The styling has devolved slightly from the earlier 911, just like the basic character of the car. The most obvious change is the headlights and front fascia. Rounder, single-pod lamps replace the teardrop-shaped multi-light headlight assemblies used on pre-2005 models. The new headlights sit more upright in the front fenders, and the turn signals and foglights are now laid horizontally in a squarer front bumper. The new look more quickly distinguishes the 911 from Porsche's less expensive Boxster. As significantly, it harkens back to the rugged look of 911s built during the 1980s.
In back, the 911's taillights are smaller, installed at a more vertical angle relative to the bumper. Curvy rear fenders and wheel arches extend further from the side of the car, housing the 911's classic extra-wide rear wheels. Carrera 4 models get even wider rear rubber, and their fenders are correspondingly 1.75 inches wider than their rear-drive siblings. This staggered setup helps the 911's rear tires turn its horsepower into quicker acceleration and balances tire grip front and rear for high g-force turning. All 911s have wheels at least 18 inches in diameter, and all are equipped with Z-rated tires. That's the highest speed rating available for street use.
In essence, the newest 911's styling changes sacrifice some of the 1999-2004 model's beauty in favor of more visual belligerence. Yet very little at Porsche is done strictly for appearance's sake. The newest 911 is a few hairs longer and taller than the previous-generation; more significantly, the track (the distance between the outside edge of the tires) and overall width have increased. This wider stance improves the 911's lateral stability during quick, sharp directional changes. The cars also use more aluminum body parts than those they replace, minimizing weight increases that would otherwise come with new equipment such as active suspension and head-protecting side airbags. New structural designs underneath the sheet metal improve the chassis' resistance to flexing (as when the car brakes full force or crashes over a pothole) as much as 60 percent, without increasing weight significantly.
Convertible models feature power-operated soft tops that open in just 20 seconds. In addition, they can be operated at up to 30 mph. Safety is enhanced by strong steel tubes in the A-pillars, and supplemental safety bars behind the rear seats that automatically deploy in the event of a rollover. The Cabriolets present a unique appearance. Top up, they exhibit a profile similar to the coupes. Top down, the rear end looks heavy, but you'll forgive that as soon as you get in, stomp on the gas and hear that powerful six-cylinder wailing to redline.
When an automobile is designed to be stable at 180 mph and beyond, you'd better pay attention to aerodynamics. Much of the 911's design work was undertaken to more efficiently manage airflow over, under and around the car, down to very small details. The side mirrors were designed to direct air along the sides of the car toward the automatically deploying rear spoiler, sweeping the side windows clean in the process. A new undertray reduces friction beneath the 911, while the wheel arches are flared in a fashion that guides air around the tires (one of the biggest sources of drag on an automobile). Brake spoilers guide more air toward the rotors and brake assemblies, reducing operating temperatures as much as 10 percent, according to Porsche. That means more effective braking under extreme conditions.
In total, these changes reduce the 911 Carrera's drag coefficient from an already slippery 0.30 to 0.28, despite the new, slightly more upright look. For drivers, that means less air resistance, improved fuel economy at a given speed and less wind noise inside the car. The changes also reduce forces that engineers measure as coefficient of lift at the front and rear of the car. In other words, the airflow over the car more effectively keeps it pressed to the pavement, in turn keeping the tires in better contact with the surface.
And if you still prefer the prettier, perhaps more graceful look of the 996 models, you're not entirely out of luck. You'll just have to ante up another 50 grand for a Turbo. The 2006 911 Turbo S and Turbo S Cabriolet are still built on the previous 911 platform (the 996), and haven't adapted the styling changes on the new generation (the 997).
