The Porsche 930 was built for racing rules and earned a grim nickname
Porsche built the first 911 Turbo mainly to satisfy racing paperwork, since new rules demanded 400 road cars before a racer could compete. Buyers loved it anyway. It was the fastest production car in Germany, and so tricky to drive that it became known as the Widowmaker.
Porsche had been testing turbocharging on race cars since the late 1960s and began work on a turbo 911 in 1972. When motorsport's governing body ruled that the relevant racing classes needed a production car sold through dealers, with 400 built within 24 months, a road-going turbo became necessary. Engineer Ernst Fuhrmann took turbo technology from the 917/30 Can-Am racer and applied it to a 3.0 litre flat-six, creating the car known internally as the 930. It was unveiled at the Paris show in October 1974 and went on sale in spring 1975.
It gained a wide body, big brakes and a whale-tail spoiler that fed air to the engine and pressed down the rear. The first car went to Ferry Porsche's sister Louise Piëch for her 70th birthday. But a short wheelbase, an engine hung behind the rear axle and sudden turbo lag made the car prone to oversteer, with the heavy tail swinging out if a driver applied too much throttle. Porsche still requires employees who drive its Turbo models to take special training.
For 1978 the engine grew to 3.3 litres and gained an intercooler, lifting output but adding weight that changed the car's character. Emissions rules pushed it out of the United States and Japan in 1980, partly because Fuhrmann expected the luxurious 928 to replace the 911 at the top of the range; it returned to both markets in 1986.
A special-order slantnose version with pop-up headlamps, inspired by the 935 racer, cost up to 60 per cent more, and 948 were built. The 930 ended after 1989, finally getting a five-speed gearbox in its last year.
Source: Porsche 911 (930)
