In 1974 Porsche introduced the first production turbocharged 911. Although called simply Porsche 911 Turbo in Europe, it was marketed as the Porsche 930 (930 being its internal type number) in North America.
The body shape is distinctive, thanks to wide wheel-arches to accommodate the wide tires, and a large rear spoiler often known as a “whale tail” on the early cars, and “tea-tray” on the later ones. Starting out with a 3.0 L engine producing 260 PS (190 kW; 260 hp), it rose to 3.3 L and 300 PS (220 kW; 300 hp) for 1978. The early cars are known for their exhilarating acceleration coupled with challenging handling characteristics and extreme turbo lag.
Production figures of the car soon qualified its racing version for FIA Group 4 competition as the Porsche 934 of 1976. Many participated at Le Mans and other races including some epic battles with the BMW 3.0 CSL “Batmobile”. The wilder Porsche 935, a finer tuned car in FIA Group 5 that evolved from the 2.1 L RSR Turbo of 1974, was first campaigned in 1976 by the factory, and despite subsequent withdrawal of the official works team after 1978, it ultimately won Le Mans outright in 1979 in the hands of the private Kremer Racing team. Privateers continued to compete successfully with the car until well into the 1980s.
Due to stricter emissions regulations, the 930 was withheld from the US and Japanese markets from 1981 through 1985. It was re-introduced into the United States in 1986.
As demand for the Turbo soared in the late 1980s, Porsche introduced novelty variants including a slant-nose version (option M505/M506), while not significantly improving the range mechanically. Although these cars could be sold for extraordinary premiums over the standard models, the company’s reluctance to invest in research and development of the entire 911 line at that time turned out to be an almost fatal decision not only for the 911 but for the company.
Only in 1989, its last year of production was the 930 equipped with a five-speed gearbox. The 930 was replaced in 1990 with a 964 version featuring the same 3.3 L engine.
There have been turbocharged variants of each subsequent generation of 911
Here’s to our loyal readers another finished side project. This is the old Monogram Porsche 911 Turbo. I have always been a fan of the 911 especially when it sports the ”whale tail” on the engine cover. As you can see from the picture gallery below, this was a model kit that I found at my local Goodwill store for just $4.99. The box was opened but after a brief inspection alongside the instructions, all parts including decals were accounted for. It has been in the stash for almost 4 years.
The Monogram 1/24 Porsche 911 Turbo model kit is molded in black, clear read and clear.
Not necessarily a newly released kit but still wordy of being looked at with fresh 2018 eyes. It has some flash which is to be expected from the period but not in big amount. Just be aware is there and IMHO, it is acceptable. The overall fit of this kit is *very good*. The interior is well appointed and the engine has good detail as well. I wasn’t happy with the exhaust, so I took matters into my own hands and did change it from a solid exhaust pipe representation to hollow using K&S aluminum tubing.
Overall, I loved the kit and frankly, you can’t beat that price; wink wink. The major disappointment to me on the Monogram 911 Turbo is actually the wheels and the tires. Especially the rear wheels. They are as large and wide as the front ones. The 911 has larger and wider tires on the rear. For the time being, I used the wheels from an started and incomplete kit I’ve got at my local hobby shop. After some modifications, I might use the original wheels in the not too distant future.
In case you’re wondering, I painted the body with Tamiya TS-10 French Blue and used on top Testors Gloss Cote. I also played around with some BBS decals leftovers from other builds.
This kit is no longer in production. But it can be easily found on the auction website. There are a few iterations of the box, but the kit inside remains pretty much the same. If I recall correctly, the last time this model kit was printed was under Revell’s Performance Series.
Thanks for reading and happy modeling!
