| A new Porsche 911 is always fascinating because | | | | suspension can work more effectively and while |
| it's interesting to see how after more than 40 | | | | not making such a quantum leap as the team did |
| years of development the Porsche team still | | | | with the 996. Porsche improved torsional rigidity |
| manages to bring changes and improvements to | | | | by 8% and added as much as 40% more flexural |
| this icon model. | | | | strength. |
| The new 997 bodyshell combines the sleek | | | | For the new car, Porsche wanted to improve |
| modern looks of the 996 series with the popular | | | | crash safety so they added two new air bags |
| retro styling cues from older 911s. The front end | | | | located in the side of each front seat back-rest, |
| is completed with round lights and separate | | | | designed to protect the thorax. They kept the |
| parking/fog/indicator lights. This change, combined | | | | previous two front and two side airbags, which |
| with wider hips echoes the last of the air-cooled | | | | means that now there are six in total. For the |
| 911s, the 993. Other changes in the bodyshell are | | | | same reason, crash safety, the reinforced body |
| the new door handles, wing mirrors and the stylish | | | | shell features further protection such as a more |
| cut of the rear wings into the bumper/lights. | | | | extensive use of super high strength steel. |
| Even if the 997 looks a lot like the previous | | | | The latest model is also 50 kg heavier than the |
| model, the 996, the new car is actually 38mm | | | | 996. The reason is that modern crash safety |
| wider which creates a more aggressive | | | | regulations kind of force the new cars to come |
| appearance. With each new model introduced, | | | | with increased weight, despite the usage of a |
| Porsche has aimed to reduce the drag co-efficient | | | | large range of weight saving measures, including |
| helping the 911 slide through the air more | | | | an aluminum bonnet |
| effectively, and so aiding performance. The same | | | | Aside from the crash safety improvements, |
| thing has been done with the new car, and if we | | | | much of the additional weight can be attributed to |
| compare the 993 Cd of 0.34 to the 997`s 0.28 | | | | the higher standard specification of the new cars. |
| we can see how far the aerodynamic game has | | | | Power to weight is similar with the latest car |
| moved on. The latest body shell and rear wing | | | | offering 233 bhp per tone against it's |
| combine with new underbody paneling to also | | | | predecessors 238 and the new models improved |
| offer increased levels of down force for this | | | | aerodynamics must help it post Porsches claimed |
| latest evolution of Porsche's finest. | | | | performance figures, which are identical to the |
| The latest Porsche model is the best handling 911 | | | | 996. |
| ever. Improving a car's rigidity helps ensure the | | | | |