Saw the new Road & Track and they have a preview on the new cars. They have a little blurb on the 997 and they state that the new 997 will use the same engine as the current (996) car, and the S model will be the one with the 3.8L, 350 hp engine. If this is true then Porsche might as well pack up and go home. No way I am getting another Porsche. I think the S model is just another way for them to charge Porsche owners more money. I have never been a fan of these "power kits." So us paying $75K+ for a Carrera or $120K+ for a turbo doesn't warrant Porsche giving us their best technology ? That is a joke.

 

I was just at the NY Auto Show and one of the dealer reps at the Porsche display said the 997 would have 345 hp. While I saw Road and Track, most magazines and intenet rumor claim that the new car will have more hp than the old one. I was also told that new cars will be arriving in September.

Alan

 

Are hp numbers really that important? Just for bragging rights or what? Don't 0-60 and 0-100 and 1/4 mile numbers mean a little more than a hp figure?

My guess is that if it does come with 345hp from the factory, it will still do 0-60 and 0-100 in the same time as the 996 320hp as the extra 25hp wouldn't add more than 0.1 second and in reality is probably just compensating for extra weight they added in.

 

You hit the nail on the head...a lot of it is about bragging rights. There's so much more to a sports car than "mine has more power than yours". Besides, the power figure Porsche needs to improve is torque.

I couldn't agree more.

 

So if Porsche decides to have an engine in the 997 that has 350 hp, but that 30 hp difference over the current 996 is in the last 200-300 rpm prior to redline, would you be happy?

It's the area under the curve, and the shape of the curve that counts most. And where Porsche could use some help is in the torque department, but most people don't brag about torque.


Are you loosing some street races, at the drag strip, or at the road course in your current Porsche? Is that why you want the horsepower?

 

Bingo! 273 lb-ft of torque is the power figure that needs to be focused on. Of course, increased hp normally leads to increased torque, but not always (ala X51). Even the press talks about the "horsepower wars."

And of course there's power-to-weight ratio, handling, etc.

 

I guess I should have titled it "No horsepower/torque/displacement increase for the 997." I understand your point that torque increase is the key, and I agree with that. I was thinking that a displacement increase of .2 L would include a horsepower AND torque increase similar to the last increase. I personally would rather have an increase of torque than a hp increase. I would love to see 285 lb.-ft. of TQ. With Variocam Plus hopefully the torque curve would continue to improve.

It is unfortunate that due to the safety requirements these days, and the widebody being standard that weight will increase. In an ideal world, I would rather have a 200 lb. weight reduction than a 20 hp increase, but the chances of that are very slim.

As for racing on the street, track, etc. Yes, I have raced on the track with my friends M3, my other friends C5 Corvette, etc. And can honestly say that while they don't feel as nice, they are probably just as fast as our cars. With the new AMG's sporting 5.5L V8's (though more weight as well), more hp/torque increases for the Corvette, new Cobra coming out, new body style/ (probable) more hp for the M3, even the Japanese cars hp are improving, for Porshche to stay the same is actually a step back. I will pay for similar or better performance, but not worse. If our definition is 0-60 or 0-100 or 1/4 mi. than Porsche should accomodate us, or like it is doing right now lose more sales.