Although the new generation of Porsche 911 is already on roads worldwide, Porsche is just now cutting the cord on the outgoing version of its most iconic sports car. The company announced Friday that the last 991-generation car, a limited-edition 911 Speedster, rolled off the production line in Zuffenhausen, Germany, heralding the end of a historic era for the 911 range.
The 2011-2019 911, given the internal designation of 991, is the model’s most prolific generation to date, with 233,540 units built during its life cycle. While casual fans might confuse the 991 with the previous-gen 997 at first glance, the former is an entirely new car with 90 percent of its components changed or replaced. It also sports a completely new platform, marking only the third time the 911 has changed platforms in its 57-year history.
The seventh-generation 911’s life cycle was broken up into two distinct phases, each offering their own unique additions to the 911 family. First came the 991.1 generation, which reintroduced the 911 Targa with its beloved rear roll bar in place of a standard b-pillar. Always looking for an excuse to celebrate an anniversary, Porsche went wild for the 911’s 50th birthday in 2013, announcing the limited-run 50th Anniversary Edition.
The face-lifted 991.2, introduced in 2016, was an even more important but widely controversial development in the 911 saga, standardizing the 3.0-liter, twin-turbocharged flat-six motor across the non-GT model range and dropping the manual transmission option completely. Mercifully, Porsche introduced the naturally aspirated, stick-shift-equipped 911 R for purists the same year, although some dealerships decided this limited-edition experience was worth upwards of $500,000. In response to flippers, Porsche came out with the wingless, manual-optioned 911 GT3 Touring package, which could be added to any new GT3.
In 2017, the 991 neared its peak as the millionth 911 was built, an Irish Green Carrera S that currently resides in the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart. However, the 991’s climax came with the introduction of the 911 GT2 RS in 2018. With 700 horsepower churning through its twin-turbocharged flat-six, the GT2 RS is the most potent 911 ever put into production. It’s proven to be quite the track monster, holding production car lap records at a number of race tracks and trading shots with Lamborghini for fastest time in its class at the Nurburgring. The 911 Speedster, a roofless GT3 with a six-speed stick, was the final iteration of the current generation model, and now it’s become the car to officially say auf wiedersehen to the 991.
The new 911, the 992, certainly has some large shoes to fill.
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