vprgrn

Apologies if this has been posted already.

http://jalopnik.com/5715811/porsche-...what-to-expect

The 7-speed manual seems interesting -- i wonder how that one's going to work.

JEllis

Interesting stuff

Marine Blue

If they make it larger and lighter that will be a great feat and will definitely benefit it's handling although the added length may also take some of the responsiveness out of the equation.

7 Spd MT sounds a bit too much but I can't comment until I've tried it. I imagine the 7th Gear will help them achieve better highway mileage and it won't really serve any other purpose.

vprgrn

Yeah the 7-speed just seems a really strange concept. Imagine, in 20 years' time, we've gone from 4-speed automatics to 8-speed automatics, yet we've never gone beyond 6-speeds in a manual. But if anyone can pull it off (read: make it useable), it will be Porsche.

Mspeedster

It will be interesting to see if any of the green technology that the article speculates about will make it into a production Carrera. If it does, it better be seemless so that nothing takes away from the performance and driving charateristics of the car.

Bob Rouleau

The 7 speed PDK allows for closer ratios in the lower gears - better acceleration while 7th is a fuel miser overdrive. Nice. Since PDK is a 7 speed manual to start with, it comes as no surprise that a version without the electronics and dual clutch is offered.

yemenmocha

Bigger.... /sigh

Bob Rouleau

Is it bigger? I read of a 100 mm increase in wheelbase, but I haven't seen anything about making it longer overall. Lighter is good. The 996 was an 11 inch stretch over the 993, mostly in the trunk I think.

Mspeedster

According to this Autobild article, the new 911 will be both longer and wider by ~2" in each direction.

http://www.autobild.de/artikel/audi-...n-1319274.html

(The article is in German, but Google does a decent enough job of translating to English.)

boolala

That crease in the rear is beautiful as well as the nicely integrated tail lights as compared to the 997.2s tail lights which seem contrived. I like the side skirts also.

Nicole

https://rennlist.com/forums/off-topi...911-991-a.html

Enjoy!

Edgy01

I don't consider the 997 a "worked over 996" as the article suggests. If you look at parts commonality you would be amazed to see how little they have in common. Only the roof was a common part. (Which avoided the need to redesign the hardtops). Suspension parts were vastly reengineered, while the engine was boosted in size to 3.8 on the S (which never existed before albeit based upon the 996 engine).

Nicole

Dan: That's a bit like the 964 versus previous models. Most of the 964 was new, but it wasn't visible to the casual observer, because they changed too little on the body. There are definitely many more changes from 996 to 997 than 911 to 964, but not everybody will be able to spot all the differences.

boolala

Thanks, Nicole, for your insight on this. Hope people will click on the link you provided for an answer as to why Porsche is headed in this direction with the 911.

Edgy01

The comparison by Nicole is correct. The 964 was a vastly different car from the '911' yet by Porsche's plan, looked much like the earlier car.