2019 Porsche 911 (992)

Curiously, that doesn't seem to be an option on the UK configurator but it's there on the US site. I do prefer the look, though, apart from those little painted fins on the lower rear fascia.
 
I guess that explains the black tape they had on the rear bumpers in the spy shots. They probably used it as a "safe zone" for the alternative license plate location
 
homeforsummer
I don't think I've ever driven a 986 or 987, but I suspect you're right about the 986/996 similarities.
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@homeforsummer You're welcome to drive my 2000MY Boxster S. I believe the 986 and 996 share the entire underbody front end up to the B-pillars, pretty much, which explains that.

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The number plate location looks so much better on the Sport Design package, I hope high-performance variants have it there from the factory.
 
I'm probably the only person around here who doesn't like high plate positioning on 992, as well as wide fenders on base models. But then, I've said that I'm not too fond of this gen literally two posts ago, so...
 
That L-shaped piece of plastic looks strange. It should be black. "Porsche" between the tail lights and that Cylon looking tail light is something I can't use to.


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Can't quite believe how much that package improves the cars visually. If that was the standard look, and the money was available, I probably wouldn't have any qualms in ordering one.

Then again, the 991.2 GTS is still a new-to-buy option. :sly:
 
homeforsummer
I suspect some of the engineering stuff they wanted to do resulted in that particular step up. I seem to recall at the time the engine was further forward in relation to the rear axle than it was in the 997, and certainly from having driven examples of both, I'm assuming some of it was safety-related - you sit further back in relation to the windscreen in the 991 than you do in earlier 911s, which I figure is a crash safety thing.

That said, simply increasing the size of the car does seem like the easier engineering route, rather than the right one. Don't get me wrong, the 991 is a brilliant car and I'm certain the 992 will be too, but from a size and "vibe" perspective the 991 definitely lost something from the 997 and earlier 911s. There was something quite special about sitting in what felt like a narrower cockpit and closer to the windscreen.

I suppose you can (and kinda do) get that from a Cayman these days, but that has its own problems (*cough*notenoughcylinders*cough*).
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The bold part is especially true I think when you get into the air-cooled 911s. How upright the windshield is and how close you are sitting to it, along with that expansive forward view is one of those striking things that you instantly notice getting into one, just how different that is and feels compared to other modern cars out there makes the experience really special.

As far as sizes go, I never realized this until I parked my 911 right next to a 986 Boxster, but mine is actually slightly smaller than even that!

Eunos_Cosmo
I've never driven a 996 or 997 but if they are similar to my 986 (I think the 996 is probably exactly the same) regarding the geometry of the seating position to the dash and the windscreen, and generally the cockpit ergonomics, I totally get what you're on about. While I've driven a few cars that push this aspect even further (the S2000 cockpit feels like wearing a helmet), the early watercooled P-cars I think nail the coziness/usability perfectly.

(I've also never driven an air-cooled Porsche, but they appear to have similar cockpit characteristics, only more spartan and a little less overtly inviting).
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homeforsummer
I don't think I've ever driven a 986 or 987, but I suspect you're right about the 986/996 similarities. Roadsters are always pretty good for that, but there's something quite special about it in 911s because you're still - sort of - in a four-seat cockpit, so the way it shrinks around you is somehow even more impressive. At the same time, it doesn't feel claustrophobic, just well-judged cosiness. Also great visibility - that's definitely one area the 997 and back score over the 991.

The only aircooled 911 I've ever driven had a similar feel, though as a modified example with its seat virtually on the floor it felt a bit odd. It was almost like there was too much space, but most of it was above my head...
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The air-cooled interior feels noticeably narrower than a 996, though that's I think from narrower door and center console width. It's not bad as long as you don't have another adult in the passenger seat, at which point, it does really start to feel really cozy in the width and length dimensions.

With that said, I think 911s also have a sense of airiness due the amount of headroom and the visibility looking forward. You feel like you are sitting in a small cave with a big opening forward, while the rear quickly swoops down and closes off behind you. Because the top of the windshield sits just outside of your top peripheral vision, it gives a sense that the glass is continuing up and over to the roof.

There is just a lot of headroom, built for German sized people. My 6'4" friend was able to fit in the passenger seat of my 911 comfortably enough for a long road trip.
 
Beautiful hunchback car. Personal but this with a hardtop is a very beautiful 911.
 
A lot of info on the future hybrid model has been revealed by August Achleitner, vice-president of the 911 and 718 product line.


The 991-generation car lacked the space for an electric motor and the car’s electrical architecture couldn’t have handled it—the control units couldn’t talk to a hybrid system. The 992 solves those issues, but there is still one big hurdle.

“The battery is the main question for the car. It has to be solved, together with the need of power output out of the battery because this influences the whole performance of the car,” Achleitner says.

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Achleitner notes that Porsche doesn’t need to build a 911 hybrid for carbon dioxide requirements anywhere in the world. The issue is low- and zero-emissions zones. London has tested low-emissions zones and could go to zero-emissions zones by 2022. A 911 hybrid would let Porsche owners go where other sports car drivers could not.

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However, Achleitner drops a clue that indicates the 911 hybrid will be a plug-in. He says that company simulations show a plug-in would add about 440-500 pounds to the overall weight, but simulations haven’t been done for a standard hybrid, which he estimates would add half as much weight.

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Achleitner says Porsche has performed some development work on where to install the battery. It could be installed in a few locations. It could go under the floor, likely under both front seats, or it could take the place of the rear seat, Achleitner says. Other reports have said it could go up front where it would help improve the 911’s rear-biased weight balance. It won’t fit under the rear seat because that area has a crossmember that takes up the space a battery would use. Achleitner notes that a solution has to work with every body type and be accessible for dealer technicians.

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The 2020 Porsche 911 has the electrical architecture to support a hybrid system, a new electric brake booster that ensures brake pressure when the engine is off, and the space for a motor.

That space is found in the transmission. It’s the same 8-speed dual-clutch automatic that first appeared in the 2018 Panamera 4 E-Hybrid, and it makes room within its housing for an electric motor by using a gearset that is almost 4 inches shorter than the one it replaces.

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Porsche’s Panamera hybrid spec sheet shows that most of the electric motor’s horsepower gets added to the final output numbers. If Porsche were to develop a more potent motor than what’s in the Panamera hybrids and add it to the twin-turbo 3.0-liter flat-6 engine in the new Carrera S model, 600 horsepower could be within reach.

That’s a number that fits with Achleitner’s desire for the 911 hybrid to be a car “the customer goes into the showroom and says, ‘Wow, that’s a car I want to have.’” He also notes the hybrid’s performance must more than overcome the extra weight it adds. If not, Achleitner muses, he’d just take a C4S, which would be less expensive.

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The big battery, motors, and other hybrid system components would add weight that would need to be considered in a crash. Achleitner notes that Porsche can change some structural elements, especially in the front beams of the body-in-white, to handle the extra weight and achieve good crash ratings.

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Achleitner says the company isn’t aiming for 2021 or 2023, but then indicates it could appear, at the earliest, with the mid-cycle update of the 992, the so-called 992.2.
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(Emphasis added)

https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1121284_what-to-expect-in-a-porsche-911-hybrid
 
Did a lot of poking around the new car today.

First off, the general design of the interior is very good. It's simple, clear, and that digital dash is a classy item. The toggle switches down on the bottom of the dash have a pleasingly tactile little click to them, but the window control buttons on the doors felt very cheap. It might be due to the car being (what seemed to be) the show car, so maybe it's had a lot of poking and prodding already. It was a blue 4S, but I never got a chance with any of the other 992s.

I'm not sure if it's the new exterior dimensions, my short-leg/long-torso nature, or some very clever sculpting, but the back seats also seemed much bigger than the 991's. They're still not for full-size people, unless you hate them, but I can imagine young ones surviving reasonable distances back there. It's entirely possible it's all in my imagination, but they certainly seemed more useable than the ones in the 8-series...
 
992 Turbo



EDIT:
Changed linked Instagram post from a post with two photos (one is mirrored) to just one so it'll be slightly bigger
 
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