Oops wait ....great-grandfather (sorry, got my math all wrong).

So I go for a two year annual oil change on my 997 with 17.5 K oil change and said yes to a preemptive 20 k service. I go back late evening to drop off the Taurus and pick up my car as I walk to the check out counter inside the shop the general sales manager pulls in after test driving the newly arrived black on black 991. The manager invited me to sit inside. The guys there told me that the 991 is to 997 what the 958 is to the 955 and that is a very bold statement. Some magazines rave that the 991 is the best 911 since the 993.

On the 991, I was very impressed with

1. The stance especially from the side view: Looked beautiful, the lower roofline and the rear hump was so much nicer in person than on the pictures.

 

2. The exhaust: Even at the low speed it was quite a throaty growl.

 

3. The seating: Very comfortable (even with the standard seats that I sat on) with a tad little extra thigh support that comes in handy for someone with a like me long femur.

 

The windshield base was clearly farther away from the driver than the 997. The engine access or lack thereof was certainly not to my liking and I am still
not sold on the tail lights and the rear end styling.

 

So I go closer and we talk 993 with the service manager (great guy who runs a very talented team) who then decides to pull in to the shop with his 993C4S and park it beside the 991 to compare the incremental changes over the years. Wish I had my camera, iPhone was all I had but hey I did my best to capture this reunion.

 

The rear end styling not good or bad ... just not to my liking

 

So as I keep shooting the pics, my wife gets tired (There is only that much drooling one's physiology can take before their salivary glands are overwhelmed) of checking out a peridot metallic Cayman R and sends this text: Hey get your a** up here. So I walk back to my 997.2 and as I walk closer I feel my car move me (emotionally) even from a distance and this reiterated why I got her sight unseen even without a test drive. On my way back as Karma would have it all I see is 3.2's some with and some without whale tails and my wife looks at me and nods quietly (conveying to me in an indirect way on why we chose the '86 coupe over the other air-cooled beauties. The Cayman R was great, the 991 and 993 were the best of their respective line ups but .... the 997 and 3.2 it is for me and will be for a long time. En route my pre-teen daughters text us wondering where we were all this time and gently reminded us that they had missed their swim lessons thanks to our delay at the dealership. We blamed our goof up on the 991 and told them how it just took over my attention. So they text back "whats the big deal we are just walking past one in our parking garage". We reply back " ya right ". My wife And i thought that they probably are seeing the usual 997 that is parked in our garage (the guys at my dealership said that there are only two 991s that came to the state and the other one is a fully loaded platinum silver car) .. then my older one shoots this picture of the younger one disapproves the distraction that costed her the lessons and not the car per se. I was flabbergasted. That night I knew how lucky I was to head a family with three other Porschephiles. What else would I want in life.

 

"The guys there told me that the 991 is to 997 what the 958 is to the 955"

I presume the 955 is Cayenne gen 1 and 958 is Cayenne gen 2... I may actually prefer the 2008 gen 1 facelift to gen 2.

And yes, the 991 is big compared to the 993. Have you guys looked at the other GTs lately? Aston, Jag, SLS? Big cares with busy/complex/jewel-like cockpits. Those are the reason the 991 is what it is. And not only in looks and appointments...

 

Too cool. I still think she disapproves of you suggesting they couldn't tell a 991 from a 997 though rather than the lost swim lesson.

 

It looks like a 993 in the second stage of turning into "The Hulk".

 

Honestly, that 993 looks FANTASTIC next to 991 (although a bit dates), specially the round front headlights next to ovals on 991... WHY they changed the shape is beyond me?!

 

Funny. Tonight I went to the 991 premier at Beverly Hills Porsche. I was sorta worried as I thought I would be "sucked" in to the new car and just feeling that mine was dated/old. No doubt, Porsche has a winner on their hands with the 991 and I really like it. But when I went back to mine to drive it home, I really felt a new bond with mine. I didnt have that feeling that mine needed to be replaced. And when I parked it at home and turned around to look at her, felt that the 997 doesn't look like or feel dated. It looks smaller and maybe dare I say it, at least as nice. Smaller and less bulky. Typically when another marque comes out with a new one, the old one looks really old and yesterday's news. Look at any BMW, Mercedes, Maserati etc. I don't think the 997 looks that way at all. I felt happy as this may save me some $ in the short term.

Of course, I still haven't driven it. And that may blow me away. However, I'd suspect at best it will be an improvement but not monumental. Therefore, I can wait a while. Maybe euro delivery or a 2014.

I do actually really like the interior. That is where the 997 doesn't quite match up and may look older. However, I'm still happy enough with it and it has all the mod cons.

 

+1 exactly!

 

Looks like a AM V8 Vantage from the B-pillar looking back with that roof line, window section and fender. No complaints here.
I do like the Panamera interior, big improvement over the 996/997 generation.

 

I really like the 991 but also think the 993 (especially the widebody models) remains one of the best looking cars on the road.

Unfortunately, and I'm sure I'll be flamed to death on this, I don't really care for how the 993 drives. The offset, floor mounted pedals, ergonomics from about 1,000 years ago, awful HVAC system, etc. just aren't my taste.