German Car Zone

http://www.caradvice.com.au/19246/20...che-911-spied/

After some thinking I have gathered some thoughts on this mule. The 997 facelift was introduced close to 6 months ago meaning that the 998 can be as little as 2.5 years away from launch. So this mule has appeared in the typical time for prototypes to roll out on the roads, after all the Panamera was on the roads for an agonizing 3 years.

This may well be the real body of the car as the width of the car and shape of the roof are too sophisticated for a scrap heap shell. After all it's a 911 carries on the basic shape for the next generation leaving Porsche with no reason to conceal the car using a cardboard box as everybody knows relatively what to expect for the next generation. Compared with the 997, the mule has a bulkier front-end in order to comply with the new regulations, roof is much streamlined and lower too. Secondly the car seem to carry a production ready door like new Cayenne does.

What interest me are the side mirrors since a head of Porsche's R&D department claimed a while ago that the 998 will do without side mirrors. As it looks the mule has 997 head lights glued on top of the front fenders. Like with the Panamera the 998 will most likely get more sophisticated head lights using LED instead of halogen bulbs.

Some insight into what type or Aerodynamic inventions Porsche is hiding under the camo. The expendable wing on the Panamera is just step one, Porsche has more amazing tricks in the pipeline. At the rear of the test mule Porsche is hiding a massive device which will make the aerodynamic gizmos on a 747 look like a thing of the past.

Well that is a bit exaggerated. The reason why Porsche needed all these new device is because they can't use a diffuser at the rear to generate the required down force. The engine is in the way so the angle of the rear diffuser is very limited. Full credit for Porsche for using creative engineering solutions to solve their problem.

Well Hassan, here is something interesting, in the 90s Mitsubishi had the 3000 GT coupe, at that time it had an active front air damping system with a lip that gets lower with speed and an active rear wing also. Heck even the exhaust note was controlled by a switch !!!

Read this:
Mitsubishi 3000GT Review – Edmunds.com

Nothing special. My friend's 1993 Toyota Supra has this too.

Voila! Some needs to guy the issue and fill us in on the details. I predict this will be the biggest 911 revolution after the 996.

I can't read, it's too small.

I hope that if you're right, it'll be a better "revolution" than the 996 was:

-thrashed reliability (motors breakdown are common in this generation, it never happened with any of the others, bar maybe the 911 2.7 (not the mythical RS model!!) and its magnesium oil-carter),
-fatty styling with ugly headlamps and flat rear fenders,
-bio-destroyed untypical interior,
-much increased weight,
-softer, less metallic and thrilling noise...

The handling was much better than the 993 though... but the typical "rear-motor character" was diluted.

The car became much less sporty than it was, and lost its soul. That was indeed a revolution... Porsche became a mass-producer, thus it needed the GT3 for true enthusiasts, as the regular 996 couldn't satisfy them.

The 996 was, by far, the worst ever 911. I hate it. Only the GT3 is worth mentionning (and in fact a true masterpiece), all the others were a nightmare.

More: worldcarfans

That looooooooooow and phaaaaaaaaaaaaaat. The car looks incredibly serious, I'm still suspecting 8 cylinders considering the dimensions as I can't of another logical explanation since the rear sets still look useless. Peep the giant wheels, is Porsche creating the Hulk of 991? Can't wait to see the Turbo version of this, it's bound to look menacing.