What Makes a 964?
To say that the 964 was an 85% redesign of the previous Carrera 3.2 series is not truly accurate. The 964 series was a completely new series. The 964 Carrera 4 was the first production series normally aspirated 911 with all mechanical AWD. It remains the first and last series Porsche with an all mechanical AWD system. The Carrera 4 was the first 911 fitted with an ABS system. The C4 was the first and only Porsche model to be fitted with an electronically controlled traction control system. The Carrera 2 series was born from the Carrera 4. All the innovations introduced on the Carrera 4 except AWD and traction control were installed into the Carrera 2. There are some structural differences between the Carrera 2 and 4 at the front but this is due to the AWD installation only.
The 4-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission designed for the Carrera 2 was huge leap forward for Porsche. The previous 3-speed automatic transmission used by Porsche from 1967 to 1980 was the Sportomatic. The introduction of the Tiptronic brought with it full electronic control, pre-programmed driving characteristics software and an adaptive memory system. The Tiptronic system can be operated in full automatic mode or manual mode.
The fuel injection system used on all the normally aspirated 964s was a Bosch Motronic system extensively redesigned as compared to the earlier Carrera 3.2 system. Adaptive memory and fault detection including impending failure was added. The ability to plug a diagnostic tool into the 964 brought with it a much reduced troubleshooting time for many failures.
The 964 normally aspirated engines were fitted with a dual ignition system to improve fuel/air mixture burning efficiency to help with emission control. The Carrera 4, all Turbo looks, RS series and the Turbos were all fitted with a hydraulic brake boost system. The Carrera 2, RS America and Speedsters used the vacuum boost system.
A new central warning system was introduced to advise the driver of various systems failures.
The 964 was the most aerodynamic 911 ever built. Its drag co-efficient has never been bettered.
