The Porsche 911 must be one of the world’s best adverts for the power of continuous product improvement. Through nearly half a century of refinement since it was conceived as a larger, more comfortable successor for the Porsche 356 and was powered by a 2.0-litre, 128bhp flat six engine, this effervescent sports car has kept up with the standards of the market’s freshest performance machinery. Technologies such as fuel injection, turbocharging, four-wheel drive and, most famously, moving from air- to water cooling have been integrated. All the while, its legendary motive character has survived utterly beguiling and undimmed.
But never has the 911 taken such a significant leap as the one that delivered it from ‘997’ to this-generation, the ‘991’. With 90 per cent of the car’s mechanical ingredients new or improved, this 911 features completely new axle dimensions; electromechanical power steering; a downsized engine; a construction richer in aluminium than ever before; and the passenger car’s first seven-speed manual gearbox.
