Porsche 930 Turbo: A Journey into the “Widow Maker” Legend
Porsche is a brand that has very less haters. It has the potential to be the dream car for many and it is actually a dream car for enthusiasts across the world. Porsche cars are always known for their excellent performance, impeccable driving dynamics, attractive exterior style, reliable engine, opulent cabin, high aspirational value, and much more. But one legendary model that has made a significant role in making Porsche so successful today has to be the Porsche 911. It has a long history in the Porsche lineup and we are going to cover one of the most legendary models of the Porsche 911 series. Based on your definition, it is famous or notorious by the name of “the widow maker.” We are talking about the Porsche 930 911 Turbo.
Historical Context of the Porsche 930 911 Turbo
Porsche has always been an innovator in the automotive industry. They were working on a cutting-edge technology back then which was a turbocharged engine in the early 1970s. Porsche decided to use a turbocharged engine to make the Porsche 911 even more powerful. After a long time and many concepts, they finally came out with the Porsche 930 911 Turbo which was launched in 1975. The car was an instant hit for its beautiful design, exceptional performance, and groundbreaking engineering for its time. But people started to notice the flaws in early adaptation of the technology which led to its name as “widow maker.”
Power and Performance
The Porsche 930 911 Turbo was a beast when it comes to the raw power under its hood. It was powered by a 3-liter turbocharged flat-6 engine that produced 260 horsepower. It was one of the most powerful sports cars of its time. You could take it from a standstill to 60 mph in close to 5 seconds which was a rare phenomenon back then. However, the immense power under its hood had its own challenges. Since the Porsche 930 911 used to come in a rear-wheel drive configuration which was an integral part of the identity of Porsche models, it made handling and high-speed traction a major challenge.
Rear-Engine Design and Oversteer
Porsche always focused on using rear-engine design for its sports car which gave a unique characteristic of their models. It helped in more efficient power delivery and better handling too. But one downside of the rear engine setup was added weight over the rear wheels of the car. It increased the chances of oversteering which was more evident while cornering as the rear end of the car could swing out suddenly. It required training for young drivers to manage the oversteer. However, controlling the unpredictable behavior of the car was still a challenge that you could only get over with experience.
Boost Threshold and Turbo Lag
As we discussed earlier, turbochargers were a fairly new technology back then. Porsche and other prominent manufacturers were developing this technology and no one had completely mastered it till the time. One common phenomenon that you notice in many budget turbocharged cars today was evident back then even in luxury cars. You got it right, we are talking about the initial turbo lag. However, it was worse than even the budget cars today. It used to take a significant amount of time to get the surge of power after you pressed the gas pedal. But the biggest problem was not the delay in power delivery. Instead, the sudden surge of power that it used to give made the experience very unpredictable for the driver. To make things worse, combine it with the rear-engine layout of the car and it’s oversteer tendencies.
Challenges with the suspension
The ecosystem for such a powerful car was not developed in the 1970s. The technology was lacking in other departments too. Since the Porsche 930 911 Turbo was one of the early adapters of turbocharged engines, finding the right suspension setup was also a major challenge. The engineers at Porsche tried to achieve the best set of tuning they could achieve but it was not enough for a car with such a sudden surge of acceleration. The issue only got resolved when the technology of suspension got better after many years.
Wrapping it up
The Porsche 930 911 Turbo was a legendary vehicle that was known for the powerhouse under its hood. But that also became a challenge for the car. There were many challenges with the Porsche 930 911 Turbo back then as the technology was not as advanced in other departments as it is today. It had issues like oversteer problems because of its rear-engine layout, a sudden surge of power, and suspension problems. It gave him the name of the widow maker as its unpredictable driving behavior caused many accidents back then. But if you spent some time on the track to learn the behavior of the car from a skilled trainer, the widow maker is still a fun car to drive. After all, it’s the reason you got such a smooth accelerating but powerful machine in the form of the Porsche Turbo series today.
Also Read:
