Best-selling author Randy Leffingwell celebrates a half-century of one of the world’s premiere sports cars, focusing on the major themes that have defined Porsche’s rear-engined wonder. Porsche 911: 50 Years tells the whole story— design and development , racing and competition , engineering and technology , style and culture . All the iconic 911 models are included: The original 901 prototype that set the standard - The legendary RS models that made the little Porsche a dominant force on the world’s racetracks - The infamous Turbo , the car that kept the performance flame alight during the dark, dismal decade of the 1970s - The fabled 959 , the model that redefined the term “sports car” - The 993 , last of the original air-cooled models - The 996, 997, and 991 , the liquid-cooled cars that brought the 911 into a new millennium Beyond telling the story of the cars , Porsche 911: 50 years also spotlights the people behind them : Ferdinand “Butzi” Porsche, the son of legendary Porsche founder Ferdinand “Ferry” Porsche, who co-designed the instantly recognizable 911 shape; Peter W. Schutz, the Porsche CEO who saved the 911 from extinction; and Dr. Helmuth Bott, the engineering genius behind many of the groundbreaking technologies that have defined the 911, including fuel injection, turbocharging, and all-wheel-drive. Leffingwell also tells the story of the 911 community—the clubs and culture that surround the car. Together, all of these facets make Porsche 911: 50 Years the most essential book in any Porsche owner or fan’s library. "Porsche 911: 50 Years is above all a celebration of a peculiarly individual car which in a rational world would never have existed and yet survived and prospered through a half century, evolving and adapting but never losing its highly distinct character. No other brand has ever managed this and Leffingwell’s achievement is the focus he brings to this compelling story. Some of the face-to-face discussions the author was able to hold with current Porsche movers and shakers would have been impossible only a few years ago and this greater openness has extended to the company’s image collection: the book is illustrated by a superb selection of previously unseen Archive photography. Leffingwell has created a splendid monument to the Porsche 911, which more than just the definitive sports car, has defied conformist pressures to become a symbol of endeavour and excellence." - Total911.com ‘an exhaustive history of the 911… I wholeheartedly recommend it.’ "Originally published in 2013, Randy Leffingwell's celebration of one of the world's premiere sports cars, is still a top seller more than 3-years later."― FLATSIXES.com "Porsche 911: 50 Years "provides the Porsche fan with everything he or she could possibly want in a book. All the iconic 911 models are here: the original 901 prototype that set the standard; the legendary RS models that made the Porsche a dominant force on the world's race tracks; the infamous Turbo, the car that kept the peformance flame alight during the dark, dismal 1970s; the fabled 959, the Porsche that redefined the term "supercar"; the 993, last of the original air-cooled models; and the 996, 997, and 991, the liquid-cooled cars that brought the 911 into a new millenium. But more than just telling the story of these cars, author Randy Leffingwell tells the story of the people behind their creation: Ferdinand "Butzi" Porsche, the son of legendary Porsche founder Ferdinand "Ferry" Porsche who, along with Erwin Komenda, designed the instantly recognizable 911 shape; Peter W. Schutz, the Porsche CEO who saved the 911 from extinction; and Dr. Helmuth Bott, the mad engineering genius behind many of the groundbreaking technologies that have defined the 911, like fuel injection, turbocharging, and all-wheel-drive. This book also tells the story of the 911 community--the clubs and culture that surround the car. No Porsche fan will want to miss this fantastic book. Author bio: Randy Leffingwell, best-selling Motorbooks author and renowned photographer, has earned a reputation as one of the most thorough Porsche historians working today. He has written and photographed over two dozen books on topics ranging from farm tractors to motorcycles to cars to barns. "Porsche 911: 50 Years "celebrates the first half-century of one of the world's premier sports cars. Author Randy Leffingwell has interviewed the key players involved in the creation and design of Porsche's rear-engined wonder and uncovered never-before-told stories about the development, production, and competition history of the cars, providing an inside look into every aspect of the 911. Covering every iconic 911 model--from the 901 to the RS models to the Turbo to the 959 to the 993 to the latest 991--this book tells the 911 story by combining Leffingwell's first-person interviewswith never-before-seen new and archival photography. All of this makes "Porsche 911: 50 Years" an essential boo