Porsche 911 996

The story

Porsche did not give up air cooling on a whim. By the early 1990s the company was fighting for its independence, and the old engine could no longer meet emissions and power targets, so the 996 was engineered from scratch alongside the Boxster, sharing its front structure, much of its cabin and its headlamps to split the cost. It was longer, roomier, safer and far stiffer than the 993, yet around 50 kg (110 lb) lighter, and its new 3.4-liter flat-six made 300 PS, as much as the old 911 Turbo 3.3.

Purists hated the look and the shared parts, and the Carrera's M96 engine picked up a lasting reputation for intermediate-shaft bearing failures. Behind the wheel, though, it is plainly a 911: hydraulic steering rich in detail, a rear-mounted six that helps the car rotate and then hook up, and far more forgiveness at the limit than any earlier generation. It also gave birth to the first GT3 and a Mezger-engined Turbo. Porsche built 175,262 of them, and time is slowly turning the least loved modern 911 into a respected one.