With sales of the latest 997 under way, development of the 2011 Porsche 911 is moving right along. These 998 prototypes were spotted recently during some late night cold-weather testing in the Arctic Circle.
Like every other 911 prototype spotted over the last four decades, these test mules look much like their predecessors. The only noticeable change? The location of the side mirrors. Current models have them mounted to the bottom of the A-pillars while these prototypes have them on the doors.
The exhaust tips and wheel designs are slightly different too, but that's to be expected. Oh, and those "air intakes" on the rear fenders appear to be nothing more than stickers. Expect to see about a thousand more 911 prototypes before it finally goes on sale in early 2011.
iancar says:
11:36 AM, 01/22/09
Someone has to pay for the front spoiler.
arm51 says:
12:34 PM, 01/22/09
Those front fog lights look new too, but they're probably stickers since they don't look too realistic and that isn't the Turbo front end.
buzerd says:
01:00 PM, 01/22/09
How can you tell it's a new model? It looks like every other porsche. Do they not employ designers ?
arm51 says:
01:57 PM, 01/22/09
buzerd, Porsche 911s aren't engineered, they evolve. It is one of the most classic silhouettes in automotive history.
joefrompa says:
02:07 PM, 01/22/09
I believe it was a member of the Porsche elite who said that side mirrors were not truly needed and had been kept due to tradition, but that the quest for aerodynamics and noise isolation might remove them once more.
I don't know about you, but those side mirrors looked plopped on to me. They are really far back on the door to provide the right view angles.
I'm wondering if Porsche is going to get rid of the side mirrors in the new model to enhance the slab-sided profile of the original Porsche design.
adavis2493 says:
02:08 PM, 01/22/09
I will admit, Porsche Designs are priceless, and they could last forever and still look good. But, damn do they have a lazy design department!
firstwagon says:
04:01 PM, 01/22/09
I imagine they would like to come up with a new design but who would let them?
The 911 has a loyal base and is the core of the company. You have to be very careful if you want to mess with that.
Just look at the static they get over the Cayenne and the Panamera.... and they only share the 911's brand name, they aren't replacing it.
bankerdanny says:
04:08 PM, 01/22/09
Why is the 911 design priceless and thus 'evolution' is acceptable but when Ford does the same thing with the 2010 Mustang, an evolution of an already handsome form that harkens back to a 1960's design, everybody whines that the new body isn't new enough?
bankerdanny says:
04:09 PM, 01/22/09
Why is the 911 design priceless and thus 'evolution' is acceptable but when Ford does the same thing with the 2010 Mustang, an evolution of an already handsome form that harkens back to a 1960's design, everybody whines that the new body isn't new enough?
altimadude00 says:
04:45 PM, 01/22/09
Because Ford doesn't bank on the success of the Mustang as Porsche does with the 911. The 911 IS Porsche. Remember them trying to branch out with the 944? Yeah, that went well.
JayG1989 says:
05:45 PM, 01/22/09
It's not necessarily the body of the mustang but that it does not have enough power to keep up with anything in it's class now. and the mustang does look a little stale compared to it's competitors. the 911 is a timeless classic that all companies will never truly be able to go toe to toe with. it doesn't necessarily need to be updated to keep selling because their consumers are such a select group.
firstwagon says:
01:34 PM, 01/23/09
"Remember them trying to branch out with the 944? Yeah, that went well."
Actually it did go well, at least for a while.
The 944 was a huge hit with the yuppies back in the 80's. An amazing improvement over the old 924. I can't remember ever reading a bad review of one.
Porsche sold great numbers of them back then. The platform didn't stand the test of time like the 911 but in it's day the 944 was good car.
porschecarrera says:
05:09 PM, 01/26/09
I can't help but wonder what they will call the 911 prototype in 3 generations, after 998 and 999.