GENERATIONS
Bigger and faster, the 991 introduced huge changes to the 911, and hit new horsepower heights
Arriving in 2012, the 991 was as significant an evolutionary step as the 964 and 996. A far larger car than the outgoing 997, its monocoque construction relied heavily on aluminium for the first time, greatly increasing the 911’s power-to-weight ratio while enabling it to offer more interior space and house a wealth of new onboard tech.
Many would bemoan the loss of the earlier cars’ modest footprint, a 911 USP that made placement on the road and driveability in town unusually straightforward for a sports car. But the 996/997 chassis was almost 15 years old by this point and the advances Porsche made with the 991 proved to be enough to silence all but the most ardent of refuseniks.
The 991 was a superb car to drive, deftly straddling the camps between grand touring ability and the engagement and eagerness of a proper sports car. As so often, Porsche managed to dovetail these attributes with a remarkable degree of accessibility. This was a car you could happily drive daily, use to cross continents or spank around a racetrack. Many chose to do all three.
The 991 was a technological tour de force by Porsche’s standards, introducing electro-mechanical steering to the 911 for the first time, viewed by some as an act of sacrilege. And Porsche didn’t stop there, debuting torque vectoring and its Dynamic Chassis Control anti-roll system alongside rear-wheel steer on Turbo models. For better or worse, these were part of an unstoppable tide of intelligent, automated engineering solutions that would progressively wrest more and more of the initiative from the driver, creating a faster, more flattering car in the process.
In the face of increasing pressure to improve emissions and fuel economy, Porsche committed its next act of engineering impiety in 2015 when it decided to turbocharge its entire engine range for the 991’s midlife facelift. The result was rema
