The 911 Turbo has a long and interesting history, it is a car with an unlikely origin story that has gone on to become a global performance car icon, setting benchmarks at every turn.While US automakers struggled to figure out how to sell their big, inefficient muscle cars during a global oil crisis, Porsche capitalized on a market hungry for more efficient performance cars. The 911 was selling better than ever, but they had already boldly invested in a new turbo car that would knock the socks off the competition. It was, however, still up to the buying public to show if this was the right direction for them to go in, as it was an unproven technology at the time.

10 Oil Crisis Debut

1975 Porsche 930 911 Turbo,.
Via: USA Today

Not many sports cars were being developed in the 70s. With not one but two oil crises during the decade, it became something of an automotive wasteland.

Porsche 911 Carrera turbo (930) red, rear
Via Mecum

Porsche pretty much laughed in the face of all that, launching the very first 911 Turbo, known as the 930 in 1975, slap bang in the middle of the decade. It would go on to become one of their most successful models, being sold right up until 1989.

9 Widowmaker Reputation

1987 Porsche 930 Turbo black
Via Dyler

Although it set a new benchmark for what a performance car should be, by 1978 the 930 was making as much as 300 horsepower, and raised several questions around safety.

1986 Porsche 930 Turbo
Via Mecum Auctions

Frankly speaking, in the wrong hands, or just in the wrong conditions, these old turbo cars are extremely dangerous. With most of the weight at the back hanging over the rear axle they were prone to snap oversteer, a number of fatal accidents led to the car being coined “The Widowmaker.”

Related: Here's What Made The 1970s Porsche 930 Turbo So Fast

8 964 Sets The Tone For The 90s

Porsche 964 Turbo
Via YouTube

For a few short years, the 964 got to wear the coveted turbo crown, making only a little more power than the old 930; this was never going to be the long-term replacement.

Ares Porsche 964 Turbo rear
Via Ares Design

As a result, sales for the 964 were fairly slow by Porsche standards as most people anticipated the release of the upcoming 993, making it a fairly rare 911 turbo.

7 993 Gets AWD And An Extra Turbo

Porsche 993 Turbo Driving
classicsworld.co.uk

As good a car as the 964 was, the 993 really was the upgrade many had anticipated, bringing AWD to a mass market Porsche for the first time and switching over to a less lag prone twin-turbo setup.

The front of the 993 Turbo S
favcars.com

It was a remarkable evolution for the brand, essentially bringing the limited edition 959 hypercar back to life with this model.

Related: Porsche RWB 993 Evo Is A Street-Legal Dream Build

6 996 GT2 Takes It Up A Notch

The front of the 996 GT2
Via Porsche

Although the 996 is still widely criticized as the worst 911 in history (this much is debatable) the GT2 was an incredible performance car for the time.

2002-porsche-996-turbo3

Making as much as 480 horsepower back in the early 00s, it was in a very elite club purely based on power figures. It was also lighter than the standard turbo and was one of the first road going cars to come with race oriented carbon-ceramic brakes.

5 GT2 RS Breaks 700 Horsepower

The Porsche 911 GT2 RS has Outstanding features
Via drivemag.com

The latest GT2 is an absolute monster, with the previous GT2 making in excess of 600 horsepower the benchmark was set high, yet they found a way of surpassing that.

The Porsche 911 GT2 RS has Outstanding features
Via wired.com

It is by some distance the most powerful 911 to don the badge that has since become more of a marketing tool than a physical representation of mechanical performance.

Related: Almost New 2002 Porsche 911 GT2 Shows Up At Mecum Looking For New Owner

4 Turbo Branding

Porsche 911 Turbo S Vs Taycan Turbo S
via YouTube channel Carwow

The 911 has been the poster child for Porsche for several decades now, but as we see more and more manufacturers pivot towards electrification, Porsche, too, have had to rethink their range, at least to some extent.

Porsche Taycan Turbo S (Silver) - Rear
Via: YouTube

Obviously the turbo moniker has never been exclusively limited to the 911, it has long since been a representation of power and speed in their lineup. However, when they launched their first EV, the Taycan, with a turbo variant, it just felt like a pure branding exercise, leaving a bad taste in most fans' mouths.

3 The Manual Transmission

Porsche PDK
via Motor Authority

Another big part of the 911 experience has always been the manual transmission, so it stirred up some controversy when they dropped it in favor of the smooth shifting PDK transmission not long ago. However, they were actually forced to bring it back almost immediately.

Porsche-Manual-Transmission
via cnet

A 911 can still be had with the PDK transmission, and it will more than likely shift faster than any human, but we are all happy that the manual lives on, at least for now.

Related: All 2021 Porsche 718 Models Available With PDK Dual Clutch Transmission

2 Exclusive Price Tag

2021 Porsche 911 Turbo Sports Car
Via Facebook

The latest version of the famous Turbo (the one that actually has a turbo) is the most exclusively priced to date.

2021 Porsche 911 Turbo Sports Car
Via: Pinterest

Coming in at over $170,000 this is certainly not the go to sports car of yesteryear. It has graduated somewhat, taking on the most powerful hypercars money can buy. More often than not, it comes out on top, proving that it is worth every penny.

1 Ultimate Everyday Supercar

Porsche 911 Turbo S
Via: Porsche

One thing the 570 horsepower monster does not have in common with its hypercar rivals is reliability, or rather their infamous lack thereof.

Porsche-911_Turbo_S-2021-interior
Via: Porsche

Over the years, Porsche has proven to not only be the most reliable premium brand, but one of the most reliable automotive brands, period. They truly live up to their everyday sports car mantra.