Porsche Will Put Navigation Into Your Classic 911 If You Really Want It

I feel like if you're driving a classic 911, your experience should be about the journey, not the destination. But if you really have somewhere to be and don't want to get lost, and are tired of fumbling with your smartphone when you're driving, Porsche has a new-school solution for your old-school car.

The company announced today that they'll start building a tiny navigation system with a 3.5-inch screen that can slot into everything from the original 911 of the 1960s to the final air-cooled 993, along with their earlier front- and mid-engined cars like the 914 and 928.

It's got Porsche branding and is operated with two knobs, six buttons and the touch screen. They've been making units like these for a while, but this is the latest and greatest version.

It's more than just a nav system, too. It also has Bluetooth phone integration for calling and streaming audio, which is really nice, and an SD card for your music, and it's also a radio. The amp can even be connected to loud speakers, if you ever have a use for that.

Don't expect it to come cheap, though. In German the head unit costs €1,184, which is about $1,340 in our currency; pricing for the U.S. hasn't been announced yet, so maybe it will be less expensive over here.

I don't know how I feel about this thing. On one hand, I'm all about keeping a classic car classic, and that nav system doesn't seem especially easy to use or see. On the other hand, it's a tasteful and discreet option, and it lets you play your own music in your vintage 911, which is great to have.

I wonder if this unit will find homes in a lot of old Porsches. It's better than some nasty-looking unit from Best Buy, right?