Porsche's 911 Double Act

According to the Porsche press release, "For the first time since 1977, Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, is launching two new 911 models at the same time: the 911 Carrera with a ... 3.6 litre boxer engine, and the 911 Carrera S, powered by a newly developed 3.8 litre engine."

So, if we're to believe the hype from Porsche's well-paid PR spin meisters, the big news is that Porsche is unveiling two sexy new 911 models at once - something that hasn't been done in 27 years.

That is quite a big issue for such a specialised niche car maker -no arguament there- but what about Porsche's intriguing return to its roots with the retro (but incredibly cool) headlight styling?

Porsche alienated countless thousands of die-hard and indeed long-term supporters with the launch of the Cayenne 4WD wagon.

"We don't see a Ferrari or a Lamborghini SUV," they shouted in defiance at Porsche executives and shareholders who knew two things: that such a vehicle would generate über millions in SUV-mad America, while at the same time tarnishing the brand's exotic sportscar reputation.

Is the return to the old oval headlights of past 911s an attempt to placate some of these traditional Porsche aficionados for the diluting of it's hallowed name?

Perhaps. But that's an arguament best left to bars and lounge rooms, as we've got plenty to talk about.

Here we have two brand-spanking new dream machines that not only look amazing, but promise to involve the driver like never before.

The biggest differences to the two new 911 models (Carrera and Carrera S) include a much more elegant interior, as opposed to the rather drab past 911 offerings, the new look headlights, a revised chassis and gearbox plus the all-important boxer engines.

The pair of 911 models (from the 997 series) will be launched across Europe on 17 July 2004, though British customers will have to wait longer for right-hand drive models, and Australian buyers can expect deliveries in October 2004.

In addition to the instantly recognisable 911 silhouette, both new 911 models have been fitted with a newly developed six-speed gearbox and a reworked chassis.

The chassis tweaks include active suspension that's standard in the Carrera S model, and optional on the Carrera.

Called "Porsche Active Suspension Management", it can be toggled from the "normal" position, providing a comfortable and cruisy balance to the suspension, while pressing the "sport" button firms up the suspension considerably.

This more rigid mode enables the car to be driven harder, to put it simply, and if that's not good enough, you can go even further by adding the sports suspension. This drops the car another 20mm closer to the ground (lowering the centre of gravity), and adds a mechanical rear inter-wheel differential lock.

With the help of a 3.6-litre horizontally opposed 6-cylinder mill (or boxer engine), the 2005 model 911 Carrera now develops 239kW of power, or 325bhp @ 6800rpm, up from 235kW. It will sprint to 100km/h from rest in 5.0 seconds flat.

Porsche is still being cagey about whether there's a torque increase over the current 370Nm in the 3.6-litre Carrera, but we do know that the sportier Carrera S will boast a useful 400Nm of torque.

The 'S' model is powered by a beefier 3.8-litre boxer six, and outputs a healthy 261 kilowatts of power (355bhp) @ 6600rpm and 400 Newton metres of torque @ 4600rpm.

Porsche insiders say the 3824cc powerplant in the Carrera S is good for a 0-100km/h sprint in 4.8 seconds, which is mighty quick for a naturally aspirated Porsche.

Top speed for the Carrera is 285km/h, while the Carrera S will hit 293km/h in good conditions.

Porsche's pair of red-hot coupes get a rather timely wheel upgrade, where the Carrera is now fitted with 18-inch alloy wheels as standard for the 2005 model (previous model got 17-inch wheels). Tyre profiles are 235/40 ZR (front) and 265/40 ZR (rear). The Carrera S gets an awesome new 19-inch wheel design, shod with 235/35 ZR up front and whopping 295/30 ZRs for the rear, which should improve rear-wheel grip.

As far as the new look goes, the return to oval headlights is the biggest single design change, and will spark lots of discussion on Porsche forums everywhere. Underneath the main headlight clusters are the indicator housings, which add another semi-retro design cue, wrapping slightly around to the car's flanks.

Other tweaks to the car's bodywork resulted in more prominent rear wheel arches, a wider track, a more aerodynamic rear spoiler and a pair of nouveau chic 'dual-arm' exterior mirrors.

The Carrera gets twin oval exhaust pipes, while the Carrera S gets a performance-inspired quartet of circular exhausts pipes.

After more than 40 years of evolution, the 911 looks to be returning to its stylistic roots - not that it strayed too far in the first place.

But this begs the question: is this move to be seen simply as a step backwards for the German sportscar maker, officially admitting its progressively styled headlights were naff, or is it an attempt to bring many of the Porsche faithful back into the mould?

When it comes down to it, the new 911 is a great looking car and one that promises to take to the fight back to Ferrari with more user-friendly features, more power and plenty more rubber.

Pricing:
€64,700* 911 Carrera
€73,300* 911 Carrera S

*(click here for a currency convertor)