Porsche 911 Turbo Air Cooled Years – Hans Mezger Edition

Many species thrive on the vast planet of Porsche literature – from the delicate coffee-table books of René Staud to company histories, model overviews and narrated histories to microscopic type monographs. The genres can certainly be crossed, as Werner Gabriel’s history of the Porsche turbo (for it was written with a small initial for the first few years) from the prototypes to the last (eponymous) air-cooled 911s of the 993 series proves. The book begins with a brief outline of the history of exhaust gas turbocharging, its introduction into Porsche’s racing car designs, and finally its way into series production – told in a well-founded and precise manner, including astonishing details. BMW and Ford (via a tuner close to the factory) were already on the market with turbo vehicles before the 930. This fact doesn’t embarrass experts anywhere.

Separate chapter on Hans Mezger

In the main part of the book, a separate chapter is dedicated to the turbo models of each of the air-cooled series (“G-model”, 964 and 993), which chronologically presents the respective (further) development. Many comparable works fail here due to the perceived rising clouds of dust (keyword: copied press releases). Gabriel, on the other hand, succeeds excellently in providing an overview of all the relevant facts in narrative form, and the photographic material (many of them from factory archive) is also a pleasure to look at. After the death of the ingenious engine designer Hans Mezger, he also expanded the book with a separate section that includes a biography and a final interview. Mezger gave this to the author in October 2019 at the Porsche Museum.

Every series and all special editions listed

But to what in marketing is called “Unique Selling Point (UPS)” and makes the book so “bipolar” and valuable: all special offshoots and special versions of the model series are portrayed in detail in subordinate individual presentations. Whether (for example) the 930 Turbo S Sonauto (a heavily modified small series of the original Turbo for the French market), the flat-nose cars in all their forms or the respective factory performance upgrades (Werk-Leistungs-Steigerung, WLS) offered – it’s all there. Here one notices the signature of co-author Norbert Franz, who has been researching the history of Porsches with factory wide-bodies in ever finer detail for his website www.turbo-look.de for years. Franz’s fund is certainly also to thank for the data section, which, with year-by-year details of production figures, engine codes along with performance data, type codes and chassis numbers, gives every aficionado an ear-to-ear grin.

Limited to 2,020 copies

The scarcely three-digit price (99.80 € plus shipping) for this book is partly surely owed to the noble execution and the presentation in a nice slipcase. With a small edition of only 2,020 units (limited), fight prices are commercially unthinkable for a publishing house. In this light, the frown about the textual duplication (German/English) also disappears. Such a highly specialized work must also appeal to the international market. And despite these points requiring explanation, it is more than worth every penny. Currently, it is only available directly from Berlin Motor Books Verlag.

Images: BMB Verlag