2005 Porsche 911 Preview

Such may be reason enough that, while Porsche's new Cayenne sport utility vehicle is burning up the sales charts its

The new Carrera sports redesigned front and rear fascias, while maintaining classic 911 styling. (Photo: Porsche Cars North America)

Boxster and 911 models have been a little stagnant. This, of course, has much to do with the Cayenne's new role, to offer an altogether different kind of family-functional Porsche to the sports car brand's loyal client base, as equally capable of work as it is play, but the problem also reflects a general downturn in the sports car market.

Not to worry, with profits high from SUV sales Porsche is reinvesting in its core 911 for 2005. Completely revised, for a 911 at least, the new Carrera sports redesigned front and rear fascias, including turn signals integrated into the front bumper and a return to the much loved oval headlamps of the previous 993 code-named iteration. The car's profile appears more sculpted as it nears the rear fender swells, while Porsche has modified the taillights, rear fenders and trunklid, but just the same has

To further enhance the 2005 911's performance, Porsche will offer a new Carrera S with 30 additional horsepower and a standard active suspension system - optional on the regular Carrera. (Photo: Porsche Cars North America)

managed to keep the overall appearance of the current 911's rear styling more or less intact - a good thing according to most Porsche fans.

Under that trunklid the new model, which is internally referred to as the 997, will also feature a more powerful 3.8-liter equipped Carrera S version rated at 355 horsepower, venting through four large circular exhaust pipes instead of the regular 911's two rectangular tips. The "base" 911's 3.6-liter horizontally opposed 6-cylinder will boast an incremental increase of 5 horsepower, from 320 to 325, satisfying the need-for-speed psychology Porsche has fostered over its 40 years of 911 production. All 911s will come standard with an upgraded 6-speed manual transmission, and an optional 5-speed Tiptronic automatic with manual actuation via either the shift lever or steering wheel buttons.