first turbo Carrera (.2), 9A2 turbo flat-six. 992 (2019-Present) — current, MMB platform, 992.2 facelift 2024 added T-Hybrid (Carrera GTS). GT3 / Turbo / Turbo S covered separately. AWD = Carrera 4 / 4S / Turbo. RWD = Carrera / Carrera S / Carrera T.
What changed
Era-to-era deltas
991 2012-2019 → 992 2019-Present
BHP +30 bhp
Torque +50 Nm
0–60 mph −0.3 s
Top speed +0
MPG +2 mpg
Generations
Click any generation for the full deep dive
1994-1998
993
→
Carrera S 3.6 — 282 bhp, 0-62 in 5.4s.
Verdict
A
BHP
282
0–60
5.4 s
Top
168 mph
MPG
24.0 mpg
Used
£35,000-£90,000
- + Last air-cooled 911
- + M64 flat-six
- − Air-cooled service cost
- − Tiptronic mechatronic
1998-2004
996
→
Carrera 4S 3.6 — 320 bhp, 0-62 in 5.0s.
Verdict
B
BHP
320
0–60
5.0 s
Top
174 mph
MPG
24.0 mpg
Used
£15,000-£40,000
- + First water-cooled 911
- + Cheap entry
- − IMS bearing risk
- − Fried-egg headlights
2004-2012
997
→
Carrera 4 GTS 3.8 — 408 bhp, 0-62 in 4.4s.
Verdict
A
BHP
408
0–60
4.4 s
Top
191 mph
MPG
27.0 mpg
Used
£28,000-£70,000
- + Round headlights returned
- + 997.2 (DFI) post-2008 fixed IMS
- − IMS bearing on .1 cars
- − Coolant pipe (early)
2012-2019
991
→
Carrera 4 GTS 3.0 TT — 444 bhp, 0-62 in 3.6s.
Verdict
A
BHP
444
0–60
3.6 s
Top
193 mph
MPG
34.0 mpg
Used
£42,000-£105,000
- + First turbo Carrera (.2)
- + 9A2 flat-six TT
- − Carbon build-up
- − PDK mechatronic
2019-Present
992
→
Carrera GTS T-Hybrid — 534 bhp, 0-62 in 3.0s.
Verdict
A
BHP
534
0–60
3.0 s
Top
194 mph
MPG
28.0 mpg
Used
£70,000-£155,000
- + 992.2 facelift T-Hybrid (Carrera GTS)
- + PDK 8DCT / 7MT
- − Premium pricing
- − PCM 6 / 7 latency
Known issues by generation
Common faults reported on each generation — useful when shopping the used market.
1994-1998 · 993
- Air-cooled service costs
- Top engine mount
- Tiptronic mechatronic
- Collectability lifts cost
1998-2004 · 996
- IMS bearing failure
- RMS oil leak
- Plastic rear window pre-2002
- Fried-egg headlights polarising
2004-2012 · 997
- IMS bearing (.1 cars)
- Coolant pipe leaks
- PDK initial issues
- Cylinder bore scoring (rare)
2012-2019 · 991
- 9A2 turbo (.2) — too new for issues
- PDK 7DCT mechatronic
- PCM 4 software
- Carbon build-up
2019-Present · 992
- PCM 6 / PCM 7 latency
- PDK mechatronic
- New gen reliability data
- T-Hybrid (Carrera GTS post-2024) — too new
Rivals
BMW 8 Series · Mercedes-AMG GT · Porsche 718 Cayman · Aston Martin Vantage