From automotive Mike
During the Industry Pool at the Nürburgring, I have filmed the 2019 Porsche 992 Carrera 4S testing on track.
This is the 2019 Porsche 911. Yep, that, ladies and gentleman, is a new car – or heavy a facelift of the current car, anyway – not that there’s much different to the 911 currently on sale. There’s more to this car than first meets the eye, though, so keep reading to find out exactly what you can expect from the 2019 Porsche 911 (992).
When it comes to redesigning a Porsche 911, subtlety is key. So much so, that you’d have to be a serious car bore to notice many changes from one generation to the next. Unsurprisingly then, this upcoming 2019 Porsche 911 looks very similar to the current car.
Called the 992 model by Porsche, this all-new car comes with a similar curvy body, short front end, and sloping roofline to the car it’ll replace – so it’s instantly recognizable as a 911. Unlike some high-performance sports cars, it also gets large windows and a relatively narrow body so it won’t be particularly difficult to maneuver around town.
Peek a little closer (preferably with your geekiest car hat on) and you’ll notice this new model comes with a new front bumper and headlights with more obvious LED daytime-running lights. Take a look around the back, and you’ll spot a full-width brake-light bar and a new engine cover with a much larger moveable spoiler than the outgoing car.
The 2019 Porsche 911’s interior updates will follow the same evolutionary course set by the exterior. It’ll have the same well-judged mixture of a low driving position and cocoon-like feel along with a level of fit and high-quality plastics that you wouldn’t find in some, dare we say, Italian alternatives.
The major difference will be the replacement of the current car’s analog dials with a digital display that’ll allow you to switch between a variety of functions. For example, you can have a huge rev counter when you’re hustling the 911 down country roads, before switching to a large sat-nav map when you’re finding your way home.
The 2019 Porsche 911 will likely be subject to some minor structural changes with more high-strength steel and aluminum used to save a few kilos here and there. The car’s track – the space between the left and right-hand wheels – will also likely increase to make the 911 feel more stable at speed and to increase cornering performance.
A more significant change comes with the introduction of turbocharged engines across the whole 911 range. You can expect the current 370hp 911 Carrera and 420hp 911 Carrera S’ 3.0-liter engines to be boosted by around 15hp, while the more-powerful models, such as the 911 Turbo S, will get power gains of closer to 50hp.
More hard-core GT3 models will likely come with turbocharged six-cylinder engines for the first time, too. Instead of a naturally-aspirated 4.0-liter unit, they’re expected to use a tweaked version of the 3.8-liter twin-turbo engine from the outgoing Turbo and Turbo S models producing significantly more than 500hp.
Porsche hasn’t confirmed which gearboxes will be available in the new 911, but a dual-clutch automatic is expected to be offered alongside a conventional manual gearbox in selected models. The latter – a purist’s favorite – could lose out on a ratio and come with six speeds instead of seven, however.
Another first for the new 992-generation 911 will be the eventual addition of hybrid models to the range. These – expected to arrive in Carrera 4 hybrid and Turbo S hybrid trims – will use a compact electric motor and a small battery pack to reduce fuel consumption and cut CO2 emissions.