If you’ve never forgotten the line “One ride and you’ll understand why most rocket scientists are German,” that ad of an airborne Porsche 911 Turbo has stuck in your head this whole time.

For those who grew up in the late ’70s and the early ’80s, the G-Model was the 911 of their generation. The 911 Turbo (dubbed 930) was the pinup 911. Little boys aspired to it, had a poster of it on their bedroom wall, and had a 930 toy car grasped in their hands.

Introduced at the Paris Motor Show in October 1974, the 930 looked like no other 911 before it, with that whale tail and those wide wheel arches. It was Porsche’s first supercar, and it elevated the brand to a whole new level.

Porsche had been researching turbo technology since the late ’60s. And the story, of course, started with racing. In 1971, Porsche entered the 917/10 in Can-Am, but it lacked power compared to its competitors.

For the ’72 season, two turbochargers were installed on the 5.0-liter flat-12. The next year, the 917/30 had a maximum output close to 1,600hp from its twin-turbo 5.4-liter flat-12. Porsche dominated both years.

Soon after, Porsche’s intention was to join sports car racing concentrating on the 911, specifically for Group 4 and Group 5.

Thus, the turbocharged 911 was a homologation special of 400 examples that had to be produced within two years. Production started in 1975, with the required target reached by just the end of the year.

Examples between 1975 and 1977 had a 3.0-liter engine with an output of 256hp and 344Nm. It hit 100km/h in 5.4 seconds.

For 1978 to 1989, displacement was bumped to 3.3 liters plus an intercooler. Output increased to 296hp and 412Nm. Zero to 100km/h was reached in 4.9 seconds. With the rear wing having to house the intercooler, the whale tail later became known as the tea tray.

The fascinating part of this 911 Turbo story is that perhaps Porsche wasn’t expecting it to be such a hit, producing just 400 examples in order to go racing. A total of 21,589 930s (2,819 of the 3.0-liter and 18,770 of the 3.3-liter) were built.

Throughout the generations of the 911 Turbo, further developments were applied that have been significant to this day, such as biturbo and all-wheel drive introduced in the 993 generation and Variable Turbine Geometry (VTG) in the 997.

Over the years, the turbo principle was applied to the sports car brand’s other models as well, such as the 944, the 968, and later, the Cayenne, the Panamera, and the Macan—representing top-of-the-line variants.

But “Turbo” is not just a model designation—it’s the application of Porsche’s driving dynamics. Take, for instance, the Taycan Turbo S and the Macan Turbo, both of which are electric.

The development of turbocharging also means Porsche is attuned to modern times.

Small-displacement turbo engines have resulted in increased performance and better efficiency. Hence, the 991.2-generation 911 Carrera, the 718 Boxster, and the Cayman getting the force-fed treatment.

Just a couple of months ago, the 992.2-generation 911 was unveiled with hybrid technology with an electric turbocharger that not only delivers compressed air instantly to the engine to reduce turbo lag, but also recovers heat energy from the exhaust gas to supply more power.

The Carrera GTS has an output of 534hp and 610Nm, and has a top speed of 312km/h. Imagine how the new 911 Turbo S will go.

Seems like Porsche has anticipated the idea of turbocharging and progressed it further.