November 23, 2018

Love for Porsche – Turbo 3.0 Book Review

The Porsche fan site Love for Porsche – Liebe zu Ihm review of the Turbo 3.0 book:

The Turbo 3.0 book is just as the car : a benchmark

The automotive industry had not easy times in the mid seventies. New safety and emission regulations were imposed to them, and the oil crisis left quite a trace in the period. Porsche had some dark times too with diminishing sales. Dr Ernst Führmann, designer of the iconic 4-cam Carrera Engine, was the CEO of Porsche in that period. In Can-Am races, the turbocharged Porsche 917/10 and Porsche 917/30 had proven its reliability. So Ernst Führmann had the idea of putting a turbocharged engine in a street legal Porsche 911. The idea of the Porsche 911 Turbo was born.. a story that still continues.

Ryan Snodgrass of Parabolica Press, known from the excellent Carrera 2.7 book, took a dive in the history of the Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0 liter, nicknamed the Porsche 930. Ryan Snodgrass used all possible material to his disposal. The Porsche factory archives were of course an important source of information, but that was not enough for the author. Ryan Snodgrass interviewed people involved with the design of the Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0, as well as mechanics, test drivers, engineers, racers and owners. The enormous amount of information is compiled in the book “Turbo 3.0 – Porsche's First Turbocharged Car”. And just as the Carrera 2.7 book, the Turbo 3.0 book became a one- model only encyclopedia. A book any Porsche enthusiast needs to have in the library.  

It is hard to imagine how detailed the Turbo 3.0 book is. That makes it a perfect source for perfectionists, restorers and historians. As you could expect of a book like this, there is a list of all the chassis numbers with information like the color the car left the factory, type of engine and gearbox and the option list for that particular car. But there is more useful information. How many of you know all the different possible colors for a Turbo 3.0? And did you know what the toolkit should look like? The Turbo 3.0 book has plenty of detailed information about all possible colors. The chapter about the interior has pictures and information of all upholstery available at the time. All gauge variations are described as well as the radios that could be ordered at the factory.

In the 536 pages, literally nothing remains uncovered. The privateer racing exploits of the 3.0 liter Turbo are included as well as the development of the cars that directly derived from the Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0: the iconic Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 2.1, the Porsche 934 and Porsche 934/5. “Turbo 3.0 : Porsche's First Turbocharged Supercar” was among the 6 books shortlisted for the Specialist Motoring Book of the Year Award of the Royal Automobile Club. Even though it was another book that ran away with the award, being on the shortlist is an honor on its own. And to be honest... well deserved. This book sets a new standard and it will become the reference for the Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0 without any doubt. It is worth every cent. This book should be in any automotive library. You can order it directly at Parabolica Press.