The Complete Book of Porsche 911 (4th Edition)
Every Model Since 1964
by Randy Leffingwell
The title is self-explanatory, and the content delivers exactly what the title promises.
The fact that the book has had three previous editions must mean it has staying power, but for readers who own any of those an obvious question needs answering: what’s new pussycat? (A movie of that name came out a year after the 911 was launched so the reference is not entirely random.)
Absent an introduction or foreword specific to this edition one has to assume that the additional ca. 30 pages covering the 992.2 and the debut of the 911 Hybrid that constitute a 10th chapter are what’s new and not that a host of errata forced the publisher’s hand. Besides, Leffingwell has become too much of a fixture on the Porsche scene to take his reputation lightly (recall that he is the one writer Porsche tapped to write the definitive, multi-volume history of their entire racing program)!
Chapters open with a convenient reference to all the models they will cover (top right). The photo on the left is so good it shows how poor the paint is (orange peel).
If the above model numbers mean nothing to you, this is just the book to ease you into the subject. To appreciate the impact, longevity, and continuity of the 911 line, each quite without comparison to any other make/model, Leffingwell takes us back to the predecessor, the 356, meaning the years 1948–1965, and sketches out that milestone model’s virtues and vices. What even seasoned 911 enthusiasts tend to forget is that proposals for that model (initially designated 901) started deep in the 356 era, around 1952, Porsche taking well over a decade to refine the concept before presenting a radically new car to the public in 1964. If that is just a meaningless number to you consider that the Ford Mustang was launched that same year and while it practically sold itself (unlike the 911) and also has stayed in production continuously, today’s Mustang shares little more than the name with its forebear. The 911 on the other hand was right from the start such a competent answer to the question of what a sports car should be that it retained its essence, its sameness at all times, even the switch from air (1963–1998) to water cooling and now electric propulsion. And that is not an easy story to tell in a manner that doesn’t make the reader’s eyes glaze over from reading about a car that recognizably looks similar to one that’s sixty years older.
An example of the spec tables. Also an example of an deceptively normal-looking 911 (well, from a distance) that is anything but . . . a 213 mph howler by Ruf.
Throw in racing, prototype and limited-production cars, all with their similar-sounding three-digit model numbers and confounding spec changes, and you have the makings of a dry book of mind-numbing stats—except Leffingwell’s Porsche connections allow him to enliven the story with insights gleaned from many interviews with key personnel. That alone makes this book different from other 911 books, of which there are many. Availability of spare change is not a dominant factor to a 911 owner but at a mere $60 MSRP this book represents enormous value, something that publisher Motorbooks—sixty years old this year—is very good at.
The chronological format of the book has not changed since the first edition in 2011. The book has an Index and it does the heavy lifting but it also, and unavoidably, intersperses model names with the number salad that are the type numbers so it’s not an easy point of entry for the novice. It includes such minutia as “bi-xenon headlight modules” and iconic names like “Moby Dick” (a kind of a whale, but not Melville’s) so you can see what attention to detail has gone into it.
Moby Dick
Photos: plenty, well chosen and placed, well sized and reproduced, from a variety of sources but mostly Porsche. No technical illustrations but plenty of spec tables as well as tech data throughout the text. On the one hand, the fullness of the material means this is by no means a casual read but on the other hand anyone needing just the occasional refresher or inspiration could easily pick any random page and stumble across something useful.
Nobody ever has just one book about any one thing but if you had to have only one 911 book you’d be fully served by this one!
Top left: we include this spread just to show someone had fun picking the photos.
A PSA of sorts:
If you left a Leffingwell-sized slot in the Porsche section of your bookcase since last fall you almost certainly expected to fill it just about now, with Vol. 2 of the racing history. This is obviously not that book, but, realistically, being “only” an update/revision it couldn’t have distracted Leffingwell unduly from that other project (which remains on track so no worries).
Copyright 2025, Sabu Advani (speedreaders.info)
RSS Feed - Comments
Phone / Mail / Email
RSS Feed
Facebook
Twitter
Just had a chance to read your kind review of my latest effort, the fourth edition. Once again, you “get it,” you understand what the message is I am trying to impart with this book and this series: that each new 911 banks on a solid, massive, well-reasoned resource of past accomplishments. I think this is perhaps the greatest argument for the way we do this, merely adding on pages at the back.
—Randy