Motoring corner: “The Porsche 911”

As is normally the case, the Frankfurt auto show is dominated by German manufacturers. Companies like Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche use the Frankfurt Motor Show as their launching pad for new models. This time round, it is no different; Porsche is doing the same showcasing their “Porsche 911”. The new 911 has a longer wheelbase by 100mm yet the body is only 56mm longer. The new 911 is also about 7mm shorter than the previous version. At just under 176.91 inches in length and 71.18 inches in width, Porsche says the new 911 Carrera remains the most compact sports car in its class. If you lover power and speed, then what are you waiting for? Forty-eight years after the original first greeted the public back in 1963, Porsche has revealed its new 911, the 991 as it is code-named., has been unveiled at this year’s Frankfurt Auto show that was held in September 2011. With a 7 Speed manual gear Transmission, the standard 7-speed manual transmission is an all-new feature for any passenger car in the world, offering gears in close ratio with the seventh as a quasi-overdrive gear. Such a feature was known to exist in trucks and busses but now here is the reality! It is also the first Porsche sports car equipped with auto start/stop for improved fuel economy. Porsche will offer two versions, the 911 Carrera and the 911 Carrera S. The non-S version is powered by a 3.4 litre boxer engine claiming 350 hp. Porsche claims a 0-100 kph time of 4.8 seconds, 4.6 with the optional PDK 7-speed transmission, and an even quicker 4.4 seconds with the Sport Chrono package. Top speed is in the range of 280 KPH for the standard version, 284 KPH with PDK while fuel economy is about 10 KPL (26.8 mpg). The Porsche 911 Carrera S is equipped with a 3.8 litre boxer pumping out 400 hp. The rear-wheel-drive Carrera and Carrera S get things under way in February of 2012 with base prices of $82,100 and $96,400, respectively. The remainder of the new 911 range is then planned to begin rolling out in 2012, beginning with the four-wheel-drive Carrera 4 and Carrera 4S, followed shortly afterwards by the Carrera cabriolet and Carrera S cabriolet. From the front, the new 911 is distinguished by larger LED headlamps fitted with new internal graphics and more pronounced front fenders housing a wider front track. It also receives a longer hood and an altered front apron with larger air ducts for more efficient cooling. Down the sides there are larger exterior mirrors mounted on the doors rather than within the blanked-off area in front of the side windows, and added sculpturing to the area beneath the doors. The rear gets new LED tail lamps that wrap farther around in the sides than before and a heavily revised rear wing that is claimed to provide added levels of down force. Despite the evolutionary approach to the styling, the new car looks more contemporary than ever before. Porsche is yet to provide full details of the dimensions of the new 911. However, insiders describe the new car as being longer, wider and lower than the old model, the 997 launched back in 2004. The added length is achieved partly through an extension of the wheelbase, which officially grows by 3.9 inches to 96.5 inches. It is equipped with the Eschewing aluminium space frame and carbon-fibre monocoque processes, the 911 continues to use a conventional unitary body construction. But in an effort to shed weight, Porsche has provided the new model with a body shell fabricated partly from aluminium and steel in place of the all-steel structure used up until now. Together with other as-yet-unspecified weight-saving measures, it is claimed to contribute to a reduction of up to 99 pounds on a model-for-model basis. motoringcorner@live.co.uk

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Motoring corner: “The Porsche 911”