Following his teaser we shared with you the other day, Chris Harris is back with his full review of the new 991 Porsche 911.
How the world has turned when Harris says it feels like Porsche has nicked the gearbox from the Nissan GT-R and placed it in their hero car. But what of the new electric steering, the longer wheelbase and so on. Have they affected the key handling attributes of the 911 beyond recognition?
Check the video after the break to find out.
Porsche has just revealed pictures and basic information on its new 911 Carrera Cabriolet. Obvious exception aside, the Cabrio is basically a carbon copy of the 911 Coupé. The engine and gearbox options are the same, which means a 257kW 3.4 litre engine for the Carrera Cabriolet and the 294kW 3.8 litre unit for the Carrera S Cabriolet.
A 7-speed manual gearbox is standard, while a 7-speed PDK can also be had. The soft-top roof has been used for its lightweight properties and when it is up it retains the profile of the Coupé.
The 911 Cabrio goes on sale in Europe next March, expect Australian sales to follow shortly after.
After being revealed back in August the world’s motoring press have now managed to get their lucky hands on the brand new 991 Porsche 911. Here’s a teaser of what they think:
Jim Holder, Autocar: “The seven-speed manual is more of a technical than practical success. Whisper it, but on a fast twisting road the slick shifting PDK is actually more fun.”
Ben Pulman, Car: “Let’s start with the steering, which is now electro-mechanical. The first turn of the (strangely big) wheel will scare you, so light is the steering – it’s there to aid low-speed manoeuvering but feels very odd when the 997 was instantly weighty and direct. If you’ve never driven a 997 you’ll think it’s wonderful; if you’ve been lucky enough to be behind the wheel of a GT3 then it’s instantly obvious that that delectable feel is missing.”
Chris Harris, evo: “The extra front track width, combined with the vast increase in wheelbase gives the 991 a superb chassis. Far less understeer, much more balance and, of course, the inherent traction benefits of being rear-engined remain… it’s a better cruiser, but it’s also a far, far better sports car to drive as-fast-as-you-dare. I didn’t expect that.”
Harvey Rubinovich, evo: “The longer wheelbase and more equitable axle-weight distribution does as advertised and imparts greater stability, so there’s less vertical bounding through turns and better front-end bite out of the corners.”
Jason Barlow, Top Gear: “It takes just three or four corners to realise that, far from being neutered by its changes, the new 911 substantially raises the bar. Yes, the trademark front-end lightness has all but gone now, and as a result that inimitable 911 sensation of being pushed out of a corner as if by a giant hand is wound back too.”
So, generally very positive reviews for the 991, then. But, once the novelty of a shiny new 911 has worn off, will the 911 true believers feel betrayed if the front-end feels like any other sports car?
The voice at the start of this official Porsche promo video states, “You’re going to like this.” The new 316kW Panamera GTS is designed to be a GT cruiser, able to eat up and spit out autobahn miles at a rate almost beyond comprehension. Naturally, then, Porsche has filmed this promo on a racetrack.
Well, what do you think, did you like it?
Porsche has added to its Panamera range at the LA Motor Show by revealing the GTS. Sitting between the range-topping Turbo and 4S, it is powered by the company’s familiar normally aspirated 4.8 litre V8.
For the GTS the engine has been given a bit of a tweak and now produces 430hp (316kW) and 520Nm, an increase of 30hp/20Nm over the 4S. With its all-wheel drive system and the standard 7-speed PDK gearbox Porsche say this big whale can reach 100km/h in 4.5 seconds. Helping to slow things down when required are the powerful brakes from the Turbo model.
The Panamera GTS goes on sale in February, Australian pricing is yet to be announced.
UPDATE: Porsche Cars Australia have confirmed the Panamera GTS be ready for delivery in March 2012 and you’ll need $315,000 if you want to play along.
UPDATE 18 November: Four new pics added below.
Evo magazine has assembled 10 of the world’s best performance cars to try and establish which one they think was the best to hit the market in 2011. Following a few phone calls, 10 turned into 11 when they added the just released BMW M5 to the list. As you would. The results of eCOTY 2011 are out there, but we won’t give that away just yet in case you’re waiting for the mag.
In the meantime here’s the list of cars gathered at the mercy of some heavy right feet. Highlight videos from Chris Harris on each can also be seen after the break. He was banned from driving the Ferrari, thanks to his rant against the Prancing Horse earlier this year, but managed to find way to get by.
Porsche has updated its grand daddy of 911 racing cars, the 911 GT3 RSR. Compared to the 2011 model the new RSR has a new and radical body kit to suit its increased 48mm width. Power from the normally aspirated 4.0 litre flat six has increased slightly to 338kW (460hp). All small steps, but it’s hard to improve on perfection.
The 2012 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR will be tearing up racetracks all over the globe. It’s now suitable for “LM” GTE regulations and can be raced in the Le Mans 24 Hours, the FIA World Endurance Championship, the Le Mans Series, the American Le Mans Series as well as the International GT Open and many other events.
Wouldn’t it be great to see one or two here for the Bathurst 12 hour. Well, all you need is the required racing license, a decent expenses budget and around $640,000 (€480,000) and you’ll be on your way.
Regular readers will recall we tested the Porsche Cayman R a few months back. We loved it. Winding Road recently posted some footage of the Cayman R they tested and while there are no words to accompany their clip, the video does give you a small taste of what this superb car is like. Take the jump to watch the clip and read our Drive Thru review for more detail on what the Cayman R is like to drive.
UPDATE: We thought the WR video was too much of a tease, so we’ve found a couple of extra clips and added them below for you as well.
Over the last couple of weeks we’ve had a bit of Porsche 956 content. Raced during the legendary Group C era of the 1980s, it’s a car that’s been described as “the greatest Le Mans car ever.” The 956/962 won the 24 hour race six times in a row from 1982–1987.
But it was more than that, the 956 dominated sportscar racing. At the hands of Stefan Bellof in 1983 the 956 lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 6 minutes 11 seconds; still the fastest recorded lap at the Ring.
To help you get a better understanding of the 956 and the subsequent 962 here’s a short video from Porsche which was filmed at Salon Privé in London earlier this year.
One man synonymous with the 956 is Derek Bell. He won Le Mans five times and in 1982 was the first to do so in a 956. Today is Derek Bell’s 70th birthday, so it’s nice that we get to hear from him in the video too.
In 1983 Australian Vern Schuppan formed part of the winning 956 team at Le Mans. It was the spark for Schuppan to later try and produce a 962-based road car; the 962CR. Ultimately, high production costs and an extreme purchase price, at the time reported to be US$1.5 million, quickly saw its demise after only a handful were built. Although, we can’t think of too many people that would knock back 600hp in package weighing less than 1100kg.
Derek Bell is a hero to many AUSmotive readers and proudly, for him, he still seems to be a hero to the Porsche factory. As such they’ve sent out an official happy birthday wish for the five-time Le Mans winner (four with Porsche). Bell turns 70 on Monday, 31 October.
In addition to Porsche’s wishes and handful of photos, we’ve compiled some great YouTube footage of Bell talking and racing. Not only was he a bloody good driver, he appears to be a true gentlemen and is universally admired both his peers and motor racing fans the world over.
The motorsport world is better for the likes of Derek Bell and we join Porsche in wishing him a very happy birthday.
You may have gathered the Porsche Rennsport Reunion IV was something of a big deal. This intro video above, direct from Porsche, helps explain what all the fuss is about. After the break we’ve selected a few more videos from non-official sources that also capture the vibe. If you want to see around 2000 photos from the event then head on over to the Pelican Parts website.
[Thanks to Todd & Al for the tips]
There’s been quite a lot of great material to follow in the wake of the Porsche Rennsport IV event held at Laguna Seca last week. One of the better clips we’ve come across so far is this footage of Mark Hotchkis at the wheel of the family Porsche 962. There’s more camera angles than you can poke a stick at and the audio is not too bad either.
Take the jump to see your 4 minutes 39 seconds of awesome.