This hefty tome (352pp) covers the complete developmental cycle of the 911 — from the initial leap from the 356 to the 901 and on to the current, water-cooled models. Leffingwell’s text concentrates mostly on the parts the designers and engineers played in the model’s long history— from Butzi Porsche’s initial penning of the classic 911 shape, to Pinky Lai’s strange, fried egg-like headlight arrangement for the fifth generation 911. As well as the road cars, the author also covers most of the 911’s motor sport derivatives, whilst Porsche tuning guru, Alois Ruf, also gets a look-in. Probably not definitive, but certainly very complete — an appendix detailing production details and specifications would have been helpful — and with enough information to please even dedicated Porschephiles.

Porsche 911: Perfection by Design by Randy Leffingwell
Review book supplied by Techbooks
Review by Allan Walton