Freddie Two Bs

Nope. 89.4 inches to 96.5 inches. That's a substantial increase. While it had only increased 2 inches from 1965-1973 to 964, if I googled the right sources.

FrenchToast

The first cars are 87", 901 thru MY68. It then increased to 89.4" to improve stability. It stayed at 89.4" thru the 993 (it did move small fractions with each new suspension design). The 996 went to 92.6", 991 went to 96.5", don't know the 992.

The 996 is an increase, but it looks even longer due to the shorter overhang.

dribar

mb1

1995 928 GTS
Width: 72.3 in
Height: 50.5 in
Length: 178.1 in
Weight: 3594 lbs

Not judging (I have and enjoy my 991), but I used to think of the 928 as a huge GT when I saw them driving around town in the late 80's and early 90's.

tstafford

I enjoy my 991. As I've aged my tolerance for discomfort has gone down tremendously. I like the mixture of performance and comfort a ton. It's a very capable performance car - I track it regularly. And it's enjoyable to drive to/from the track as well.

hacker-pschorr

Typical when a sports car is transitioned into a Gran Touring automobile .

They should have just renamed the 911 line "928" when the 996 was introduced.

Exactly!!

Porsche new the future of their top tier car was going to be a GT, they were three decades ahead of the market!! With the introduction of the Boxster taking the role of Porsche's minimalist sports car, the 911 was transformed into a GT the 928 used to be.

I don't understand why this topic ruffles so many feathers, it doesn't make the 911 any less of an awesome car. I just cannot wrap my head around something weighing 3,600lbs, AWD, similar creature comforts as an S-Class....as a "sports car".

chuck911

I've been reading about the 911 since about 1973. From 1973 up through around 2005 or so I'm sure I read everything R&T wrote, road tests or otherwise, and probably the majority of everything else in print as well. Once the internet exploded all bets are off. But based on print at least I have a hard time remembering the 911 ever being classed as a sports car. The only real question mark would be the occasional debate over calling it Sport/GT or GT/Sport. But nobody (of any substance) ever referred to it as a sports car. Or GT. It simply never has fit into either category. Which, of course. The 911 has always been in a class of its own.

What is a real 911? You won't like the answer. But the market has spoken. Porsche has listened. The answer is as obvious as the nose on your face. A real 911 can be air or water cooled. A real 911 can be natural or forced induction. A real 911 can be manual or PDK. A real 911 can even have the engine in front of the rear axle. And a real 911 can even be hybrid, which shockingly calls the whole flat-six convention into question. (Which, come to think of it, not even news. Porsche is on record saying they can make a 911 - presumably a real 911 - run on batteries.) A real 911 can be sheet metal, composite, plastic, RWD, AWD, analog or computerized, stripped and roll-caged or full-leather climatized. The one thing we know for sure a real 911 can NOT be is a car with anything other than round headlights. That is the lesson Porsche learned with the 996. Learned it so well that every model since has been defined by the shape of its headlights. A hundred years ago it was radiators. Today, with Porsche anyway, its headlights.

captainkirk

I have to admit that is how i exactly feel, I could never imagine the headlights being changed, I was loss of words when the 996 models got released. I still to this day have a hard time buying any used 996 designs (and yes, they have deals on these models). I can live with the power-plant changes and what not, as long as I get the feedback of a 911, and gotta have the round headlights.

I am a sucker for the 911 look, can't help it.

simplex

In the above, if you had said 'Carrera' instead of the '911', then I could agree. But the 911 GT3 and GT2 models are definitely sports cars.

chuckbdc

Everybody knows real sports cars should have side curtains and tops stored in the boot. Porsche and Alpha Romeo screwed it all up with roll up windows and (optional) heaters.

Dennis C

It will be interesting to compare the dimensions of the 992 to the previous cars. Lots of people talk about now the 991 is soooooo much bigger than the 997, but it's really not. If you look at the stats directly from porsche press kits comparing the 997.2 C2 to the 991.1 C2, you'll see that that 991 is 1.27 inches longer than the 997. It's the same width. The 991 is 0.70 inches lower than the 997, and it weighs 33 lbs. less than the 997.

So the 991 is definitely a little bit longer than the 997, but it's the same width, it's lower, and it weighs less. Does that make it "bigger"? Not really....

I suspect the 992 will be pretty comparable in size to the 991.

Freddie Two Bs

Maybe he's British. In England "sports car" has a very specific definition of an open top 2-seater.

simplex

He's not. You could tell by the way he writes, by looking at his history, and also by his referencing R&T as the source of automotive journalism. Which means he was using the term 'sports car' not in the British, but in the most accepted US sense (same as the German term Sportwagen, incidentally).

So my objection to his statement stands.

HenryPcar

Personally I was considering the 991 before I got the 997.2. I've driver both before I decided on a used 997.2
These are just my own perception, and everybody have their own conclusions. After driven both, I found the 991 is very stable while the 997 is a bit more agile and tossable. I think Porsche stablised the 991 even more by lengthening it. I'm talking about the wheel base length of over 4" over the 997 which is very significant. The stretched wheelbase no doubt make the 991 more stable. But on the other hand, with all the electronic controls, the 911's oversteering tendency is all but eliminated. The 997.2 having a shorter wheelbase has a different feel. Personally I like the bit of oversteer to enhance the neutrality when leaning into a corner. Its the neutral feeling that I like more of the 997. I can't comment at all on the 992, but so far the 997 has exceeding all my expectation on the feel and handlig.

HenryPcar

Not all British car fans are your buttoned down country club type that drives a open top roadster. Some hard cores like Chris Harris prefer their cars with the stiffest chassis and driving it like he stole it.