The five best Porsches that aren’t 911s

When many people think of Porsche, they think of the 911. It’s undoubtedly the most famous and iconic model that Porsche makes, and has been around for over 50 years. However, people often forget about the rest of the Porsche range that, while exceptionally good, seem to forever be in the 911’s shadow. So with that in mind, here are the best Porsches (that aren’t 911s).

Porsche Cayman GT4

The 911 GT3 seems to always get the attention as the best track-focused Porsche there is. Now the GT3 is a great car, but there is one Porsche GT car that lies outside of the 911 line-up as a lone wolf. The Cayman GT4 is said to match, if not beat in some areas, the 911 GT3 for almost half the price. Of course, they are all sold out meaning you’ll have to buy one used – although you’d need to be as quick as possible because they’re already appreciating beyond the initial starting price of £64,451. It just goes to show how desirable a track-focused Cayman is.

The GT4 has a 3.8-litre engine that will push it from 0-60mph in just 4.4 seconds and go to 183mph. Oh, and it’s fitted with a proper manual gearbox, so you get to row it through the gears yourself. Properly fun and an extremely good alternative to the GT3.

Porsche Boxster

Before the Cayman, there was (and still is) the Boxster. Designed as the entry-level Porsche, the Boxster only comes as a convertible. Think of the Boxster as like a Cayman without a roof. Apart from that they’re almost exactly the same car.

But the reason the Boxster is on this list, as well as the Cayman, is because it is said to have saved Porsche. In the early 1990s, Porsche was actually on the verge of bankruptcy, with sales falling year after year. The manufacturer needed to come out with something that would attract new buyers and save the brand.

So it created the Boxster, a mid-engined drop-top with a more accessible price tag than the rest of the range.. And it did exactly what the company hoped for. People flocked to it wanting a convertible sports car that bore the prestigious Porsche badge, but without having to spend a hefty amount of money. You could get the first generation with a 2.7-litre or 3.2-litre flat-six engine which was mid-mounted, making the Boxster a hoot in the corners. No wonder it was such a success, selling more than 120,000 units by 2003.

Porsche 959

Now taking a trip back in time, we have the 959 produced between 1986 and 1988, then again between 1992 and 1993. Only 345 in total were ever made and at the time it was the pinnacle of Porsche. Thanks to its 444bhp twin-turbocharged flat-6 and four-wheel-drive, the 959 can reach 197mph. This meant for a time it was the fastest road-legal car in the world.

With such a car that held the road-car speed record comes an almost record price tag. To buy one you’d be looking at £1M at the least, and they’re only increasing in value.

Porsche Carrera GT

If the 918 Spyder is Porsche’s hypercar of today, the Carrera GT was Porsche’s hypercar of the mid-2000s. Its 603bhp V10 helps the GT get from 0-60 in 3.5 seconds and go onto 205mph. That may not sound hypercar speed by today’s standard, but it was back in 2003 when it came out.

Speaking of when it came out, the Carrera GT initially cost £330,000, but, like the 959, has gone up a considerable amount since then. Nowadays, one would set you back upwards of double the original price. Though that’s the cost of owning a soon to be future classic Porsche hypercar – and possibly one of the last with a manual gearbox. The Carrera GT is desirable to say the least.

Porsche 918 Spyder

The latest car to come out on this list is the 918 Spyder. A rival to the McLaren P1 and Ferrari LaFerrari, the 918 was Porsche showing off what it could do with hybrid-technology. You see, like both of its rivals, the Porsche has a regular combustion engine (a 4.6-litre V8 to be exact) combined with two electric motors (though the P1 and LaFerrari only had one). The 918 has 875bhp in total and can accelerate from 0-60mph in a frankly ludicrous 2.2 seconds.

Porsche really pulled out all the technological stops with the 918, with all-wheel steering and advanced hybrid technology. Hyper-cars rarely achieve a combined MPG of 67 miles like this one does. What’s even more impressive is that the optional ‘Weissach Package’ 918 achieved a record sub-7-minute lap time around the Nürburgring in Germany. Overall, the 918 shows us what the future of using hybrid technology holds for making cars go faster, instead of just more economical.