1963: Three-part safety steering safety system

For its launch in 1963, the Porsche 911 was fitted with rack-and-pinion steering, which had already been praised for its precise and very direct mode of operation in previous test reports. This steering system was also part of the vehicle’s safety concept. The linkage had a three-part design and the steering gear was positioned in the centre of the vehicle. This meant that the steering wheel did not move directly towards the driver in the event of frontal impact but, due to the steering rod angle, moved away from the driver via the impact tubes and the release elements. Porsche continued to improve the safety steering system. Subsequent generations also featured a mesh tube as the crumple element, the so-called muffler skirt. And from 1991, Porsche was the first car manufacturer to equip all its models with driver and front passenger airbags as standard.