New and unseen Porsche 997 Pics

[Tetsuo]

A fellow rennteam member posted link with unseen Porsche 997 pictures. High quality pictures of what is to come from the German prancing horse. Doesn't look like a step backwards when you get to see these high quality pictures.

Very good pictures.

[Cbass]

Very nice! I like the new headlights, but I will forever be a fan of the 996, for one reason. The 996 GT3

I can't wait to see the 997 GT3 though!

What do you mean by Rennteam? Are you referring to Rennlist.com, or do you mean someone you race with?

[TheScientist]

It's not bad. It just looks like it got a facelift, and the headlights and front spoiler were designed to bring some of the 993 generation back.

[Tetsuo]

Rennteam, it's a secret.

The 997 isn't a huge leap from the 996. A gradual progression is what I like to call it but the differences are significant enough to seperate them apart.

As for performance, nobody really knows. Several people I've talked to say the car will use the same M96 powerplant but up displacement along with an increase of both horsepower and torque. Wheel sizes have increased too. 19 inch wheels will be equipped to every single 997. That may provide differences either good or bad.

Rumor has it the wide-bodied 997 Carrera we see within the pictures might be a limited edition as Porsche may go back to produce a narrow-bodied 997 for the base Carrera.

Also if Porsche develops a GT3 for this chassis code, the United States might not receive it due to lackluster sales of the MKII GT3 here. This leads to a possibility of a Carrera S aka 2S may see our roads because all it's just a sportier Carrera. One Rennteam member said that it will use a powerkit that will enhance engine performance by an estimated 10 to 15 horses over the base Carrera, give or take. The hugest difference I heard between the two is the S model will have what is called an active suspension with three settings.

That's all I have now but take this with a grain of salt because the cars are not official out and Porsche PR hasn't said much of anything concerning the next 911 model.

[Tetsuo]

Check this out. If the 997 premiers in September and goes on sale before year's end as a 2005 model, there might a be problem for the possible 997 variants that will be produced before the 998 comes into the scene, which may be as early as 2008. This means the product life of the 997 will be about three years until the 998 comes into the picture. It took about two years for the Turbo to come out to the prbulic after the 996 was first released. Another year for the GT2 and another one for the Targa. With a relatively short window for variants to come out, Porsche may be spending more time on the 998. Rumors are still strong about the 998 possibly being a mid-engine V8 powered 911. And that a GT3 will likely be seen on that chassis code as opposed to the 997. We will see how things work out.