Car India – August 2019

OTHEORDINARYEYE,THE 2020 PORSCHE 911 MAYLOOKLIKEANY

other911,buttothepurist,there’sa wholeworldofdifference.There’stheusual
scepticismthatfollowseverytimePorscheannouncea newversionoftheiconic
911,asfansdonotwantanychangesinthistimelessclassic.Thegen-992stillhas
thebasicingredientsofa 911likethesimplesilhouette,whichisonlymarginally
larger,by 20 millimetresinlength,andstillcomeswitha boxerflat-sixmounted
ontherearofthecar.ButPorschearetryinghardtomakethesportscarattracta
wideraudiencebymakingit easiertouseandcomfortableevenforlongerdrives.Andsinceit’sa
911,theperformanceontheracetrackhasalsobeen
turnedup.
So,herewearewhereit allbegins,atPorsche’scar
manufacturingfacilityinLeipzig,todriveontheFIA-
certifiedtrackwhichismodelledonfamoussections
fromracetracksaroundtheworld.Laterwegettodriveit
ontheGermanautobahnallthewaytoStuttgartto
samplethechangesinthe 992 bothonthecircuitandon
theroad.
Thedesignofthenew 911 looksquitenicewitha
familiarbuta muchwiderstance.Largerit is,butthe
two-doorstillmanagestosetyourpulseracingatthe
veryfirstglance.Comparedtotheoutgoingmodel,the
creasesonthebonnetaremoreprominentandsoarethe
frontairducts.Elementssuchasa moreangularhood
stretchingallthewaytothefrontbumperandthe
exaggeratedgapbetweenthebaseofthewindscreenand
bonnetarereminiscentoficonsofthepast.

Oneofthenewattractionsisthelightingsystem.Ourtestcarsportedthe

PorscheDynamicLightSystemPluswhichboastsofa uniqueset-upoffour

LEDDRLssurroundingthemainLEDheadlight.Whata sightit wouldbe

forunsuspectingmotoriststoseetheseMatrixlightsapproachingintheir

rear-viewmirrors!

Steptowardsthesideandtheprofileisdistinctly911.Infact,forthe

inexperiencedeye,it’sdifficulttotellit apartfromitspredecessor.Look

closer,though,andyounoticebulgingwheel-archesthatgiveawaythewider

frontandreartracksandwhichhavebeenmovedoutwardsby 46 mmand 39

mmrespectively.Thewidertrackswereearlierreservedforthefour-wheel-

driveversionbutnoweventheCarreraS wedrovesitssquarernow.Andfor

thefirsttime,theentirerangegets20-inchfrontwheelsandlarger21-inch

wheelsatthereartoimprovethedynamics.Thedoor-handles,too,arenew

andarenowelectricallyoperated.

And,finally,tomyfavouritepartofthe992’sdesign:therear.Thesmooth

curveswiththebulgingrearwheel-archeslookextremelyattractive.There’s

a sleekstripoflightthatconnectsthetwotail-lampswhichsetsthismodel

apartina crowd.Anotherinterestingelementisthereargrillewhichnotonly

drawsinspirationfromitsforebears,but,withtwotallslatsflankedbynine

smalleronesoneitherside,signifiesthatit’sa “992”.Trulyinteresting.

Asyouslideintothelowdriver’sseat,you’regreetedbya modernPorsche

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64 CARINDIA August^2019 http://www.carindia.in

First Drive | Porsche 911 Carrera S