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Review of the Turbo 3.0 book in Octane magazine's October 2019 issue:

We'll come clean: this book was released last year but our review copy was mislaid during Octane's hastily carried-out office relocation form Bedfordshite to London. It's author, Ryan Snodgrass, very kindly offered to send us another one—and we're so glad he did, because this is a truly exceptional work.

A companion volume to Snodgrass' previous magnum opus, Carrera 2.7, this mammoth 536-page tribute to the Porsche 911 Turbo is printed on creamy archival paper and presented in a stout slipcase. Pay extra for the 300-off Publisher's Edition and you get an even stouter clamshell box that additionally houses convincing reproductions of Porsche ephemera such as press releases and photos, and actual 35mm colour slides, plus a 20-page supplement on how the book was put together.

Is either version worth the money? Emphatically yes, because the level of detail and the production values are stunning. To give just two examples: expert financial book-keepers were hired to check the production data for all 2819 Turbos built; and because no detailed cutaway drawing was ever made of the Turbo, noted cutaway artist Makoto Ouchi was commissioned to draw on. The print specification—which apparently involved '15-micron stochastic hybrid screens' and 'special wide-gamut inks'—will have any bibliophile salivating over their silkscreened linen slipcase.

Every possible aspect of the 1975–77 Turbo is covered in depth: development, build, mechanical, design, one-offs and special editions, racing versions... There's even a spread devoted to specific tyre inflators, jacks and plastic gloves supplied by Porsche for the Turbo's space-save tyre.

As you'll have gathered, we're impressed. It's taken a while for Turbo 3.0 to make it into these pages, but it was well worth the wait.

—Mark Dixon

AutoMobilia Magazine's latest issue#3 (Jan/Feb 2019) featured "Best Motor Book Buys of 2018" by Ben Horton (of Hortons Books), who had this to say about the Turbo 3.0 book:

July saw Ryan Snodgrass' second book come to market, Turbo 3.0 — Porsche's First Turbocharged Supercar. Another superb offering from Snodgrass, and I personally love his panache for design and layout. He is also one of the pioneers of what I call, the "future of automotive publishing" by giving the customer a lot of specific details. Perfect for anyone who either owns one of the cars or is looking to buy one. This limited edition of 2500 copies has 536 pages and comes slipcased. The book was also nominated for "The Royal Automobile Club Book of the Year."

Amongst its numerous attributes, Porsche sports cars have always been about performance, engineering, innovation and being different. From the production of the very first sports car to bear the Porsche name, the 356 which came into this world in 1948, the company has strived to excel with each successive model. In this same mould, the 911 Turbo 3.0 is just one of Porsche’s many milestone achievements that have set this manufacturer apart from the rest of the motor industry.

In the same way that the Atlantic salmon swims upstream against the strong flow of a river to reach the headwaters to spawn, so too has Porsche avoided the easy path to achieve its goals. Many motor manufacturers might claim to have pursued similar ideals over the years, but few have come close to achieving these as consistently as Porsche has done. When the 356 was launched, its design was just so far ahead of anything else on the market, and being streamlined and lightweight, it soon started beating much more powerful rivals in motorsport. When it was replaced by the 911 model, racing drivers and teams loyal to Porsche continued to compete, giving the new model excellent exposure. It was the company’s success with the 917/10 and 917/30 turbocharged race cars though, that encouraged Porsche to experiment with turbocharging the 911’s 6-cylinder engine.

Apart from Porsche’s success with the Carrera 4-cam 4-cylinder engine in the 1950s and early 1960s, the most notable big step forward for Porsche, was in turbocharging the 911 engine. A number of manufacturers had dabbled with the concept, some had mild success even, but no other manufacturer came close to achieving what Porsche did with this technology. When Dr. Ernst Fuhrmann suggested hooking up a turbo to the 6-cylinder 911 engine, many questioned whether this would be manageable, or even if it could work in the passenger car market. History tells us that the 911 Turbo 3.0 launched in 1975 was the big breakthrough that saw Porsche’s sports cars grab the market’s attention. Many sports car loving kids around the world will happily admit to having had a poster on their bedroom wall of the Turbo 3.0 at some point (the Editor included).

Production of the 911 had fallen from a high in 1973 (15,438 units), around the time of the Carrera RS introduction, dropping 47% to a low in 1975 (8189 units). With the launch of the Turbo 3.0 in the spring of 1975, sales of all 911s began to climb again to 10,677 units in 1976 and 13,793 units in 1977. Not only was the Turbo 3.0 flying off the showroom floor, but Porsche was also writing history on the race tracks of the world with its 934 and 934.5 models. Put simply, turbocharging the 911 6-cylinder engine transformed the company from a little Stuttgart manufacturer into a serious contender around the world with both its road and race cars.

It should be remembered that Porsche launched the Turbo 3.0 at a time when other sports car manufacturers were facing bankruptcy, dramatic drops in sales, and increasing demand for cleaner running vehicles. In the face of such daunting odds, the Turbo 3.0 made everyone sit up and notice, from customers to race teams, from rival manufacturers to business and financial commentators. Many thought Porsche would fall on its face, but the reverse happened, and we can probably thank Porsche for being so brave in the face of the oil crisis, and for giving us the 911 Turbo 3.0 model.

The book, Turbo 3.0, written by Ryan Snodgrass and published by Parabolica Press, is an outstanding piece of work. The book’s narrow remit is precisely its strength, because if you are the lucky owner of a 911 Turbo 3.0, then you would not need any other book on this subject on your bookshelf. This exhaustive volume endeavours to cover everything an owner, restorer, historian or enthusiast would want to know about the dawn of Porsche’s turbocharged supercar. Turbo 3.0 covers not only Porsche’s historic 3.0-litre Turbo, but also the development of production-based turbocharged race cars by examining the Carrera RSR Turbo 2.14 and Turbo RSR 934/934.5 race cars....(read more)

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

A few months ago, I picked up a rather large package at the post office, brought it home and—it being the end of a long day—put it aside. After dinner, I opened the box and discovered a book full of boost.

You may be familiar with author Ryan Snodgrass’ freshman effort, Carrera 2.7, a first-rate reference book that fit right in with the new edition of Carrera RS from TAG. Both titles are considered go-to-books for settling matters of originality, and there was every reason to expect that the long-awaited sophomore offering from Snodgrass would follow the established format.

This time, however, Snodgrass enlisted as art director Richard Baron, whose body of work would fill a few bookshelves. Baron’s stylistic shift has given Turbo 3.0 a separate identity, in much the same way that a 1976 911 differs from a 1976 930. The core remains, but the differences are immediately apparent and very pleasing.

The organization seen in the previously mentioned books was used to form this one’s structure: chassis numbers, color codes, optional equipment, promotional campaigns, literature, tool kits, racing variations. All are where they should be, along with a narrative of the concept, development, introduction, and production run for 1975–1977. A more suitable title for this comprehensive study is The Really Big Book of the 3.0 Liter Turbo.

“Exhaustive” doesn’t even begin to describe Ryan Snodgrass or his opus on the Porsche 930 3.0 Turbo. Let’s start near the back, on p. 452. Here, along with a handy production-data decoder for the model, is an exhaustive list of EVERY 930 from 1975 to 1977, including paint, interior, engine, gearbox, tires, distributor, de- livery and completion date — plus a synopsis of installed equipment. This level of detail is emblematic of Snodgrass’ work. He is a former software engineer, and his love of Porsches led him to start his writing career with Carrera 2.7, now followed by Turbo 3.0.

It’s a thick, 10.5-pound, beautifully printed, designed and written book on the car that Porsche used to repudiate the awful cars that came out of the mid-1970s, when fuel economy and safety were the highest representation of the art, and performance was an ugly stepchild. Using turbo technology and knowledge gained from racing the 917, the Carrera 3.0 was an antidote to the times.

While only 2,819 of the 3.0 Turbo cars came out of the factory, they had an outsized impact on the market (with prices to match, as a first-year 930 is going for around $150,000). Sometimes called the “doctor killer” for the dangerous intersection of high-horsepower, turbo-lag and a lack of skills behind the wheel, the 930 was actually a touch slower than the mechanically injected 2.7-liter predecessor. But that was mostly down to extra weight that balanced the increased output, mostly thanks to safety equipment (thanks, Ralph Nader!) demanded at the time. Heck, safety was such a top-of-mind item that there were threats to kill all convertibles in that period. So the introduction of the 930 was certainly counterintuitive — and well-received by enthusiasts.

And well-received is what this book should be. It’s an instant classic in the category of single-model history and detail.

Provenance: Ryan Snodgrass brings a software engineer’s hyper-fo- cus and demand for perfection to his second book. Turbo 3.0 is an intense, deep dive into the history of the model and every scrap of information available.

Fit and Finish: This book is simply beautiful. The claimed (I didn’t count them) 1,508 photos and illustrations are beautifully reproduced on quality stock. The overall design is understated and serves the content. The entire package is top-shelf.

Drivability: With Turbo 3.0, Ryan Snodgrass has reset the bar for any future Porsche book. The text is smart, lively and easy to read, supporting an incredible amount of information. At $395 for one of 2,500 copies of this limited-edition tome, you can expect the same appreciation in value as in the car — even as you appreciate Turbo 3.0 as a resource and good read.

Following its domination of the Can-Am racing series in 1972 and 1973, Porsche used its experience with turbocharging technology gained in motorsports for serial sports car production. Launched in 1975 with a turbocharged flat-six engine, flared wheel arches to accommodate wider wheels, and unmistakable “whale tail” rear spoiler, the 930 Turbo was revolutionary in its performance. It was the fastest German production car upon its introduction, helping Porsche to fortify its reputation as a seminal sports car manufacturer.

Following in the considerable wake of his award-winning Carrera 2.7, author Ryan Snodgrass again hones in with laser-like focus on just a single variant of the iconic 930 Turbo—the earliest 3.0-liter examples produced from September 1974 through June 1977—tracing the model’s roots and origin during an era that is often referred to as a dark time for performance cars.

Ryan Snodgrass is an excellent storyteller who proved capable of making the subject of a single Porsche model – the 911 Carrera 2.7 MFI – engaging reading supplemented with exceptional documentation. That book had no shortcomings.

However, when Snodgrass set out to relate the planning, engineering, styling, and development history of the Typ 930, he used his own work as his benchmark. Then he reset it a great deal higher with his latest book turbo 3.0. This work – throughout – tends to humble the word “encyclopedic” as Snodgrass explores every element of turbocharging and the turbocharged Porsche 911 in detailed photos, diagrams, and documents. There are pages (and pages) of paint color representations, a complete series on actual cars, and an astonishing chart identifying ALL Turbo 3.0 colors and the frequency of their appearance in 1975, 1976, and 1977.

Interesting perspective from Ben Horton of Horton's Books in the Feb 28th issue of Autocar magazine discussing potential collectible books, including the Carrera 2.7 book:

What’s the next best thing to buying a Porsche Carrera 2.7? Buying a book about it.

Specifically, Ryan Snodgrass’s definitive guide to the model, published by Parabolica Press in 2015 and called, helpfully, Carrera 2.7. Just 2500 were printed. There are about 300 copies of the Limited Edition version left, each costing £225. Sounds a lot? Don’t worry: in two years your investment could be worth £1000.