It appears Porsche are aware that people have questions about some of its products, and the most popular of the lot is “why is the Porsche 911 called 911?” Well, the company has released a new video to answer exactly that.

The story begins in 1963, when Porsche introduced the 901 to the public at the Frankfurt Motor Show as the successor to the 356. Production of the 901 began shortly after, but Peugeot soon objected to Porsche using the 901 name because it had legal rights to all car names with three figures and a ‘0’ in the middle (201, 302, 404, etc.).

Unfortunately, Porsche had already produced the golden numerals (9, 0 and 1) that would go on the car’s dashboard and engine cover. So, instead of coming up with a new name, they simply got rid of the 0 and slotted in an extra 1. Problem solved, and that’s how the legendary 911 moniker came to be, lasting for over 50 years.

However, a few cars with the 901 type designation were produced, and one of them can be found at the Porsche Museum. The oldest 911 in the collection, it took three years of restoration to get the red coupe back to looking its best.

Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.