Background
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After the somewhat less than enthusiastically received 996, 2004’s 997 variant provided redemption for both the German carmaker and hardcore 911 fans.
The base model Carrera was a great introduction to the range, but the Carrera S with a larger engine, more power, and a sports suspension and exhaust, marked a new marketing strategy for Porsche, one based on trying to move buyers up from the base model whenever possible.
There was, you might remember, a little unpleasantness around the tendency of the first generation of 997s to score the bores of their engines. IMS bearing failure was still a problem too, as was the engine’s dislike of being over-revved. It was a good start – and a much better car than the 996 it replaced – but more work was needed.
This work was completed in 2007, with the introduction of the second generation 997. The engine was now as bomb-proof as any that Porsche had ever built (which is to say that it is very reliable indeed…) and the car was now available with the company’s brilliant PDK twin-clutch gearbox.
The retuned four-wheel-drive system now featured torque vectoring, which helped turn-in and meant that enthusiastic drivers who needed all-weather mobility were no longer being punished by a somewhat inert and unresponsive chassis.
The second generation 997 (unsurprisingly known as the 997.2), effectively marked the point at which even a skilled driver’s inputs were less efficient and slower than those the car could conjure up when left to its own devices.
