I spotted this caravan of 991-series Porsche 911 Turbo prototypes on the drive home from Los Angeles after I returned from the Frankfurt Auto Show. Quite convenient really, as I had just watched the world premiere of their naturally aspirated sibling in Germany, and I even had some photos handy to make sure these prototypes were indeed versions of the all-new 911.
The most noticeable distinction that these were Turbo models? They carried the massive rear fender vents seen on the 997 Turbo. Manufacturers have been known to experiment with stickers posing as vents, but we’re pretty confident in our call. In addition to the vents, the cars have a larger front fascia with bigger openings, more aggressive aerodynamics and oil cooler vents on the bottom of the rear bumper, just like those on the 997. Quad exhaust tips give the impression that this 991 is packing more heat than the naturally aspirated car we saw at Frankfurt.
It’s the first time we’ve seen the new 911 Turbo Cabriolet, which has a much larger rear wing, not to mention a taller and more muscular decklid than the outgoing model. That decklid looks to be shared with the standard 911 Cabriolet, though the large rear wing will be exclusive to the more powerful car.
We learned in Frankfurt that the 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S had shed almost 100 lb. through extensive use of aluminum and other lightweight metals. Performance was further increased by massaging another 15 bhp (up to an even 400 bhp) out of the 3.8 liter flat-6 engine. Those are significant improvements, and we’d bet Porsche has a lot more excitement up its sleeve for the Turbo, which we will likely see late next year.
Related posts:
- Quick Drive: 2011 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet
- Spied: 2012 Porsche 911 GT3 Hybrid
- Spied! 2013 Porsche Boxster Prototypes
