Adrian Fuller

Am I the only one who thinks that Porsche seem to have got the visual evolution process wrong.

If you line a 993, 996 and 997 up any non- Porsche fan would suggest that the order of evolution would be 993, 997, 996.

The 996 looks sleaker and more modern, albeit slightly softer.

Technically the 997 appears to be a leap forward. Visually, I like it but it seems a backward step.

How on earth will Porsche facelift or revise the 997 in the future without the updated model becoming more like a 996 ?

Adrian

bet

I don’t dispute your evolution theory as you state it with regards to the 993, 996 and 997 and I don’t want to take this thread into another one model is better looking than another model argument. That said…

My personal explanation would be that Porsche may have realized that it had abandoned the “look” of the 911. The fact is the classic 911 shape and look is iconic. Take the average Joe off the street and show him blacked out silhouettes of different fronts of the 911 prior to the 996 and most likely he will able to match them with the Porsche name (similar to the double headlight and kidney grill front is associated with BMW). However, take the 996 front and the chances of matching it decrease somewhat (although the overall side and rear view still say 911). When I owned my 96’ 993 people still thought it was the “new” 911. I think Porsche is attempting to recapture its brand recognition because arguably Porsche made some mistakes with the 996 design (maybe too radical of a departure and definitely sharing the front with the Boxster). The fact that the Boxster was out years before the 996 did not help the cause because that front end was associated with the Boxster and not the 911. When the 996 came out the confusion in the general public’s eye diluted the recognition of the 911.

IMHO the 997 from the pictures is a modern logical evolution of the classic 911. Do not take this as slam on the 996 (personally I think the styling of the 996 has taken some unjustified slams for its design – for example, I don’t think the subtle lines of the 996 photograph well and it looks much more “slab” sided in pictures than it does in person). Maybe Porsche realized that yes the 996 is sleeker, more modern and softer…and just maybe too much like what every other car company is building and maybe just too much of a departure from the classic 911 styling. It has been Porsche’s MO lately to cash in on its image and name and maybe the “retro” styling (if you can call it that) of the 997 is in this vain? All things it is too early for me to pass judgment on the 997 styling until I can see one in person.

UberXY

I think the 997 is a step forward visually because it does not have boxster headlights anymore.

Steve
99 996
76 930
64 356C

CLL ACAB

I'm of the other opinion. I like the clean look of the bumper without turn signals, fog lights, etc. I like the integrated look of the 996 lights. I think the 997 lights look like a VW from the front.

protokultur

I like the 996 front better than the 997 front, but luckily Por$che has priced the latter far enough out of reach so that it doesn't make much of a difference what I like.

netdoc

I agree with the last 2 posts. I like the new modern look of the 996 especially with 02+ Headlights, which clearly differenciates 996 from the Boxster. I am not being biased since I own a 02+ 996, but I just think Porsche should have moved forward with 997 from 996, not back to 993 looks.

Now interior is also a whole different story, why do they have to go to square looks, they could have offer all the new technology and amentities without looking like a ford mustang interior. It could have looked a lot better if they stayed with the curvy design interior of 996 and added all the new looks and design based on that... just my 2 cents...

My 03+ SL500 interior looks so much better than the 997 interior. It seems so backwards, with that shifter from my good ole 944 and my 968, and the square NAV unit and console looks like a Ford Mustangs...

rss997

I like the 996 front better too....I think the new fron bumper does look a little "VW"....

sly

I think the biggest mistake that Porsche made, undoubtedly to save costs, was to make the front ends of the 996 and Boxster nearly the same. No one wants to spend $80K on a car that looks so much like a $45K car.

Scouser

Yeah. I like the 997 cos £80,000 is a fair price to pay for a VW. NOT!

I saw one in the flesh at the National Exhibition Center in Birmingham and while there is no doubt that it looks stunning, it doesn't look anything near as stunning as my 996. The back looks sort of short and stumpy ( I hate to think what the cab will look like). The front looks like well, like em, a 993. I love the 993, who doesn't. But this ain't a 993 and it's nowhere as agressive looking as a 993. If anything I think it looks very like a VW. The headlights on the 997 are much better than those absolute horrible runny egg things on late model 996s but they still don't look as good as pre 02 headlights. The inside, well all I can say is very very tacky indeed. I mean who the hell wants a freakin stopwatch on the top of the dash? There's too much aluminium. They gone mad with it this time. They still haven;t managed to put a decent stereo in there yet either. The worst part is that
thy have gone and upgraded the front of the boxster and it looks absolutly stunning!
Yeah, the 996 is a much better looking car. Even my wife thinks so.

BostonMarkC

Yup, I may be picking up one of these in a couple years...I can't wait to see pics with the 987-style 18s on it.

RR

I have to agree with Scouser.

The 997 especially head on looks like a VW/crap.
Porsche has done the stupidest thing - listened to too many of the people on hear "crying for the 993 look."
To me its a step in the wrong direction. The 996 may have not been everyone's cup of tea, but it was designed with one man's vision of how a 911 should/would look like in the 21 century - no excuses.

The 997 is so confused - to me it just screams out, "Sorry, we may have made a mistake with the 996, do you like this one better?"...

Stevo'99

Yep, this thread did turn into one of those "I like the 996 looks better" thread. Well, I'll have to agree. It is hard to make a complete decision without seeing one in the flesh, but I like the sleeker looks of the 996 much more. I do like the '02+ headlights compared to the boxster style headlights, but I think my car is just stunning and no boxster compares to it in beautiful lines.

More than the 993-ish headlight issue, I dislike the bulbous *** end of the 997 even more. It sports huge louvers and is box-shaped compared to the smooth lines of the 996. I agree that the cab will probably be incredibly ugly. I'll take a look at them when they arrive at P-of-Honolulu. They still have a couple of C4s's in stock that are stunning and I hope to be able to compare one side by side with the 997.

And the 997 interior is awful - like a sh*tty Ford Mustang. BTW, my wife and I rented one the other day in Maui and it was just horrible. I haven't driven one in years and all this time I thought Ford was improving. Ick! I couldn't wait to get out of the thing! Not only in looks/interior, but it's manners were just rock bottom. What a piece of crap.

ZAMIRZ

I just see it as Porsche fixing the mistake they made by going back to what makes a 911 a 911, those two round headlights. The 996s front end is alright looking, but I could never warm up to the tumor growing off the inside of the headlight.

It's funny to see the observations from the 996 owners of the 997 interior when the 993 owners were singing the same tune 5-6 years ago about the 996

TT Gasman

Here's my theory FWIW, the 997 is the 996 and the 996 is the 997 . Think about it, back when they were in financial straights, Porsche couldn't afford to upgrade the 993 to 996. They most likely already had the "997" as we now know it all planned out but money was in short supply. All Porsche could do was raid the Boxster parts bin as much as they possibly could, engines included, to bring the "996" to market.
Now things are much different, being the most profitable automaker and all. Porsche is finally in a position to give us the real 996 aka 997. Albeit with a few mechanical upgrades learned from the Boxster/996 project. What do you guys think?? Another crazy conspiracy theory perhaps?

odurandina

looks yes. performance ? yes.


don't know if you all have seen this Tanner Foust video of the GT2 RS, but it's pretty good (second video).

but now i finally want a 911. love the closed course city drive.

https://rennlist.com/forums/off-topi...che-911-a.html