THE GREATEST PORSCHE 911s OF ALL TIME

We've driven them all, so here's our definitive list of the very best Porsche 911s... ever!

Over 249 issues of Total 911, we’ve driven every conceivable production Porsche 911 model. This means, in the longrunning debate as to which is the best 911 of all time, we consider ourselves uniquely placed to answer this question diligently.

Therefore, we’re delighted to bring you our definitive list of the greatest 911s of all time… split between air- and water-cooled. Why have we split the two? Simply put, the two eras are completely different in the driving experience they offer, and need to be treated accordingly. The air-cooled cars were all built off that same base 911 from 1963; the water-cooled 911s, meanwhile, start afresh every other generation.

The air- and water-cooled communities tend to attract different audiences, and while we’ve witnessed these two tribes move closer together (and even overlap!) in recent years, we still feel it’s sensible to separate our list into two, giving due praise for the best of both eras of 911.

Here’s our top five ‘luft’ 911s by Lee Sibley, and ‘wasser’ 911s of all time, by Kyle Fortune...

3.0 Carrera RS

Every serious Porsche collector should have a 1973 2.7 Carrera RS in their collection. However, only connoisseurs will have the 3.0 Carrera RS, produced in very small numbers just a year later.

Most haven’t even heard of the 3.0 RS, and for good reason. While there were 1,580 examples of the original 911 Rennsport produced (the figure is likely higher today due to fakes or clones on the market), just 109 examples of the 3.0 RS were made – and half of those were the full-fat RSR competition car. That makes a 3.0 RS road car a rare beast indeed, but it’s not its build number that has catapulted the second 911 RS into our top five ‘luft’ 911s.