1978 Porsche 911 Turbo Tops 1970s Quickest-Car List With 4.9-Second 0-60 MPH

Q: Why did the fastest production car of the 1970s earn a terrifying reputation for being almost impossible to drive smoothly?

It earned that reputation because the 1978 Porsche 911 Turbo combined abrupt early turbocharging with the 911’s inherently tricky rear-engine balance. The car’s 3.3-liter flat-six made it the quickest-accelerating production car of the 1970s, but its power did not arrive progressively. Even with the added intercooling and higher output, the 930-generation Turbo was still known for heavy turbo lag followed by a sudden surge of boost. Drivers could be in a corner with modest power, then get a hard rush of acceleration once the turbo came on, upsetting the car mid-turn. That was especially dangerous in a rear-engine 911. With most of the weight over the back axle, the car could swing into oversteer quickly if the rear tires were overwhelmed. If the driver then instinctively lifted off the throttle, weight shifted forward, reducing rear grip and making the slide worse. That “nothing, then everything” delivery is why the model became notorious. The searched material reinforces this, noting the 930’s “on-off” behavior, pronounced turbo lag, lack of modern driver aids, and a reputation so severe it earned the nickname “Widowmaker.” In short, the 911 Turbo was terrifying not because it lacked speed, but because it delivered that speed in a sudden, hard-to-manage way that demanded expert inputs to drive smoothly.

1 articles · Updated · Jalopnik · Aug 17

A 1978 Porsche 911 Turbo led the ranking of quickest 1970s production cars after period tests put its 0-60 mph time at 4.9 seconds.
The edge came from Porsche’s 1978 upgrade package: a charge-air cooler, a 0.3-liter displacement increase and 27 extra horsepower, lifting the 3.3-liter flat-six to 261 hp.
The same list placed the 1974 Porsche Carrera RS 3.0 second at 5.2 seconds and the 1971 Chevrolet Corvette LS6 third at 5.3 seconds, ahead of the 1976 Ferrari 512 BB and 1971 De Tomaso Pantera.
Beyond the raw number, the 911 Turbo’s abrupt boost delivery around 4,000 rpm helped define its reputation, making the late-1970s flagship both the decade’s quickest car and a demanding one to drive.