At the 1990 Geneva Motor Show and shortly after the 964 generation of the Porsche 911 was introduced, the German manufacturer announced the Turbo variant. In its initial guise, the the new-for-1990 911 Turbo combined the newly designed body and chassis design with the existing 3.3-litre Turbo engine as the all-new 3.6-litre engine was not quite ready.

Before installing the existing engine in the 964 shell, it was subtly reworked to make turbo delivery smoother and less prone to lag. In this guise, it produced around 320 bhp. In 1992, Porsche offered a 'Leichtbau' or 'Light Weight' Turbo S model with larger injectors, more aggressive camshafts and higher boost levels to produce 376 bhp. The 86 Leichtbau 911s built also featured lowered suspension, a front strut brace and no power steering.