Porsche 911 SC

The story

The SC replaced both the 2.7-liter 911 and the Carrera 3.0 with one simplified, durable 3.0-liter flat-six, at a moment when Porsche's management saw the 911 as yesterday's car. In European form it made 180 PS without the catalytic converters and power losses that dulled American models, and a European Targa weighs only about 1,210 kg (2,670 lb). There is no power steering and no ABS, nothing between driver and road but a slim wheel, a long-throw 915 gearbox and a lot of honest feedback.

It clatters awake, pulls cleanly from low revs and turns hard and vocal toward 5,500 rpm, while the unassisted steering reports every change in grip. Keep the throttle steady through a bend and the weight over the rear wheels works in the driver's favor; lift suddenly and the car makes clear where the engine lives. Its toughness was proved in January 1978, when Jean-Pierre Nicolas took a rented, Group 4 3.0-liter 911 through the snow to win the Monte Carlo Rally. Long ignored, the SC is now prized as the air-cooled 911 that can actually be used.