912 Model History

Put most simply, a 912 is essentially a 911-style body mated with a 356-derived 4-cylinder engine. The 356 was Porsche's first mass-marketed sports car. The Porsche 911 is the most successful sports car of all time.

Compared to the 911, the new 912 was extremely well-balanced, handled extremely well, and was actually a faster car than the 911 in many driving scenarios. While the new 911 motor had a lot of potential for further development, early examples were temperamental and notoriously difficult to keep tuned. In contrast, the 912 motor had already benefited from over decade of development in the 356, and was now at its most evolved and reliable iteration. Where the new 911 motor was complex, the 912 motor was comparatively simple.