the chassis and engine of the 356, Porsche did not return to four-wheel-drive design until the late 1970s. The first public indication of rekindled interest in 4wd development came at the Frankfurt Auto Show in the fall of 1981 where a4wd 911 Thrbo cabriolet study stole the show. Public reaction to the first fully open Porsche since the days of the 356C was overwhelmingly positive and Porsche responded by offering the 911SC cabriolet for the 1983 model year.

It was easier and therefore quicker to get the open- top version of the 911 into production, but all-wheel- drive development at Weissach continued at the same time. Work with the prototype 4wd 911 led to the idea of the 959 and at the Frankfurt Show in 1983 the public was stunned once again when Porsche revealed its super car. Then in January of 1984, three four-wheel- drive prototypes with normally-aspirated 911 engines and 911 bodywork started the most difficult of road rallies, the Rally Paris-Dakar. Headed by Jacky Ickx, the team not only reached the finish line with all three ye-

hiclesbut also took the overall victory. Pwo months later, Porsche made the commitment to develop and produce a four-wheel-drive version of the 911 Carrera.

But why install four-wheel-drive ma car that already has excellent winter driving characteristics by virtue of its rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive configuration? Says Helmuth Bott, the father of both the 959 and the Carrera 4, “A very important experience for us was the testing of a four-wheel-drive prototype in the Sahara in 1983. There we experienced handling precision and drivingprecision in this four-wheel-drive vehicle like we had never seen before. This advantage, we were convinced, could also be transferred to dry or wet pavement.”

The result of that moment of technological insight in the desertis the 911 Carrera4 and it embodies the enormous progress automotive technology has made in the 25 years since the 911 was first introduced. While its outside appearance and basic concept have not changed, all the assessable elements by which we mea

Rear axle of the Carrera 4 shows coilover spring and shock units as well as the center differential with electronically-controlled multi-plate clutch of the fourwheel-drive system.

JANUARY, 1989