By @Automedia

May 2004

The most obvious change outside is the loss of the "runny egg" headlamps, which revert back to a simple oval shape, although many other exterior details such as bumpers, spoilers and lights, are also modified. But the biggest changes lie under the skin and in the cabin.

A host of additional derivatives will be sold, including a 911 S designed to emulate the success of the popular Boxster S, with beefed-up exterior styling, a more powerful engine and higher levels of standard equipment.

In total, the German sportscar maker is planning to unleash 12 new rear- and four-wheel-drive 911 models - stretching from the Carrera 2 all the way up to the storming GT2. It's a similar strategy to that taken with its seven-year-old predecessor. However, Porsche will drip-feed the new 997 into the market. At launch, only the rear-drive Carrera 2 will be sold, meaning that today's 996 Turbo will be sold alongside the 997.

Unlike the outgoing 911, which departed radically from its forerunner in every single aspect of its design and engineering, the new one is described by Zuffenhausen insiders as being very evolutionary - more along the lines of a major facelift than a completely new car. Behind the fresh appearance, it shares crucial hard points such as the angle of its windscreen, the shape and size of its door apertures, turret line and 2350-mm wheelbase with the car it replaces. It's also extremely close to today's 911 in size: 4430 mm long, 1765 mm wide and 1305 mm high.

Power for the new 911 comes from an updated version of Porsche's familiar water-cooled 3.6-litre flat six-cylinder engine. The four-valve-per-cylinder unit has been fettled to produce around 345 bhp - up 25 bhp on the existing model. An even stronger version, with up to 380 bhp, is rumoured to be under development for the new 911 S.
Porsche is working on new technologies for its 911 powerplants. Direct injection is in the pipeline, for better economy and power, but it is unlikely to appear before 2007.

Helping make the most of the engine's output is a revised six-speed manual gearbox. For the first time on the 911, buyers will also be able to pick a six-speed Tiptronic with steering wheel-mounted shift buttons.

Eschewing the trend towards expensive aluminium construction, the new 911 sticks with a bodyshell fashioned predominately from steel. Careful optimisation of panel thickness has helped boost overall rigidity while allowing engineers to keep weight close to 1400 kg. The 30 kg increase over the outgoing 911 is largely the result of added safety measures incorporated into the front end of the floorpan.

Despite the small increase in weight, extra power outputs should ensure the new 911 is every bit as quick as today's model. A power-to-weight ratio of about 240 bhp per tonne suggests a 1-100 km/h time of under 5.0 seconds. Top speed is likely to stretch to 290 km/h.

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