The 911 Carrera…

With the new Porsche 911 Carrera, the next completely redeveloped generation of the sports car classic celebrates its world premiere at the 2011 IAA Frankfurt Motor Show.

True to the 911 tradition, the distinctive Porsche design language suggests even more power and elegance. The 100 milli metre (〜3.9 inches) longer wheelbase and reduced height combined with the up to 20inch wheels underpin the athletic appearance.

Setting the standard in its class, as it has for generations, the new 911 Carrera improves performance and efficiency again. All Coupés get by with significantly less than ten litres of fuel per 100 kilometres (28 mpg imp.). Fuel consumption and emissions are up to 16 per cent lower compared with its predecessor.

The Carrera with the new 350 hp (〜257 kW) 3.4-litre boxer engine and optional Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) consumes a mere 8.2 litres per 100 kilometres (〜34 mpg imp.) based on the NEDC –1.6 l/100 km (〜6 mpg imp.) less than its predecessor.

Also, at 194 g/km CO2, it is the first Porsche sports car to make it below the 200 g/km mark.

With the Carrera S as well, with its 3.8-litre boxer engine and what is now 400 hp (〜294 kW), fuel consumption is reduced by 14 per cent or 1.5 l/100 km (〜5 mpg imp.) when paired with the optional PDK transmission. It uses now some 8.7 l/100 km (〜32 mpg imp.) despite 15 hp (〜11 kW) more power. This corresponds with CO2 emissions of 205 g/km.

…and the Panamera Diesel.

Also celebrating a world premiere at the 2011 IAA Frankfurt Motor Show is the Panamera Diesel, the long-range cruiser in Porsche’s Gran Turismo stable.

With a range in excess of 1,200 kilometres (〜746 miles) on a full 80 litre tank (〜18 gallons imp.), it is a very frugal GT saloon with a fuel consumption of only 6.3 litres of diesel per 100 kilometres (〜45 mpg imp.) based on the NEDC with optional low-friction tyres.

The new Panamera Diesel is powered by a three-litre V6 250 hp (〜184 kW) engine with a  maximum torque of 550 Newton metres. All this power transmission is handled by an eight-speed automatic transmission.

The Panamera now also bears proudly the Diesel name...  

The 911 GT3 RS 4.0…

With the 911 GT3 RS 4.0, which is making its debut in front of an international public in Frankfurt, one of the most popular, coveted and successful Porsche racing pedigree production cars is entering the home straight.

The workplace of a winner: the purposeful dashboard of the 911 GT3...

Limited to 600 vehicles, the 911 GT3 RS 4.0 brings together in a road car all the attributes that have made the Porsche 911 GT3 a winner on the race track. The four-litre displacement sports engine, the largest engine ever used in a production 911, produces 500 hp (〜368 kW). At 125 hp (〜92 kW) per litre, the engine is also the most powerful naturally aspirated engine.

This propels the 911 GT3 RS 4.0 around the Nürburgring-Nordschleife circuit in 7:27 minutes.

A beautiful black Cayman…

The Cayman S Black Edition limited to 500 units is also celebrating its debut inFrankfurt.

The all-black, mid-engine Coupé boasts even better performance than the Cayman S and offers especially lavish equipment. The Cayman S Black Edition is powered by a 3.4-litre flat-six engine with power output increased by 10 hp (〜7 kW) to 330 hp (〜243 kW).

The greater power feeds directly through into the two-seater’s performance.

The acceleration time from nought to 100 km/h (〜62 mph) is improved to 5.1 seconds with the six-speed manual transmission and to 5.0 seconds with the optional Porsche Doppel kupplungsgetriebe (PDK).

The hybrid/electric past and future…

The world premieres are accompanied by two vehicles, which prove impressively the tradition and future of Porsche Intelligent Performance.

The legendary "Semper Vivus" was rebuilt as a very faithful replica of the original...

The Boxster E and the legendary “Semper Vivus”, the world’s first fully-functional, full-hybrid car. The Boxster E, with one electric motor apiece on front and rear axle, runs on purely electric power with four-wheel drive and is equivalent to a Boxster S in terms of driving dynamics.

Together with two other Boxster Es, in which an electric motor drives the rear wheels, the prototype is being used to explore the everyday practicality of all-electric vehicles and how they are used, especially in terms of driving and battery charging.

The faithful reconstruction of the “Semper Vivus” pays tribute to the visionary invention of Ferdinand Porsche, who in building it in 1900 created the first ever functional vehicle with a series hybrid drive. The faithful replica, the visionary design of which impresses to this very day, was the outcome of a collaboration between Porsche Engineering and Karosseriebau Drescher, a coachbuilding company based in Hinterzarten (Germany).

Needless to say that we will come back on these cars more in detail… Just take a further look on these pages, also for the next part of our Frankfurt IAA report…

Hans Knol ten Bensel