I was at the Porsche dealer this afternoon and I asked about the launch date. The sales manager and service manager both indicated the 991 will be a 2013 model which will be available most likely in August of 2012.

 

Rear fenders look bolted on. I guess just added for testing the wide rear of the turbo ?

 

Looks like a wide-body car with the flared side sills (and narrow-body rear wheels).

If anything, the 'frunk' looks like it comes lower, creating more defined fenders and more upright headlights, like on older 911s. EU regs should not affect rear- and mid-engine designs; the regs are to create space between sheetmetal and hard mechanical parts for adequate deformation in a pedestrian impact.

 

Naturally. They would probably give you the same response if the cars were coming next week.

 

The side sills on that car remind me of the Slantnose and 935, that would be sweet if Porsche brought that back. I always loved the way it defined the flares in the back.

This new 911 is going to look sweet! I wonder if they will use similar styling cues on the Cayman, I imagine that would be a huge hit among the die hard Air Cooled P-Car owners.

 

The rear spoiler is a neat idea. I'm not sure I like it as much as I like the current 997 turbo spoiler which is a very clean look raised or lowered. This new one looks to leave a pretty good gap in the rear of the car when up at speed. I also wonder if the center section of the engine cover can raise to dissipate heat if required.

I think I saw shots of the large panel roof opened that remind me of the recent Targa models. I wonder if that mechanism will be any more reliable than the older ones. I recall issues with squeaks and rattles in the older ones, but have never owned one myself to verify.

 

UK CAR magazine reports that the convertible will definitely be a hard-top.


.......in which case I'm definitely gonna get one.

 

Take a look at these pictures of the cab

http://www.autoblog.com/photos/spy-s...911-cabriolet/

 

.....It's a 3-piece hard-top wearing a canvas condom.

 

I have to agree. I thought this the minute the first spy photos came out of the new cab.

 

The one plus I got from the video is that the engine noise/exhaust is VASTLY IMPROVED over 997.2, sounds a lot more like 997.1 and older Porsches!

 

Apropos nothing remotely related to this thread - whatever happened to that wonderful-looking 2-door Panamera that was bandied about a year or so ago?

 

Replaced by new 991!

 

Yup, definitely looks like a hardtop. I hope on the production model the roof stays canvas wrapped.

 

Rendering with the spoiler deployed: