You want a gutsy performance? How about in Network, where Peter Finch's character, a cynical disillusioned newsman, beaten down by the system, rallies his viewers to get up, go to the window and shout, "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!" Powerful, Oscar-winning stuff—eyes bulging, booming voice quavering with rage, a 9.0 on the Richter Scale of gut-wrenching pathos. YouTube it; you won't be sorry.
And then there's the Porsche 911. An equally gutsy actor in the automotive realm, the 911 came into the world as an anti-establishment punk of a sports car whose torsion-bar suspension, six horizontally opposed cylinders, rear engine location and tapered tail were far from the mainstream paradigm of high performance. Yet since its debut in September of 1964, the 911 has steadily, defiantly gotten better through each iteration, just when you thought that all room for improvement had been exhausted. You could say this Porsche has made its competitors mad as hell...but if the brilliance of the new car is any indication, they'll have to continue taking it for decades to come.
The biggest change inside is the high center console, inspired by the Carrera GT, adopted by the Panamera and now seen here in slimmed-down form. Purists may miss the more open feel of the 997's lower console (and having the base of the windshield much closer to the dash), but there's no arguing about ease of access to the nicely straightforward controls for chassis settings, ventilation, etc. Sport seats are great, with secure lateral hold without the 997's upper-torso "pinch point," and there's more head room beneath the lovely Alcantara lining, despite a lower roofline, made possible by a tilt-and-slide sunroof panel that articulates outside the roof. Of course, the mandatory 5-circle gauge cluster remains (the second one from the right is a multi-configurable LCD display) as does the ignition socket to the left of the steering column. That last item, incidentally, now tilts and telescopes.
The new 3.8-liter direct-injected flat-6, however, can be clearly felt and heard in finest 911 tradition. Horsepower is now 400 at 7400 rpm—a 15-bhp bump over its predecessor—and torque is up 15 lb.-ft., to 325 at 5600 rpm, the gains enabled by a lofty 7600-rpm redline and freer breathing through lower-restriction intake and exhaust systems. The hot-wire airflow sensor gives way to a manifold pressure sensor, cleaning up the intake pathway; and multi-hole direct injectors optimize combustion efficiency. On S models, an exhaust flap opens at higher rpm, putting all four exhaust tips into play. Two transmissions are offered: Our test car's 7-speed paddle-shift twin-clutch PDK, or in an industry first, a 7-speed manual. On the latter, a solenoid blocks an inadvertent 4-7 upshift, as 5th or 6th gear must be selected first. The linkage has a light and precise action, and the tall overdrive 7th ratio (0.71:1) allows for relaxed cruising: 80 mph equates to just 2200 rpm.
Although the load-bearing unibody of the new 991 is primarily high-strength steel, the trunklid, door skins, roof panel and fenders are of aluminum. The result is a body-in-white that's 176 lb. lighter than the 997's. And Porsche says that total weight of the 991 Carrera S with PDK (versus a comparably equipped 997) is about 88 lb. lighter, at 3120 lb.
more on: roadandtrack.com
