Porsche 911: 50 Years & Porsche Special Editions 2 Book Set

In Porsche 911: 50 Years, bestselling author Randy Leffingwell celebrates a half-century of one of the world's premier sports cars, focusing on the major themes that have defined Porsche's rear-engined wonder. Randy 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; and 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 is a world-renowned brand that is known best for producing highly sought-after sports cars, exotic cars and more recently for high-performance sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and high-tech luxury electric cars. Additionally, Porsche is a world-dominating sports car racing brand with factory-built-andbacked motorsport activities dating to the early 1950s, having won the 24 Hours of Le Mans outright more than any other carmaker, dominating sports car racing, endurance racing, and championship-level rallying around the world.

Enthusiasts at all levels generally recognize and can identify on sight Porsche’s most iconic and mainstay models, such as the original 356 models of the 1950s and early 1960s, the seminal 911 first shown in 1963 and still in production nearly seven decades later, and perhaps the mid-engine 914. Each of these model platforms contain many subsets of special-edition versions built to higher levels of style, performance, luxury, or rarity. These include a variety of anniversary editions, commemorating certain landmarks in the marque’s history.

Lumping all Porsches into the “if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all” category is to miss the design, details, and performance of many great cars. These cars range from relatively straightforward color and trim combinations to limited-edition, high-performance machines, including several generations of modern 911-based Speedsters, Turbos, slant-nose Flachbaus, select RS and ClubSport models, special 356s, factory and independent concepts, and design studies. The unique work of low-volume production houses, such as Germany’s RUF, and high-end restoration and custom build shops, such as Singer Vehicle Design, Guntherwerks, and others, are also found here. This book contains a veritable Smorgasbord of interesting, rare, and unique special Porsches from around the world.

• While there have been plenty of books published about Porsche over the years, none have focused on the special editions.

• This book is filled with wonderful photography from the Porsche archives.

• Written by Porsche expert and enthusiast Matt Stone.

About the Author

Matt Stone is a freelance journalist, author, broadcaster, and former editor of Motor Trend Classic magazine. He has been a professional automotive journalist/photographer since 1990. Stone has a bachelor’s degree from Cal Poly Pomona with a major in business, and minors in journalism and marketing. He has authored and photographed several automotive books and is a former member of the Speed/Fox Sports television network’s Barrett-Jackson auction broadcast team. Matt is also a judge at various Concours d’Elegance and a member of the LeMay-America’s Car Museum Steering Committee. He serves his profession as a past officer and board of directors member, keynote address committee chairman, and past president of the Motor Press Guild trade association.