What's the difference between the 911, 993, 996 etc? I originally thought 911's were older than the 993's, and the 996's were sorta like the successor to the 993 but i just found out i was completely wrong. Someone want to enlighten me with the Porsche lineup? Thanks.

Bryan

 

The 993 is the Porsche code name for the 911 of years 94-96.
The 996 is the Porsche code name for the 911 of years 97+.

Just like the E36 is the BMW code name for 93-99 3 series chassis/model, E46 is code name for the current 3 series chassis/model.

 

and to top it off, the real project number for the 911 was 901.....

 

911 denotes a model line that's been going on for over 35 years. All with four seats and a flat six engine mounted in the rear. But a lot has changed in that time, the biggest probably being the switch to the current water-cooled engine. 993 and 996 are used to reference certain generations of the 911, 930 is a mid-80s turbo 911, the 964 came before the 933, etc.

 

... I'm confused ...

But that's okay ... I own an S2000, not a porsche ...

 

very small point, but not ALL 911's have 4 seats....

 

aside from really extreme 911 derivatives like the 935 I though all 911s did have 2 seats in the back??

Which ones are you thinking of TJ?

 

so basically, Porsche has had only one model line, the 911?

..because all i see and have heard of is the 911 carrera, both 993, 996 and others..

 

damn......it's confusing......
i went to their website and i still didnt understand why they have so many similar cars

 

Currently, Porsche only has two different cars, the 911 and Boxster. (To the extent of my knowledge, all 911s have four seats unless they've been modified by the owner. Am I missing something?) In the past, there have been quite a few more models. 944, 928, 914, 356 are probably the easiest to recognize. In the next few years, their two current cars will be joined by an SUV (called the Cayenne) and a $500,000 V10 supercar (the Carrera GT.)

The current line of 911s includes:
Carrera 2, the basic rwd version.
Carrera 4, four-wheel-drive with computer controlled stability goodies.
Convertable versions of the above.
Twin Turbo, also 4wd and with massive hp/torque.
GT3, a 2wd normally aspirated race-oriented version. It actually has a different engine than the above.
GT2, a 2wd turbo race-oriented version with even more power than the TT.