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Porsche 997
Porsche 997 | |
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Porsche | |
aka | Porsche 911 Carrera |
Production | 2004 - present |
Class | Sports Luxury |
Body Style | Two-door Coupe Two-door Targa Two-door Cabriolet |
Length | 4462 mm |
Width | 1808 mm |
Height | 1310 mm |
Wheelbase | 2350 mm |
Weight | Carrera - 1480 kg |
Transmission | Six-speed Manual Five-speed Tiptronic |
Engine | Carrera/GT3 - 3.6 litre flat-six Carrera S - 3.8 litre flat-six Turbo - 3.6 litre flat-six, turbocharged |
Power | Carrera - 325 bhp Carrera S - 355 bhp Turbo - 480 bhp GT3 - 415 bhp GT3-RS - 415 bhp |
Similar | Maserati Gran Turismo Ferrari F430 Chevrolet Corvette Aston Martin V8 Vantage Audi R8 |
Designer | {{{Designer (lead designer if it was a team effort)}}} |
The Porsche 997 is the most recent variant of the ubiquitous 911 - 997 being the factory type number for the car. The car was released in July 2004, and was tasked with bringing the 911 concept into the 21st Century, featuring many key revisions over the outgoing 996. Despite looking very similar to its predecessor, in truth the two share only the one common body panel - the roof. The polarising 'Fried Egg' headlights of the 996 have been binned in favour of circular items designed to revoke memories of both the original 911 from 1964 but also the 993 - one of the most revered 911 shapes in enthusiast circles. Inside, large changes have been made - with a brand new dashboard, shunning the curves of the 996 for a more upright and boxy shape, much like previous 911s. Much effort was put into build quality - and the 997's interior retains the 'hewn-from-rock' feel which has been key to the 911's success.
Porsche believes that there is a 997 for everybody, and with a barely credulous 14 variants in the range, you cannot disagree. The Carrera and Carrera S coupes were launched first, available from July 2004. The range was boosted with four-wheel drive versions from November 2005, and again in 2006 with the release of the hyper-performance Turbo and stripped-out GT3. Most recent additions to the range are the four-wheel drive Targa models, the extreme GT3-RS and the Turbo Cabriolet - the flagship of the range.
Despite a recent release, Porsche have already planned a facelift for the 997, due out in 2009. The new 997 will feature new headlights and bumpers, direct injected powerplants and the availability of Porsche's own twin-clutch semi-automatic transmission, to rival Audi's DSG system.
The Carrera Models
The 997 follows on from the 996, in that the two-wheel drive variants of the car are named simply 'Carrera' - although unlike the 996, two separate versions of the Carrera are available.
The 997 Carrera sits at the bottom of the range, and features a 3.6 litre variant of the ubiquitous flat-six powerplant, again water-cooled. The engine develops 325 bhp, enough for 0-62 mph in five seconds dead. Power is transmitted to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox, or a five-speed variant of the Tiptronic S sequential automatic - the 997's only automatic gearbox.