Sep 15 2008
Visitors to the first United States motorexpo here next week will be in for a special treat: a sneak peek of the new Porsche 911 before it goes on sale later this month in North America.
The new Porsche 911 will be displayed nearly 44 years to the date of when the very first edition of the sports car left the assembly line on September 14, 1964 in Stuttgart, Germany.
The new 2009 Porsche 911
Porsche Cars North America's comprehensive exhibit at the motorexpo, which runs September 15-19 at the World Financial Center in lower Manhattan, in addition to the new 911 will highlight two versions of the company's mid- engine sports cars, a Cayman and Boxster RS 60, the high-performance Cayenne GTS and the American Le Mans Series champion Penske Porsche RS Spyder race car. Product specialists will supplement the information provided by the Porsche displays, which will include a cut-a-way of the 911's unique new transmission as well as an interactive kiosk that highlights the new audio and navigation system.
Featuring 15 of the world's most prestigious automotive brands, motorexpo will be staged along the walkways connecting the four-tower complex at the Hudson River, which is home to financial institutions like American Express, Merrill Lynch, Deloitte & Touche and Dow Jones. The expo will be open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. and is admission free.
Four new Porsche 911 models -- the 911 Carrera Coupe, 911 Carrera Cabriolet, 911 Carrera S Coupe, and 911 Carrera S Cabriolet -- go on sale September 20 in North America with a higher level of performance, efficiency and driver comfort than their predecessors.
Thanks to the addition of direct fuel injection (DFI) to the all-new flat-six engines and the revolutionary seven-speed double-clutch gearbox Porsche-Doppelkupplung (PDK), both sharing racing heritage, a hallmark of Porsche technological development, Porsche again boosts performance of the 911, yet improves its fuel efficiency.
Specifically, depending upon the model, the new sports car offers up to 8.5 percent more power, 12.9 percent better fuel economy and 15.4 percent lower carbon dioxide emissions than the previous generation. The output of the 3.6-Liter engine in the Porsche 911 Carrera increases by 20 horsepower to 345. The output of the Porsche 911 Carrera S versions with their 3.8-liter engine increases by 30 hp to 385.
The German car company developed the Porsche-Doppelkupplung (PDK) for racing no less than 25 years ago. It features two parallel clutches to eliminate any interruption in power delivery and smoothly bypass even the slightest break between gears. Porsche factory drivers benefiting from this technology were able to accelerate faster than their competitors and keep both hands on the wheel while shifting gears, thus avoiding even the slightest distraction.
This pioneering achievement from Porsche's racing efforts now gives the new 911 Carrera and Carrera S even better performance. The Carrera equipped with PDK covers 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds and the Carrera S reaches the same speed in 4.3 which is 0.2 seconds faster than with a manual six-speed gearbox.
Exterior refinements of the new 911 include a front bumper with larger air intakes, signalling an increase in power, and the newly designed, dual-arm exterior mirrors, which provide a larger field of vision to the rear. LED daytime driving lights and bi-Xenon headlights will be standard on all new models, as well as LED tail and brake lights. Optional now are Dynamic Cornering Lights which turn with the angle of the front wheels. In Porsche fashion, these new refinements do not change the drag coefficient of the 911 as it stays at a remarkable 0.29.
The latest Porsche Communication Management system, PCM 3.0, enhanced by the driver-friendly touchscreen operation, will be standard on all new 911s. Along with this upgraded system, options such as navigation, satellite radio with XM NavTraffic capability, Bluetooth(R) connectivity, iPOD(R) port, USB port, and aux jack are a "finger-tip" away from the Porsche driver who wants to combine driving superiority with comfort and convenience.