The Porsche 996 Reinvented an Icon with Water-Cooled Precision

When the covers came off the 911 (996) in 1997, it was clear Porsche had crossed a line it couldn’t uncross. The air-cooled flat-six—an unmistakable part of the 911’s identity for 34 years—was gone. In its place sat a water-cooled engine, the kind of thing purists swore they’d never accept. But the truth inside Weissach was simple: keep the old setup, and the 911 wouldn’t survive the next decade. It wasn’t about abandoning heritage. It was about keeping the car alive long enough to have a future.

From Air-Cooled Heritage to a Modern Mandate