2005 Porsche 911 Test Drives

The New 911

For the first time since 1977, Porsche is about to launch two all-new versions of its 911 coupe at the same time.

There's a strong chance that you studied the redesigned Porsche 911 and said, "I give up. What changed?"

That's sort of the point. Porsche may have made news last week for hiring a new chief designer, Michael Mauer, but the company does not like to mess with a winning design. Mauer, who is leaving his job as executive director of design for General Motors' Saab subsidiary, will find a variety of reasons why Porsche is as conservative as a car company can be. A desire to use stylistic continuity to maintain the iconic status of the 911, which turned 40 last year, is but one byproduct of this conservatism.

The 911's styling may require lss upkeep than, for example, Ford Motor's Mustang, whose current generation is about to be replaced by a radically different 2005 model, but Porsche has announced that two all-new 911 models, the 2005 Carrera and Carrera S, will receive major modifications below the surface. They may not look that different, but when the new 911s go on sale in the second half of this year, they will have heavy modifications to components such as engines, transmissions and chassis.

At any given point, Porsche sells several different coupes and convertibles within the 911 line. In current Porsche showrooms, the difference between an entry-level 911 Carrera and a top-drawer 911 GT2 is more than $100,000. Some features are consistent among the derivatives. For example, two of Porsche's trademarks are mounting their engines in the rear of the car and using engines of the "horizontally opposed" type. Instead of "V" engines such as V-6s and V-8s, whose two banks of cylinders point away from each other, horizontally opposed engines (also called "boxer engines" or "flat engines") use two banks of cylinders situated 180 degrees opposite each other.

While the Carrera's 3.6-liter, six-cylinder boxer engine will receive ten additional horsepower for a total of 325, the Carrera S will use a new, 3.8-liter engine with 355 horsepower. Both cars will also have a new six-speed gearbox and reworked chassis. The Carrera S will feature an active suspension that electronically monitors driving dynamics and outside forces and shifts the car to an optimum body position for handling each situation.

Porsche said in a statement that the manufacturer's suggested retail prices for the new models will be $69,300 for the Carrera and $79,100 for the Carrera S. The current Carrera is $68,600, and the S is a new model. Porsche certainly would not have wanted a dramatic price increase on the new Carrera; it is having a hard enough time selling its sports cars right now. While the company's Cayenne sport utility has offset declining sales of the 911 and Boxster, the gap between the SUV and the cars appears to be increasing.

In the first four months of this year, unit sales of the Boxster converstible in the U. S. declined 36% compared to the same period last year. Cayenne sales increased 162%. Consumers appear to be sending a message: we will still ask for the Porsche 911 and Boxster, but what we really want is the Cayenne. Through April 30 of this year, Porsche has sold more copies of the Cayenne than the 911; that was not the case a year ago.

But the 911 is one of the most durable designs in the automotive world, proven by its four decades of successfully thrilling demanding drivers around the world. When the Cayenne has been around forty years -- should it make it that long -- only then will it earn the same kind of bragging rights. In the meantime, the 911 will continue to do what it does best for those lucky enough to own one.

Forbes Fact

Sports car manufacturers such as Porsche and Fiat's Ferrari subsidiary understand that excellence in motor sports is a fantastic form of advertising. With few exceptions, Porsche wins at whatever type of racing in which it decides to compete. The company dominated the GT class at March's Twelve Hours of Sebring race; eight of the top ten places were won by 911s. The best showing Ferrari's 360 Modena could muster was a seventh-place finish. Porsche took the top six places.