Porsche launched the Porsche 911, first unveiled at the 1963 Frankfurt Motor Show.
The car was originally called the Porsche 901, but Peugeot objected because it claimed rights to three-digit model names with a zero in the middle. Porsche changed the name to 911 before production began in 1964.
The 911 uses a rear-mounted, air-cooled flat-six engine in its classic early form. Its basic layout remained remarkably consistent while the model gained new bodies, engines, safety equipment, and electronic systems.
The 911 is sometimes confused with the earlier Porsche 356, the company’s first production automobile. The 356 preceded it, but the 911 became Porsche’s defining sports-car line and remains in production decades after its debut.