A hapless Porsche test driver has apparently made the mistake of driving an undisguised (albeit unlabeled) next-generation Porsche 911 Carrera S on public roads and right in front of the lens of a spy photographer. Oops! His mistake, our pleasure to bring you the result.
This is a Porsche, after all, so don't be expecting anything groundbreaking here. Just a slight tweaking of the iconic shape to keep it fresh and the money flowing in Stuttgart. So what's changed? New headlights up front featuring HID units on top of larger air intakes with integrated horizontal turn indicators. A subtle line surrounds the bottom of the car, flowing from the chin spoiler, down the rocker panels and meeting the rear bumper, which has been restyled to incorporate new LED taillights.
We can expect a revised interior to go with the new exterior. As we reported earlier, we also anticipate a few changes mechanically. The direct-injection technology from the Cayenne is making its way into the 911 range, and we're looking forward to Porsche's first application of its new DSG - just one perk of owning a significant chunk of the VW/Audi group that cooked up the dual-clutch system.
[Source: Car and Driver via German Car Blog]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
SSBR @ Feb 1st 2007 4:46PM
I love it! Getting back to the "old school" of late. If they could bring back the body of the 944, i'll be in heaven.
http://www.rolesor.com
Peter @ Feb 1st 2007 6:45PM
> - just one perk of owning a significant chunk of
> the VW/Audi group that cooked up the dual-clutch system
Bull. VW were the first to bring it in production cars, but the (Borg-Warner) technology is no where exclusive to them. Porsche BTW had its PDK (Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe - Porsche Dual Klutch ;-) )in the 962 group C car 28 years ago and the system production ready, however chose not to launch it. I'm pretty sure the Porsche "DSG" won't have more than a conceptual resemblance to VW's.
naggs @ Feb 1st 2007 7:35PM
im sure it will have 10 more hp and the break cooling efficency will be up 3% and every body panel will be all new...
i still cant tell the difference
Carlton Bale @ Feb 1st 2007 10:01PM
Actually, it was Porsche who invented DSG for racing many years ago. Porsche has been working on their own version of DSG for quite a while, so this may not be equivalent to the VW/Audi DSG.
A Porsche Fan @ Feb 1st 2007 11:38PM
I love this! And the rear lights remind me of the new Cayenne, but looks awesome when applied to the 911!
This is true Porsche evolution, man!
Go Pinky Lai!
Ed @ Feb 1st 2007 11:52PM
Note that it is diguised.
The indicators have larger, coloured vinyl decals over them and perhaps something has been done to the lower portion of the rear lights (black part just doesn't seem to jive with Porsche).
Seems like a good way to take a car out, generate a bit of buzz, and see if people notice the very evolutionary changes.
mk @ Feb 2nd 2007 10:28AM
New headlights... good, dual projectors per side.
New indicators... bad, but can likely be dealt with in the aftermarket
new tail lights... good. LEDs are nice, and not much different than current 997 in shape.
Direct fuel injection??? dual-clutch is good.
Tremelune @ Feb 2nd 2007 2:07PM
Heh...They just keep slowly keep creeping back to the beautiful 993...The 996 was uggo.
I second the call for an updated 944...The 968 is a good car, but it missed the mark a bit...950, perhaps...
Nick @ Feb 2nd 2007 2:20PM
It's not *completely* undisguised, the front turn signals look like stickers (notice the odd cutlines). Still, looks great.
j @ Feb 2nd 2007 7:58PM
Oh my gosh it looks so different than the ones they made in 1970! I can't tell any difference ever in this car from when it was conceived and they give american car makers so much grief for not changing everything every couple of years, people are so crazy.
Danny Cheung @ Feb 2nd 2007 9:42PM
porsche style not changing by 2009 lolz
visit :
http://www.geocities.com/vaiowallpaper/
Jay R Howard @ Mar 2nd 2007 9:46PM
"we're looking forward to Porsche's first application of its new DSG"
People, don't hold your breath...unless your lung capacity can keep you alive for another 4 years.
The new PDK is non-existent except in auto-journalists' hype which said it would be available as early as 2003. It's 4 years later and the new PDK still exists only as HYPE.
All of Porsche's competitors (Ferrari, Veyron, etc.) have had quick no-lift shifts for YEARS. So I guess having The VW Group's DSG experience -- and the 956/962 experience with PSK on racing cars -- HASN'T paid off for Porsche. Sure, if they can finally get the PDK out the door, using it on a prodution vehicle, it would add about 0.1% extra performance than what Ferrari and the rest have had for years (the faster shifts of a dual-clutch over Ferrari's "F1" AMT isn't even a full 0.1 seconds on 0-100!), so was the 0.1% improvement worth it, Porsche?!
Looks like Porsche's exterior styling is regressing back into the mid-19th century as much as their transaxle technology is stuck in the 19th century, too.