The Porsche 911 first went into production in 1964. Production began in September that year, after Porsche unveiled the new sports car at the 1963 Frankfurt Motor Show.
The 911 was originally designed as the Porsche 901, a more powerful and spacious successor to the four-cylinder Porsche 356. Peugeot objected to the 901 name in France because it used three-digit model names with a zero in the middle, so Porsche changed the public name to 911 while retaining 901-based internal references.
Early 911s used an air-cooled, rear-mounted, 2.0-litre flat-six engine and a distinctive 2+2 body. The first cars reached the United States in February 1965, which is why some accounts mistakenly identify 1965 as the launch year. That was the first U.S. export year, not the beginning of production.
The 911 has remained in continuous production and evolved through air-cooled and water-cooled generations, but its rear-engine layout and horizontally opposed engine remain central to its identity.