Robert Collins - 96 993TT

Just curious what some of you guys' opinions are:

It's probably a little to early to tell, but from the one picture in the new Excellence, it appears that the design dept. (Mr. Lagaay??) is definitely committed to getting back to the classic 911 and/or 993 look.

The picture it self is pretty basic, but you can surely see the bulges returning to the rear fenders (as opposed to the totally flat side of a NA 996). Even more important, the headlights appear to be making a return to a round or oval look, and the blinkers and fog ligths are returning to the bumper. The 996 style light was "painted" around the round light to disguise it. This thing could end up looking really good.

In the end, I am still an air-cooled junkie, but it would make the new water pumpers one heck of a lot more appealing to consider if it actually LOOKED like a 911!! I could have my 993 for my weekend car, and lease one of these to drive every day. What a plan!!!

I would have posted the pic, but I am not smart enough to know how to post a pic here. Some day, I'll get you guys to teach me...

Anyway, Merry Christmas!!

Robert Collins

fbfisher

So without you posting it, how do I get to see it?

Jack Ennuste

This one?



shot from 2002 october

Robert Collins - 96 993TT

That pic is very similar. The one in the mag has a much more detailed view of the front bumper and the fog lights, etc... It really shows how similar it might end up to the 993. Now just try to imagine that car w/o the white stuff painted around the lights.

The newer pic also shows how much more pronounced the rear fender bulges are. The light in the pic you posted doesn't really show them off that well. If someone will tell how to post the pic I will, or I could send it to someone to post for me.

Thanks for posting the pic, Jack...that one at least gives everyone the basic idea.

Robert

os993

I wouldn't spend too much time trying to figure our how the new "997" will look from spy pictures. Our good friend Phil, aka 993RS posted some pics a whil back of how Porsche disguised the 993 during the 964 days...bottom line, they did a great job making the new 993 look like a 964....

Porsche AG are masters at disguising their new models...until we see it, we really won't know what they're up to, but I do hope the integrate more classical 911 and 993 attributes to their new line...the 996 never did anything for me...

Mark in Baltimore

Hi, Robert,

The 997 looks, um, better but as far as the photos I've seen indicate, it doesn't stir my heart as a 993 does. Of course, in the flesh the new car might change my mind.

I remember when the 993 first came out and Car & Driver did a test on it. Especially from the side, I thought the designers had perfectly expressed how a sports car should look. The bulges were muscular, taut and spare, as if the sheet metal were drawn down over the wheels. The rest of the sheet metal was sooo smooth without being boring (read: 996) and really excited me so much.

I also thought Porsche did an outstanding job of evolving the headlight tunnels in such a way that it looked like they "shaved" down the old tunnels from the 964 but still kept the lineage and feel of a 911.

I lusted after the SC's and Carreras of the late '70's and '80's. Porsche, however, "lost" me when the 964 was introduced and, at the time, I wasn't sure why. I thought maybe the 911 was getting long in the tooth or perhaps, dare I say it, *disco*. I now know that it was a combination of the high ride height, narrow body, and disc wheels. An RS America is the only 964 I would consider owning. IMO.

Porsche nailed it with the introduction of the 993. I still can't believe I own one.

Cheers!