PSC

Does anyone know how much more crash worthy the 991 is versus the 997?

Porsche don't seem to be pushing the safety aspect with the 991 so wondering if not much of an improvement?

KINGSRULE

I don't recall Porsche ever taunting the crash worthiness of their cars..

Abby Normal

They don't have to, the statistics from the HLDI does it for them..

for example;

http://www.iihs.org/research/hldi/co...&sz=3&sort=pip

WCE

Good to see the high ratings.
I know back when I owned a 996 I was surprised about the dramatic roof reinforcements Porsche made to the 997 over the earlier model. I'm not sure a 996 coupe can even reliably support its own weight when overturned - one of the reasons I sold mine!

Ed Burdell

Porsches are well-built, stout cars. My buddy's 993 got struck by a Prius, and the Prius emerged a wadded up ball of tin foil, where his car remained drivable. (Sadly, due to exorbitant repair costs, his car was totalled nonetheless.)

It would be curious to see what happens when a Porsche crashes into a Volvo. All marketing hype aside, I bet the Porsche more than holds its own.

Edgy01

Several years back there was an autobahn accident recorded on the internet. (I think it was in Belgium or the Netherlands). It was a 996 hardtop-equiped Cabriolet. All 4 women emerged undamaged from a car that was truly trashed--the engine and transaxle were some distance from the body--and the hardtop sort of remained on the body--but had popped one of the latches on the front right.

The reality is that each successive 911 will be better than the last--I would expect the same with the 991 version. They are designed to protect the occupants.

When we talk about a difference between "the classes" in America--it's most apparent in how well the truly expensive cars protect you, compared to some of the cheaper things. But, even some of the newcomers to the game are spooling up quickly. While I would never own a KIA, I think they are building a tough car, considering how little time they have been at it. The National Institute for Highway Safety has been instrumental in getting manufacturers to design and build smartly.

PSC

One difference I've noted re 991 v 997 is the later car has thorax and side air bags of 10 cu ft where as 997 has 8 cu ft,

Perhaps the result of greater internal space?

fbroen

How one car looks after a crash vs another is really not very relevant, it seems to me. Crumple zones are meant to crumple. The integrity of the passenger compartment would be a more helpful visual.

texas911

That's because all modern cars are designed to disintegrate to dissipate the energy of the crash, basically the Prius sacrificed itself to save its occupants.

fbroen

Are US crash ratings out yet? I would assume EU ratings have been released?

Abby Normal

The US does not crash test Porsche vehicles..either does Australia and either does Europe. Porsche crash tests their vehicles independently.

That's why the link I posted previously is so useful.

fbroen

That link was interesting, thank you.

I didn't realize that the crash test were voluntary. Is there a threshold that exempts "smaller" manufacturers, or is it all not mandatory?

sapman

How would they do this? Call it names?

"You'd crumple if a bug hit you!"

Mike in CA

The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards include dozens (hundreds?) of regulations that all car manufacturer's must meet. But the two agencies, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, that do full on crash tests concentrate on high volume vehicles, which is why you seldom see Porsches included in their ratings.

Ed Burdell

I suppose there's certain reasonablenes to that design objective, but the Porsche both saved it occupant AND lived to tell the tale...at least until the claims adjuster came 'round...