I live in Atlanta and as I came out of work last night look what was sitting two spots over from me!

 

thats a 991

 

You mean, "991"...

 

more

 

I had a bet with myself how many post it would take to nail it....3 less than I thought

 

pics

 

does the 991 look so puffy in real life. Talking about the front fenders and lights.

ps. Shame on u for only taking 3 pics...

 

The Rolex 24 991 pace car back in Atlanta. Headed for PCNA headquarters, no doubt. Is your office located anywhere near them? I see other Porsches in the background....makes me think the answer is yes.

 

Yes. It is a bigger (bulked up) car. A couple of linear inches seems little but volume is a cubic function.

 

Very cool !

Now go grab a sharpie and sign that sucker. You'll be famous!

 

Here it is compared next to my 928. Surprised me on the size when next to my " Big GT"

 

Of course you are right about volume being a cubic function but it is a cubic function of area (which is not linear). (Well, at least this is how it works in animals when calculating a surface to volume ratiio.) If the area of the car (991) is less than the 997 then the corresponding volume should be less as well.

 

I'm not sure what you're picturing, Tcc, but area is a square function of length. That is, length in one dimension times length in the other yields area in square units. (That only works for rectangles directly, but skipping all the calculus in between, it also works for any other object, including animals.) But moving upward, volume is a cubic function of length, so a linear measurement times another linear times a third yields volume. Volume is not directly a function of area. Their relationship includes a lot of other factors we probably don't care about but the morphology of animal life tends to balance out those other factors.

Thus the rule you obviously know: surface area of an animal increases as the square of its linear dimensions, while the volume increases as the cube. That's why an animal that is "twice as big" as viewed in linear measurements will have eight times the volume (and roughly eight times the mass) but only four times the surface area. For those who care at all, that means bigger animals lose heat more slowly and don't have to eat as much per pound per hour. Little buggers like a hummingbird must have a raging metabolism to sustain their body temperature.

From this we conclude that the new 991 will have a slower metabolism than the 997.

Gary

 

Gary, Thank you for clarifying. Now I know why the 991 gets better gas mileage. It's because of its slower metabolism.

 

Nah, that's just due to a little "water renention!"