Overview
Four years after its first appearance, the 997-model 911 Carrera received a major overhaul. Not that there was anything wrong with the old car, but Porsche wanted to make it even better.
Visually, not much changed. The most obvious was the restyled LED rear lamps. Also at the back, the bumper was changed slightly, especially between the exhaust outlets. At the front were LED daylight driving lamps, while Bi-xenon headlamps became standard and borrowed the Cayenneâs dynamic bending system. Also at the front, the air intakes were restyled. Finally, the door mirrors became slightly larger, to meet upcoming EU regulations.
However, this was more than a mere facelift. The 997 was given an all-new engine with 40 percent fewer components. The two-piece crankcase now had integrated crankshaft bearing housings, which reduced weight and size. Also, there was now no intermediate shaft driving the timing chains.
The stroke of the 3.6-litre engine increased, by 1.3mm, to 81.5mm, while the bore went up by 1mm to 97mm. This meant that the capacity increased by 18cc to 3614cc. The cylinder heads had a simpler construction, and were now one-piece with integrated camshaft bearings and guide liners for the hydraulic cup tappets. The lubrication system was optimised to improve efficiency. Finally, and most importantly, the engine now used Direct Fuel Injection, or DFI. 
An new option was the PDK (Porsche-Doppelkupplung, or Porsche double clutch) transmission, which replaced the previous Tiptronic S. This seven-speed transmission gave a choice of automatic or manual changes and was faster and more efficient than Tiptronic.
How to spot
- LED daylight driving lamps
- Large oval headlamps
- Restyled LED rear lamps
- Carrera badge on rear
Variations
Cabriolet The 997-model 911 was offered with a fully electric soft-top to give open-air motoring. The roof was revised from 2008 to reduce wear on the fabric surface during opening and closing.
Specification
Capacity: 3614cc
Compression ratio: 12.5:1
Maximum Power: 345bhp @ 6500rpm
Maximum Torque: 390Nm @ 4400rpm
Brakes: Front: 330mm discs; rear: 330mm discs. Servo assisted with ABS
Suspension: Front: Lower wishbones and MacPherson struts with combined coil springs and dampers, plus anti-roll bar Rear: Multilink with combined coil springs and dampers, plus anti-roll bar
Wheels & Tyres: Front: 18x8J with 235/40ZR18 tyres. Rear: 18×10.5J with 265/40ZR18 tyres
Length: 4435mm
Width: 1808mm
Weight: >1500kg (coupe)
Did you Know?
0-62mph: 5.1 sec (PDK: 4.9); top speed: 179mph (PDK: 178mph)
Despite having more power, the revised 997 is actually more economical thanks to Direct Injection and the seven-speed PDK transmission.