Porsche 930

The 3.3-litre engine displaced 3,299 cc, achieved by enlarging the bore to 97 mm and the stroke to 74.4 mm. The single KKK turbocharger was retained from the 3.0-litre predecessor, but a significant addition was the air-to-air intercooler, which reduced intake charge temperatures by approximately 60°C. This allowed higher boost pressure and yielded a power increase to 300 horsepower at 5,500 rpm in European specification, with torque of 412 Nm at 4,000 rpm. The intercooler required a redesigned rear wing with a flatter, wider profile — the so-called "tea tray" spoiler — replacing the earlier "whale tail". The engine also received larger intake and exhaust valves and modified porting to take advantage of the cooler, denser charge air. The larger brakes came from development work on the 917 racing car, featuring cross-drilled ventilated discs and four-piston aluminium callipers at all four corners.

The four-speed 915 gearbox was retained for most of the car's production life. Porsche chose four rather than five ratios partly because the transmission could not reliably handle the engine's torque with an additional gear. A five-speed Getrag G50 gearbox, already fitted to the Carrera 3.2 since 1986, became available on the 930 only in 1988. Cars with the five-speed unit also received firmer dampers and thicker anti-roll bars. In the United States the car was withdrawn from sale in 1979 due to emissions requirements but returned in 1984 when Bosch LE-Jetronic fuel injection and a catalytic converter were introduced. US-market cars produced 282 horsepower, rising to 286 horsepower for 1986–1988. European specification was updated in parallel, with a revised engine gaining 432 Nm of torque. Bosch Motronic engine management arrived in 1987.

Production across the 3.3-litre 930's eleven-year run totalled approximately 16,942 units according to one source, or approximately 17,900 units according to another, with the full 930 generation including the 3.0-litre cars accounting for roughly 21,500 total.

The 930's reputation as the "Widowmaker" reflects the physics of driving a rear-engined, rear-wheel-drive car with a large single turbocharger and no electronic driving aids in an era before stability control or modern tyre technology. Turbo lag was inherent to the single large KKK unit: below roughly 3,500 rpm the engine felt almost tame, then boost arrived with a physical surge that could swing the rear-heavy tail outward. A driver who lifted off the throttle at the wrong moment mid-corner risked snap oversteer with little warning. Contemporary road tests praised the performance but explicitly warned that this was not a car for inexperienced drivers.

Modern assessments have revised this picture somewhat. Specialists note that on modern tyres the car's behaviour is more predictable and the traction on boost is strong enough to be exploited rather than feared. The driving experience remains defined by its analogue character — heavy, unassisted steering, a stout clutch, and a turbocharger that delivers power mechanically rather than electronically.

The 930 3.3 spawned a series of distinctive variants. The Flachbau (slantnose), available through Porsche's Sonderwunsch custom-order department, replaced the conventional round headlights with a flat nose and pop-up lights inspired by the 935 racing car. An X33 performance kit (also called the WLS kit) raised output to 330 horsepower. Special Equipment models, designated SE, featured the Flachbau nose and the X33 kit as standard; the run-out LE of 1989 used the same engine specification without the slantnose, with fifty examples produced — one per official Porsche centre at the time. The Martini Championship Edition, wearing the livery of the Martini & Rossi sponsorship associated with Porsche's racing programme, was sold between 1976 and 1979. A Turbo Cabriolet and Turbo Targa were introduced in 1987, extending open-top motoring to the high-performance tier.

The 930 3.3's eleven years in production confirmed the turbocharged 911 as a permanent model in the Porsche range rather than a limited homologation exercise. Its commercial success across European and US markets funded continued development of the naturally aspirated 911 line and the engineering knowledge accumulated from sustained turbocharged production informed every subsequent Porsche turbocharged powertrain. It concluded production in September 1989, replaced by a 964-based 911 Turbo that carried over the 3.3-litre engine in a modernised chassis. Today the 930 3.3 occupies blue-chip collector status, with well-preserved examples regularly commanding six-figure values.