Ferdinand Porsche wears his name and reputation on the successful sports-car maker but the irony is that the car that identifies his surname was designed and developed more than a decade after he died.

The 911, successor to the first Porsche, the 356, was more the product of his son and grandson and a team of very clever employees spurred on by lots of passion and a post-war dose of determination.

As a bit of background, the 356 was the first production car to wear the Porsche name. It was made by Ferdinand’s son, Ferdinand aka Ferry. Then Ferry’s son Ferdinand aka Butzy contributed the distinctive profile of the 911 while engineers moved another giant step away from the brand’s Volkswagen origins with a six-cylinder engine.

Then the whole dynasty thing went pear shaped as the Porsche family elected in 1972 to leave control of the company to others, albeit retaining a nice slice of the Porsche income pie plus a 52 per cent stake in Volkswagen Group.

This basic business structure is remarkable because it’s the absolute last thing on my mind as I form an association with a small and angry beetle-like car from 1967, four years after the 911 was first shown as the 356 successor.

The mid-1960s was an elastic time in history where rules were being broken and mindsets were, apparently, being freed. It was an era of mind-altering substances like fondue, a minimalistic approach to fashion and embracing new concepts based loosely around drugs and primary colours.

Porsche didn’t hesitate. The 911 of the mid-1960s came in some mind-watering colours – baby-poo brown, Kermit green and a bright sunshine yellow to name a few – on the principle that if people didn’t like them, other buyers would.

If there was a “how to” book about the automobile, the 911 wouldn’t meet many of the parameters. The engine is at the back, beyond the rear axle (where it remains today), the horizontally-opposed engine is air-cooled, and there is no power-assistance for the steering or brakes.

The left-hand drive “S” example here, owned by a Perth enthusiast, is a rare and much sought after model made all the more alluring because of its Signal Yellow paint that was one of the colours used to promote the car back in the day.

Please don’t take this as a complaint but the short wheelbase 911 – made from 1963 to 1969 – tends to put the driver second last in its design priorities, lagging only slightly behind the effort made in accommodating rear passengers.

The steering wheel is set slightly to the right in the left-drive model, with the bottom-hinged pedals set even further to the right. This leaves a big fat spot to brace the left foot while the driver sits at a slight angle to the direction of the road.

Thankfully this effect is relatively modest in the left-drive versions – the right-hand drive examples always feel like the angled driving position is even more exaggerated.

It is also a cramped cockpit, with the limited legroom and seats that push hard against the simple door cards and two neatly sculptured rear fold-down seats that may – just – be suitable for small children.

There is no choke for the two, triple-throat Webers (other 911s of the year had Solex carburettors) so the start procedure is to hold down the accelerator and turn over the engine, normally resulting in an instant rush of the engine’s fan and exhaust burble.

The Porsche gear shift is usually quite vague – actually this example had an uncharacteristic tight shift – with first in a dog-leg position to the left and back, which allowed the second and third shifts to be in a single plane for faster changes when racing.

There is a sense of gravity when behind the wheel of a moving 911. It requires a bit of extra awareness of the road undulations and curves, more subtlety with the pressure on the rock-hard brakes, some care with the pin-sharp steering that turns a sneeze into a lane change, and if it’s raining, some uncharacteristic religious thoughts.

The car’s teardrop elegance is completely at odds with the mechanical clatter of the engine, noted at idle and low speeds but almost inaudible when cruising.

The “S” in the 911 designates “slide” – no, not really, but the 911S is the more hyper-active of the model range and also the most powerful.

Put its skitterish manner together with a high-revving small-bore engine that doesn’t really wake up until the tachometer’s needle swings to the green “5” representing 5000rpm, then put most of the weight behind the rear axle, and you have the ingredients for either an awful lot of fun or loss of vehicle control.

The high-revving engine does not affect low-speed traction. The car’s light 1062kg, five close-ratio gears and reasonable torque make it relatively easy to putt around the city.

The best way to drive an early 911 is to enjoy a squirt occasionally, sample the sensitivity to the road and the ability to place it confidently through any corner, and appreciate that in its early days, the 911S was coined “no car for a novice”.

Just a word of warning while basking in this early German engineering – it drinks like a fish. yes, the engine may be only 2.0-litres but if you get less than 15 litres/100km as a city-freeway average, you’re not driving it properly.

Aside from its simple, fuss-free shape and surprisingly diminutive size – especially when compared with the latest 911 – the striking feature of the 911S is its aggressive engine note at higher revs.

Along with Maserati (any petrol Maserati) the 911 could produce one of the best tunnel tunes of any six-cylinder car.

Inside it was all business. The black vinyl used for the seats was often perforated, but that was about the limit of Porsche’s opulence.

The black vinyl door cards have no pockets and use a button in the tip of the armrest as an opener, while the ventilation is encouraged by flip-out quarter glass backed by flipper rear side windows.

Ahead, in the centre of the five-dial binnacle, is the tachometer. Like the ancillary speedo and temperature, oil and fuel gauges and the clock, the instruments are made by VDO and reflect their era by the green numerals.

There is a Grundig press-button radio in the test car – but its sound was no match for the engine. In fact, the engine is the absolute heart of this car. Appreciate its tiny capacity and absolute willingness to run hard and you are halfway to being a committed Porsche-ophile.

Specifications

Make: Porsche

Model: 911S

Model code: 901

Year: 1967

Price new ($A): $8630

• Engine: 2.0-litre flat-6
• Valves: OHC/bank, 12-valve
• Bore/stroke: 80 mm x 66 mm
• Comp. ratio: 9.8:1
• Aspiration: normal
• Power: 118 kW @ 6600 rpm
• Torque: 179 Nm @ 5200 rpm
• Power-to-weight: 110.9 kW/tonne
• Fuel: 2 x Weber 40 triple-throat carburettors
• Fuel tank: 62 litres
• Fuel thirst: 14 litres/100 km
• Transmission: 5-speed manual
• Drive: Rear
• 0-100km/h: 6.1 sec
• Top speed: 220 km/h

Dimensions:

• Length: 4163 mm
• Width: 1610 mm
• Height: 1320 mm
• Wheelbase: 2211 mm
• Track (ft/rr): 1367 mm/1341 mm
• Weight: 1062 kg

Chassis:

• Suspension (ft/rr): ind, McPherson, torsion bars/ind, trailing arms, torsion bars
• Brakes: (ft/rr): vented disc/vented disc
• Steering:  Rack & pinion
• Wheels: 15-inch alloy
• Tyres: 165R15