Given the pace at which the automotive industry moves, it’s not entirely uncommon to find model lines that have already yielded their millionth made. Few of them are sports cars, though, or as high-end as the Porsche 911. But that iconic model – if any car has ever been deserving of the descriptor – has now reached the landmark milestone.
After 54 years in production, Porsche produced its millionth 911 at its main factory in Zuffenhausen today. The Irish Green example pays tribute to the original with Fuchs-style alloys, gold badges, and an interior with houndstooth upholstery and wood trim – not features you’ll see on most 911s these days.
Rather than going to a private customer, the landmark vehicle will remain in the manufacturer’s possession, touring locations around the world before taking up permanent residence at the Porsche Museum.
Though the 911 stands as the most successful model in the company’s history, and the first to reach the million-made mark, it is not the most-produced sports car in the business. Chevrolet has made over 1.5 million Corvettes, just as Nissan has Z-cars. Even the Mazda MX-5 Miata got to the million mark before the Porsche did. But what’s most impressive is that over 70 percent of all 911s ever made are still estimated to be on the road, which isn’t a figure most automakers can match.
Last year Porsche sold 32,365 units of the 911, which pales in comparison to the number of crossovers it makes these days. The company produced its 500,000th Cayenne in 2013, ten years after it started production. But at the rate at which they’re selling these days, we won’t be surprised to see it crest the million mark in less than the decade it took to get halfway there – nor should it take very long for it (and the Macan) to surpass the 911 as the best-selling models the company has ever made.
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