991 v. 981 - what gives it away visually?
 

I have to say, I have a lot of trouble determining what I'm looking at sometimes when a 991 or 981 (or even 911 v. Boxster/Cayman) rolls by. Is it a 911 cab or a Boxster? Is it a GT3 or a GT4? What is the dead giveaway? Am I car blind?

I've been a car guy all my life but I struggle with these P-cars. My kid thinks I'm losing it. Is it the height of the side intakes? The contour of the front air dam? The area where the door glass meets the glass behind it?

Headlights? More rounded at the front edge on the 911 vs. pointed on the 981?

Side scoops for me, since the 991 turbo scoops are shaped a lot differently than 981 (as are the RS scoops), and the vast majority of 991's on the road are scoop-less.

When a 981 and 991 are sitting side by side, you have a harder time finding similarities. But on the road when cars are coming toward you at times they are hard to distinguish until they get close enough to recognize a particular detail. The 987 Cayman and 997 Coupe were harder to differentiate when coming straight at you at a distance.

Sitting in my garage just a few years ago were a black 987 Cayman R and metallic black 987 Spyder. Essentially brother and sister and both had silver Spyder wheels. They looked completely different not just because of the roofs and humps versus hatch, but the wings and diffusers were very different, and the bikini top of Spyder really gave the car a very different low profile. It's all in the details. Ownership aids your viewpoint, especially if you wash the cars yourself you really get to know every little crease and differentiating detail.

From the side the taillights are obviously different as well. 991 looks like more of a narrow rectangle while the 981 looks more like an arrow head. On coupes the rear / second window pane is longer and finishes more rounded on a 991. 981 doesn't have a back seat, gets a shorter window, and the tip if it is cut off.

Curve of the front fenders/lights, and the rear haunches/transition from roof to rear. Dead giveaways for me. I never confuse them from any angle. The 981 was a big improvement on the 987 shape, but it's still not as refined and beautiful as the 991.1.

From a side profile, top up, the 911 has a bathtub look due to the higher rear collar over the engine. The Boxster looks like a purpose designed sports car with the lower collar due to being a mid-engine.

Top down, the 911 still screams bathtub and the Boxster says exclusive sports car with the top down.
Your mileage may vary.

All Porsches look the same, similar to how all Minis look the same.
Great for branding, as you know a Porsche when you see one. But it can be hard for even long time owners/enthusiasts to distinguish between models without giving them a few seconds of their visual attention.
When seen straight on, I look at the running lights and radiator grilles for the subtle differences.

I drive a 987S, people should know it's a 987S. But I've been to PCA events where people have seen my car backed in and ask me how I liked my Carrera...

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I think if you own a Porsche, you see the beauty in 911 vs. 981. For people that are not so familiar with the difference prefer the look of the Cayman. I know this because I keep overhearing people at the NY Auto show at Javits Center where the 991 was sitting right next to the 981. I was there quite a bit, drooling over both of them.

I've had the opposite experience. Most people who've seen my cars, prefer the 991 over the 981 by a wide margin. I like them both, but the Carrera is a timeless, beautiful, organic, once in a lifetime car design. The 981, while nice, just isn't. And it's the best looking Cayman yet precisely because they made it look closer to the Carrera. Now, I'm talking about the tintop. If we're talking Cab, I'd take the 981. The 991 Cab design just does not work. At all.

My experience has been the opposite. People stare at my Spyder as if they don't even know what the hell they're looking at, and in a good way. 911's don't garner that kind of attention. The 981 Spyder is far more exotic in appearance than almost any 911 version. And definitely more exotic than any 911 in the $100K price range. To me, a 911 is a 911. Pedestrian unless you get into the GT cars or Turbos, with the exception of a nicely optioned GTS cab or similar.