Currently reading: Porsche 998 cabrio spied

New car has wider track and more space

The next-generation 911 cabrio has been spied testing, ahead of its launch in 2011.

The 998 will replace the current 911, which itself has only just been refreshed, and Porsche is promising the car will be far more competent than its predecessor.

See the hi-res Porsche 998 cabrio picture gallery

The biggest alteration appears to be the wider track, disguised by the fake turbo-style vents in the rear bodywork, aimed at improving high-speed agility.

The front lights are said to be slightly more upright, harking back to early 911s, to appease safety regulations. The exterior mirrors are now mounted on the doors, rather than the front of the side windows, possibly to improve rear visibility. The plastic trim that runs along the edges of the roof, evident on the 997, has also disappeared.

Porsche is also thought to be working on a radical aerodynamic package, with a prominent lip added to the rear spoiler, presumably for added downforce and extra cooling of the engine bay.

There is also likely to be a slight alteration to the front end suspension geometry, with an increase in camber.

We know that other major aerodynamic innovations being considered for the 998 include variable lift mechanisms for the front and rear, so the modification to this prototype’s rear spoiler could prove to have a deeper significance.

The engine line-up is expected to be an evolution of the current range. The latest six-cylinder direct injection engines will have an even greater emphasis on economy and emissions.

Photos: CarPix

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Citytiger 11 October 2009

Re: Porsche 998 cabrio spied

tannedbaldhead wrote:

LOL

1 Correction if I may be so bold. Cayenne was a flash of inspiration when a Porsche engineer witnessed a horrific high speed, rear end shunt of a 997 by some non descript Japanese SUV whilst driving home on the Autobhan.

Should read, Porsche needed cash quickly to fund other products, looked around at what was selling "big 4x4" was the answer, cant afford to make 1 so borrow 1 from VW and make it look fugly. Job done, now to get on making sports cars, but make them bigger but keep the same shape, for our target customer the increasingly large American "big is better change is bad, better increase the size of the cup holder as well". Next

tannedbaldhead 11 October 2009

Re: Porsche 998 cabrio spied

FriendlyFisherman wrote:

From thier point of view I don't blame them, but it must be the most dull job for a designer. New 911 set photocopier to 102%. Boxter set Photocopier to 90%. Cayenne, set photocopier to 200% (extra ugly mode). I've just remembered these are German designers, they probaably need a cold shower if they just think about reducing the drag coefficient of a wing mirror by 0.03Cd.

LOL

1 Correction if I may be so bold. Cayenne was a flash of inspiration when a Porsche engineer witnessed a horrific high speed, rear end shunt of a 997 by some non descript Japanese SUV whilst driving home on the Autobhan.

tannedbaldhead 11 October 2009

Re: Porsche 998 cabrio spied

FriendlyFisherman wrote:

Its great to see Porsche breaking the mould with this innovative and brand new look for the 911.

If it ain't broke don't fix it. Porsche intended to kill off the 911 way back when they introduced the inovative 928 but sales of the 928 were poorer than expected whilst 911 sales remained boyant. What Porsche have done is to accept an "if that's what they want that's what they get" attitude to the 911 and its market and delivered the best possible engineering solution to the flawed principle of super high performance rear engined cars. Didn't need to make it bigger though.