Los Angeles - The all-new Porsche 911 remains painstakingly faithful to its design heritage while modernising in all the right places, particularly inside where it gets a digital makeover of note.
And that sense of balancing past and present is nothing less than what you’d expect. Though completely redesigned and sporting a wider stance, it still looks unmistakably 911, but the design has been sharpened up, particularly at the back where we see new 3D taillights joined by a central strip in the modern Porsche fashion.
First out the starting blocks is the Carrera S, revealed ahead of the Los Angeles Auto Show on Wednesday and sporting a redesigned flat-six turbocharged engine featuring an improved injection process and repositioned turbochargers. Mated to a new eight-speed dual-clutch automated gearbox, the Carrera S produces 331kW, 22kW more than before, and enough for a 3.7 second 0-100km/h sprint in the case of the rear-wheel-drive model, while the all-wheel-driven Carrera 4S is said to take 3.6.
Naturally, there will eventually be a full range of Turbo and RS badged 911s, but those will be announced at a later stage.
Inside is where things have been shaken up the most, the sports car enjoying a digital makeover that brings it into line with the latest Panamera and Cayenne. The central air vents move down to make way for a 27.6cm touchscreen, which houses some innovative apps and functions, including the “Porche Road Trip” app, which not only recommends hotels and restaurants but scenic viewpoints as well, and the Porsche 360+ ‘personal lifestyle assistant’.
As for driving gizmos, there’s a new ‘Wet mode’ that detects water on the road and preconditions the control systems accordingly and warns the driver. That’s standard along with a warning and brake assist system and Porsche’s PCM, which includes online navigation based on swarm data. Further to that, buyers can opt for a Night Vision Assist system linked to a thermal imaging camera.
So when can you have one?
According to Porsche South Africa, the new 911 is likely to reach local shores around the middle of 2019, with indicative pricing to be announced shortly.