It might not look it but the latest Porsche 911 is almost entirely new
It might not demand the sacrifice of the proverbial right limb, it might not even find itself on the list of the 10 most beautiful cars in the world but without doubt the 911 is the most iconic and instantly recognisable shape in automotive history. How do you update a bonafide classic then?
Update is too mild a word actually. Unless you are a hardcore Porschephile your brain will hurt trying to pick out the differences between this sixth-generation 991-series and the earlier 997-series. The strongest visual change are the slimmer and sharper LED tail lamps but the new 911 is almost 90 percent new.
100mm, that’s the big talking point. It’s the stretch in the wheelbase that fundamentally alters the 911’s traditionally short wheelbase (and subsequent driving characteristics? We will come to that later). Taking the driver’s hip point as a reference, the front axle moves forward by 30mm, the rear moves back by 71mm and the windshield moves forward by 76mm. Compared to the previous 997 the engine remains in essentially the same place, it’s the rear axle that has moved back resulting in a more cab-forward stance, a roomier and spacious cabin (though the rear seats remain strictly for small kids), better refinement and improved stability.
It has also made for a bigger car and even though overhangs have been reduced (very good thing that, reducing chances of scrapping over nasty speedbreakers), length goes up by 55mm. The front track has been widened by 52mm and though overall width is the same as the old wide-body 997, visually it looks wider since the headlamps that cap the characteristic front fender humps have been pushed even more outboard. Lower too: The roofline (‘flyline’ in designer speak) has been dropped by 5mm making for an even more dramatic, swoopy and sporty profile, all adding up to an aggressively road-hugging stance.
The second significant departure is in construction. 45 percent of the body including the fenders, boot, bonnet, roof and most of the floor is now aluminium, which brings down the weight of the body-in-white by 80kg, all the more impressive considering torsional rigidity has improved by 20 percent. The treadmill obsession has resulted in 18kg being taken out of the engine and chassis. And though improved safety equipment and luxuries have added 58kg, there has been an overall weight reduction of between 30 and 45kg, depending on spec.
And the third shift in philosophy: Electric assistance for the power steering.
Don’t bother raising a howl of protest because this number will shock you. 7 minutes 40 seconds. That’s the lap time round the North loop of the iconic Nurburgring race track which, for a sense of perspective, is the same as the previous generation 911 GT3.
First things first: Electric power steering. Probably a better driver than me would find the need but not once during a full day spent thrashing round Yas Marina did the thought cross my mind that maybe, just maybe, a hydraulic rack would have been better; would have delivered better feedback. This is astonishingly good at communicating everything—a dip, surface change, a painted line, change in colour of said painted line—that’s going on under the front wheels. Such is the level of calibration that a digitised feedback has been engineered into the system to replicate some of the slight wriggles that, supposedly, characterise 911 steering.
(This story appears in the 27 April, 2012 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)