The Five Greatest Porsches of All Time – According to an Expert

Attempting to pick out a Top Five… Porsches is a mean task and one which should strictly be left to an expert. To this end we enlisted the help of Lee Maxted-Page, whose premises we visited recently and whose knowledge of Stuttgart machinery is second to none.

To some the list may be a tad controversial in terms of what cars are missing. Then again, such is Porsche‘s immense contribution that to single out just five is perhaps a bit of a big ask? However, five we asked for and five we got. So, in no particular order …

Porsche 3.0 RSR  

‘Because the 3.0 is simply the best balanced, best looking, rawest historic racing 911 of all. A view shared by anyone who has ever had the privilege to race or drive one since 1974.’

Porsche 2.7 Carrera RS 

‘The most iconic 1970’s Porsche road car. A perfect power to weight ratio makes this car drive as good as it looks on the road, yet is equally capable and indestructible on rallies and hard competition. Everyone should drive a 2.7 RS at least once in their lives!’

1964 Porsche 904 

‘Another beautifully designed car by ‘Butzi’ Porsche and the first ever to be constructed using plastic composites. Beautifully balanced and neutral. Sounds magnificent, Easy to drive and is equally at home on the road as it is capable on the track.’

1982 – 1992 Porsche 956/962  

‘The most Ground-breaking racing Porsches ever. The first Porsches to fully exploit ground-effect in their design which went onto become the most successful racing Porsches of my era. These cars are as groundbreaking as the 917 was originally.’

1958 Porsche 356 1600 S Speedster  

‘The quintessential 50’s sports car – The Porsche which best illustrates that less-is-more. Lightweight, simple and as if honed from one piece. The best ever Porsche to drive in shorts and and tee-shirt – providing you have the right climate!’

So there you have it: One of the leading Porsche people in the country has spoken and there’s no 911 Turbo, 917, 911 GT1, 911 GT2S or GT3s in his list of all-time top five Porsches. 

Reckon he missed out some strong candidates? Feel free to let us know what you’d have in your list and why. 

Photography by Tom Shaxson and Lother Spurzam, licensed under Creative Commons 2.0.