Porsche's next 911 takes shape
BY BYRON MATHIOUDAKIS | 2nd Oct 2008
Dubbed the 991-series, it will replace the 997-series in late 2011 or early 2012.
Again, the 911 is being co-developed with the Boxster and Cayman – in this case the 981 series, which is also due around the same time.
For the rear-engined 911, every body and interior panel will be different to the 997 unveiled in 2004.
“It will be an evolution of the current 911,” is all that Porsche’s chief designer Michael Mauer would reveal about the future model’s styling.
However, the Stuttgart-based company will gently massage the famous short nose/long tail design in order to make it a little more voluptuous than today’s car.
The bonnet will have to be more pedestrian-friendly in order to meet future regulations in that area, while the desire for greater high-speed stability is behind an altered rear section of the next-generation 911.
Porsche is also believed to be developing a whole range of active aerodynamic aids to help increase performance, efficiency and frugality, as well as cut emissions.
Many of the 991 911’s body surface details will be honed, with rumours circulating that even the exterior rear-view mirrors may be banished for a strategically placed high-tech camera and monitors.
Reports suggest that a greater amount of lighter, more exotic materials such as carbon-fibre will be used in order to pare down weight and mass.
Details are hazy on the progress being wrought upon the all-new chassis, but a significant increase in active safety, stability and traction are driving changes to the electronics, suspension and steering.
Ground-effects aerodynamic aids are believed to be in development, in order to create more downforce when desired.
On the engine front, the next 911 will feature a range of upgraded horizontally-opposed six-cylinder petrol units based on the completely all-new engine family unveiled in the recently facelifted 997 in June.
The person in charge of the 911 (“Director Product Line 911”), Mr August Achleitner, told GoAuto that turbocharging smaller-capacity versions of these engines is not out of the question, as Porsche seeks to meet ever-more stringent emissions and fuel-economy targets.
He confirmed that capacities of between about 2.5 and 3.8 litres are possible, “Like with the old 911/Boxster engine.”“The challenge with future 911s is to meet environmental concerns while improving performance,” Mr Achleitner said.
“We are looking at many things... (including) a turbocharger on a smaller engine (besides in the range-topping 911 Turbo),” he revealed.
“It’s a better way of downsizing without losing the characteristics that the car has today. And it is not as expensive as going diesel,” he added.
It seems that oil-powered 911s are not in the pipeline at any time soon.
“A diesel 911 will influence... a 911 so much that it would lose its desired characteristics... it would lose its appeal... like the sound it makes,” Mr Achleitner explained, adding: “In a 911 (diesel) would never make sense.”However, the current caretaker of the 911’s future believes that the concept of ‘DiesOtto’ might one day become pertinent to Porsche.
Last year, Mercedes-Benz demonstrated an experimental internal-combustion engine called DiesOtto that combines the benefits of a diesel with a regular petrol powerplant.
It does this by using diesel-like Charge Compression Ignition technology in the lower-rev band, and then switches to spark/ignition air-fuel mix combustion at higher revs with the aid of a variable compression ratio, direct-injection, variable-valve timing and turbocharger(s), for high torque and high power outputs.
“A DiesOtto system will come together in the future,” Mr Achleitner said.
“Adding a turbo to a smaller-displacement engine (is a good way to reduce emissions and increase performance).
“So there is no need to go to a diesel.”Whether Porsche goes one step further and reintroduces a four-cylinder 911 remains to be seen, but this will not happen for a long time, according to Porsche Cars Australia managing director Michael Winkler, speaking to GoAuto last month.
“Everything is on the table at Porsche,” he pointed out. “For the simple reason that there is an environmental debate. (But) whether we do it or not is another matter.
“You mustn’t forget that – before the 986/996 Boxster/911, Porsche’s most commercially successful car was the four-cylinder 924/944 (from the 1970s to mid 1990s).
However, according to Porsche’s powertrain programme manager – 911, Thomas Krickelberg, Porsche is unlikely to develop a cut-down version of the new flat-six-cylinder engine.
“It is too costly to do this,” he flatly remarked.
Mr Achleitner also dismissed notions of a petrol-electric hybrid solution for the 911 in the not-too-distant future, stating that the extra weight and complexity would be detrimental to the car’s performance and dynamics, as well as add significant cost pressures.
“A hybrid 911 would not make sense from an economic point of view,” he remarked.
“Of course we can do it now, but a 911 buyer above all else expects the performance of a 911.”
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