Porsches storied history commenced in 1948 with the introduction of the Type 356, but the planning phase for Porsche cars began much earlier, in 1930, in the office of Professor Ferdinand Porsche. Even though Porsche had ostentatious plans for his car, it is hard to imagine that he could have envisaged the success that Porsche has achieved over the course of its 70-plus-year history.

In 1963 Porsche first showcased the 901 to the automotive world at the IAA in Frankfurt, and it was designed to be a direct replacement for the Porsche 356. Production of the 901 commenced in September 1964, but when Porsche presented it at the Paris Motorshow a month later, Peugeot objected to the model designation as they had patented a three-digit type designation which happened to have a zero in the middle.

The oldest known 901 in existence is simply called the number 20. A 901 number 57 was located in recent years, and Porsche restored it to its original glory, and it now sits proudly in the Porsche museum in Stuttgart, Germany, and is undoubtedly worth a visit.

Porsche, therefore, had no choice but to rename the 901 to 911, a name every one, car enthusiasts or not are familiar with today. However, eighty-four 901s were produced and purchased before the name was officially changed. While they are very rare to find, if you are a gearhead and have a garage for just one classic car, let it be the Porsche 901.

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The Porsche 901 Exudes Class And Is A Dream Car For Any GearheadPetersen Museum Porsche 901 Side Profile

The 1963 Porsche 901 is ideal for any gearhead due to its striking looks and impressive performance, whether you are enjoying a Sunday jaunt or heading to the office on Monday morning. The 901 had a compression ratio of 9:1, and the engine delivered 125 hp at 6,200 rpm per minute from a displacement of 2.0-liter flat-six engine.

What many auto enthusiasts aren’t aware of is that when Porsche first started making their soon-to-be legendary cars, they relied heavily on components that had already been engineered and put into production for Volkswagen.

Performance Of The Porsche 901 Is Impressive Even By Today’s Standards

Porsche 901
Via-Motoring Research

The 901 was fitted with a 2.0 liter flat six engine, which was located in the rear of the car and capable of producing 75 hp; this later evolved to 125 hp. The car's aerodynamics was excellent, and it was considered a fast car for its era.

The 901 was duly changed to the 911, proving to be an overwhelming success for Porsche. It is considered the quintessential sports car by car enthusiasts and motor correspondents worldwide. They have been many iterations of the 911, including the highly popular Carrera RS and Turbo, but ultimately Porsche has remained relatively loyal to the original design of the 901.

When Porsche later introduced cars meant for racing purposes, they carried the design numbers Porsche 907, 908, and 909 as it did not have to compete with the road-going Peugeot models that initially were instrumental in Porsche having to change the model number from 901 to 911.

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From The Porsche 901 To 911: The Quintessential Sports Car For The Ages

Porsche-901-1963-Interior
source:Porsche website

The Porsche 911 was rolled out in 1964 after the subsequent name change and was in production until 1969. The rear engine layout remained the same, but instead of the air-cooled flat-four engine, Porsche equipped the 911 with a much larger and robust 2.2-liter flat-six engine which feeds right through up until the latest 911 models. A newly designed five-gear manual transmission was the order of the day, and it was also fitted in the 904 Carrera, which debuted simultaneously.

In 1967, Porsche continued with the momentum garnered from the original 901/911 models and introduced the more powerful 911s, which shared the same flat-six engine but utilized the new Weber 40 IDS carburetors, thus having the ability to generate an additional 29 hp. The 911s also introduced the automotive world to the ‘Fuchs’ alloy wheels and the impressive Targa body design, which embodied a distinctive silver roll-over hoop and a removable roof section.

The 901 came with a large wooden steering wheel with a thin rim and had quite a luxurious feel to the interior for a car built in the early 60s. It could reach 0-60mph in a respectable 8.5 seconds and produced a top speed of 131 mph and a maximum torque of 128 lb-ft at 4200 rpm. The 901 weighed 2380lb and had a 7ft 3 inches wheelbase. It had a reasonably efficient fuel consumption of 19.2 MPG for a sports car of its vintage.

The asking price for a 901 in the early 60s was approximately $4,000, while one would now expect to pay in the region of $100,000 to $200,000 presuming one could locate an original 901 today.