10 greatest-ever Porsches

Ten Porsches? Is that all I’m allowed? Seriously, Porsche’s current range could easily take up the whole list, as they really are all excellent. We like Porsches here a great deal. Why? Simply because they offer a fantastic driving experience.

Whether you’re the owner of an entry level Boxster or a Carrera GT hypercar all Porsches have a beautifully engineered precision to the way they drive and feel. So to keep things simple we’ve concentrated on the more recent models and avoided the race cars. Include that lot and we’d need to do a top twenty... at least. Don't forget to vote for your favourite at the bottom of the page...

959

959 -

It’s perhaps clichéd to mention it, but this mechanical marvel became one of the poster icons for the Athena generation. I had one on my wall with a Lamborghini Countach and Ferrari 288 GTO with ‘decisions, decisions, decisions’ written underneath. Sadly, I’ve never had to make that decision but if I did I’d go for the Porsche. It was a technical masterpiece when it was introduced in ’88 and still commands real respect today. Based on the 911 but with highly sophisticated four-wheel-drive transmisson, twin turbochargers, electronic ride height adjustment and 450bhp it never quite managed the 200mph of its cruder rivals – topping out at ‘just’ 197mph. However there were some drawbacks.

That engine and complex transmission combined with its composite wind-tunnel honed ‘zero-lift’ bodywork made it fiendishly expensive to produce though, Porsche making a significant loss on every one of the 283 cars they sold. They are exceptionally rare and valuable and unfortunately Auto Trader doesn’t list any right now...

911 (993) Turbo from around £34,000

911 (993) Turbo

There are a good number of 911 fans out there that regard the 993 series 911 that ran to 1997 as the last of the ‘real’ 911s. That’s because it was the last 911 to be cooled by air. Like most generations of 911 there were several stand-out models based on the 993, the RS, the basic Carrera 2 being notable examples, but for many the Turbo is the 993 to aspire to. Never before had the 911 Turbo offered such blistering pace with ease of use. Previous Turbos had a fearsome reputation, the 408bhp 993 Turbo utilising four-wheel-drive to enable you to use its prodigious thrust on any road in any conditions. Ludicrously quick with a 4.5 second 0-62mph time and a 180mph top speed, the 993 Turbo remains a supremely able and enjoyable high performance 911 that’s hugely sought after.

’73 2.7 911 Carrera RS from around £10,000

’73 2.7 911 Carrera RS

The 911 Carrera 2.7 RS. The first of the RS (Renn Sport – Race Sport) lightweight Porsche 911s is still regarded as the absolute finest of the breed. Its 210bhp might sound modest today but it only had to push along a car weighing less than 1000kg, the RS’s 5.8 second 0-62mph time and 152mph top speed still highly credible today. Stripped of comforts its back-to-basics mantra meant it was agile as well as fast. It formed the basis for countless race and rally cars, racing 911s today owing a lot to this iconic car. Carrera scripting on the doors and the famous ‘ducktail’ spoiler highlight it over its lesser brethren, but there are now plenty of copies out there. As a race car it comprehensively whipped its opposition, as a road car it was sublime. Which is why it’s held in such high regard to this day.

924/944/968 from around £1,000

944 S2

It’s perhaps unfair lumping these three cars together as in each series there has been at least one derivative that’s given their 911 contemporary the frighteners with their performance and handling. I’m thinking of the 924 Carrera GT, 944 Turbo, 944 S2 and the 968 Club Sport. But hugely impressive as these individual models are it’s really the collective result of their sales that has been significant to Porsche. If it wasn’t for these front-engined machines, unloved by many of the ‘purists’, it’s highly likely that Porsche as we know it today - an independent and hugely profitable company - probably wouldn’t be the same. More that just helping Porsche on the sales front, these three cars offer a hugely thrilling drive, and as a result of their less favoured status can be owned and run on surprisingly sensible money today.

Boxster from around £12,000

Boxster

Like the trio above the Boxster has allowed Porsche to indulge its customers with the 911 and projects like the Carrera GT by offering volume models at more affordable prices. The Boxster is a fantastic car and one that’s never been bettered in the roadster market with its combination of decent performance and fantastic ride and handling. It’s made it the benchmark in its price range. However, as it sits under the 911 it’s always been capped for power to prevent it taking sales from its iconic big brother. The earliest 205bhp 2.5-litre cars introduced in 1997 underline this by being a touch slow, but any other model is well worth considering; particularly the faster S derivatives with their larger engines. The current Boxster continues where the original left off. That is, heading the roadster class effortlessly and providing a hugely enticing and relatively affordable step onto the ladder of Porsche ownership.

Cayman S

Cayman S

Some might consider it rather early to be proclaiming the new Cayman S as worthy of a place among our top ten Porsches, but we’re absolutely certain it deserves the accolade. A coupe version of the Boxster was always going to be special and the Cayman S certainly doesn’t disappoint. Significantly stiffer than its Boxster relative, the Cayman S offers a supremely sharp and focused driving experience. There’s such immediacy to its responses and fine control it’s an absolute joy to drive on a challenging road. Its Boxster/911 derived 3.4-litre engine offers 295bhp, allowing it to sprint to 62mph in just 5.4 seconds. Certain to be joined by a lesser powered version that should slot between the Boxster and Boxster S in price and performance there’s a lot more to come from the Cayman. We just hope the rumours of a lighter, even more focussed Club Sport version are true.

Cayenne from around £32,000

Cayenne

Whoa. The Cayenne? Still a moot point among Porsche enthusiasts the Cayenne is nevertheless a hugely significant model for Porsche. Not least because it accounts for a considerable slice of sales, particularly in the USA, and hence profitability. That means it can afford to continue developing its sports cars while remaining independent. That, and no other model so clearly exhibits Porsche’s ability to engineer the impossible; Porsche making a sports car out of a heavy 4x4. It’s quite incredible to drive, the Turbo able sledgehammer to 62mph in just 5.6 seconds, with agility and performance that’s way beyond what you’d expect from a chunky off-roader. You might think that to achieve this Porsche would have quietly forgotten to develop it to work off-road, but it copes with talent that’s not far off that of a Land Rover. An engineering achievement to be proud of, if not a design one...

911 (996) GT3 from around £40,000

911 (996) GT3

The 997 might be here now, but you can still buy new versions of the 996 series car like the Turbo and GT3. The GT3 is a car in the vein of the RS’s that preceded it, stripping out excess weight, adding precision and power and offering a drive that’s race car fast for the road. Delivering 381bhp from a very special version of the standard 911’s 3.6-litre powerplant the GT3 achieves this heady power output without a turbocharger, yet it’s Turbo brisk with a 0-62mph time of just 4.5 seconds. The even more extreme limited GT3 RS is rawer and even more focussed, and makes a referential link to the iconic ’73 Carrera RS with its white paintwork with blue or red wheels and graphics running along the sills. Porsche is readying a new 997 GT3, when it arrives we expect it to be sensational. It’ll need to be to beat its predecessor.

911 S (997) from around £55,000

911 S (997)

It’s perhaps predictable putting the fastest current version of the 997 into this mix at the expense of other worthy Porsches like the 928 GTS, 993 RS or 964 3.8 RS, but it’s difficult to ignore the latest car’s huge all-round talent. In S guise the current Carrera offers 355bhp, which, amazingly, is around 100bhp more than the turbo 911s of the ‘70s. It’ll sprint to 62mph in 4.5 seconds and reaches a maximum of 182mph – which is 993 Turbo pace. However, it’s not its power or pace that impresses so much, but the way that it remains so easy to drive. That makes it an accomplished everyday driver or a circuit weapon, the brilliant feel, handling and body control all accompanied by the aural thrill of its wonderful 3.8-litre flat six. A fitting step in the 911’s evolution, rival manufacturers constantly try to better it, but none has, or is likely to.

Carrera GT from around £225,000

Carrera GT

Fittingly, given we started this top ten with the last Porsche proper production hypercar we’ll finish it with its latest. The Carrera GT. Like so many of Porsche’s models its roots lie in racing, the Carrera GT conceived as a race car before a change in regulations ruled it out before it was ever raced. Pragmatically, Porsche decided not to waste all its efforts in developing the Carrera GT and hastily turned it into a road car project. The result is phenomenal, the Carrera GT able to breach 200mph and sprinting to 62mph in just 3.9 seconds. That’s possible because of the 612bhp 5.8-litre V10 engine powering it, and the light and immensely strong carbon fibre chassis. Expensive, exclusive and outrageously fast and capable, the Carrera GT is the fastest production Porsche to leave the factory, but amazingly for such an exotic machine it’s just like every production Porsche as it really can be used and enjoyed everyday.