"PorscheAir" for early 900 Series Cars 

Today auto air conditioning is common, but in the late 1950s, when design commenced on the 911/912 series cars, it was not.  In fact, in the early 1950s, little more than 10,000 of all automobiles in the United States were equipped with air conditioning.  Also, sports cars were optimized for performance, to the extent that many did not have radios let alone air conditioning.  And of course, there were traditional solutions for hot weather such as sunroof coupes and cabriolets.

Acknowledging the advantages and the increasing desirability of air conditioning the Porsche factory made it available as an option for the early 912 and 911.  The system was designed by the Delanair Engineering Company, Inc. for the factory, and utilized a Tecumseh compressor.  The air conditioning components were installed as a dealer installation, and included a condsenser under the right front fender, refrigerant storage under the left front fender, refrigerant lines under the door sill, evaporator with louvers and controls under the dashboard, and a second condenser under the engine deck grill, and the compressor behind the engine.

Click to view an early original 'PorscheAir' sales brochure (164KB) (from the 912 Registry collection) in Adobe Acrobat format.  Notice the handwritten notes for installation in a 912 of $587.60 including tax.  In the late 1960s, this was about 10% of the cost of a 912.

Of course, by the time the 912E was produced, air conditioning had become more popular.

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