Queram

plus they bump up power in the life cycle of a model so I strongly believe that they leave some potential hiden in the current cars. It is for marketing purposes.

allegretto

Yup,

OCBen

Good point.

But I think the "bump" might be due more to engineering refinement than to deliberate withholding of potential. As concepts get tested and refined in the lab, and life-tested some more, they eventually make their way into production engines, such as when Porsche developed and then rolled out VarioCam-Plus, after taking the innovative VarioCam design one step further.

Engineering achievements oftentimes take longer than a single model year run to complete. It didn't surprise me that the 997 GT3 and the 997 Turbo will be sticking with the already refined 3.6L engine. ... Just wait until they finally get to release into production some of the refinements and tweaks on the 3.8L that they've been working on feverishly since they first rolled out that beefier block.

These engineering refinements can be anticipated and even planned for. Sure, marketing sets the target goals, based on past performance. But once engineering buys into it, they're committed, and they will deliver, often through brilliant engineering achievements. But it seldom happens overnight.

I'm confident that our engines are producing the maximum amount of power for their current state of development, given the strict emission requirements imposed by regulatory agencies. And that there is no deliberate withholding of power, which makes no sense if a company is in business to make money, to say nothing of bragging rights in the hp/liter achievement.

Carbon_Ted

Ben is right, but I still find the base 997C2 3.6L to be an anachronism.
Consider the engine has the same output (325hp...well, they added 5hp to the 2005 997C2 but no torque) as was spec'd hp beginning 5 years ago (Fall of 2001).

Just some food for thought: during the same time period ('01 to '06/'07MY)

• BMW M5- went from 394hp to 507hp
• BMW M3- from 333hp to 400hp for the pending '07 model.
• Ferrari 360/430 V8- from 395hp to 483hp.
• Audi S4-from 258hp to 344hp.
• (base) Corvette- from 340hp to 400hp; (Z06)-from 400hp to 505hp.
• Bentley Continental R Coupe- 400hp to 552hp.
• AMG/Mercedes....eighteen different engine iterations--I lost track!
• not in the same ballpark, but even Mustang GT- 250hp to 300hp.

Granted, Porsche has raised the bar vs. competition with the S and X51. But in this day and age of horsepower one-upsmanship, I've got to give Porsche credit for selling boatloads of base 997C2 despite the engine unchanged since 2002 because the car is superior/preferable to the competition in other areas, not to mention improvement in every tangible and intangible category over the 996.

allegretto

Ted,

porsche never won the HP wars. With the flat six, they never will. Corvettes will always win that battle.

Porsche makes the best balanced drivng machine for the enthuiast who appreciates balance. That's it.

Tell me, how much better the C-6 is from a C-5 as a driver? The Mustang, Ferrari, Bentley. I really don't know, I'm asking, not being a jerk. I know the 997 is a much better ride than the already good 996.