If it makes you feel any better, I agree with you.

The giant openings at the front of the car all blacked out is a trend that I hope will soon die out.

One car in paticular was the leader in that design style, or at least made me aware of it's limitations is the Marussia.

Marussia Motors
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marussia_Motors

The B1 maybe looked a bit docile from lack of front openings.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...B1_photo01.jpg

The later B2 suddenly looked outrageous.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...arussia_B2.jpg

Porsche has never been for the outrageous, that's more of an Italian thing (and maybe Russian now).

I hope Porsche finds their way back to their traditional value system and roots regarding those front openings, they are garish (for a Porsche) in my opinion.

My only qualifier is that I think we are looking at cars with missing front trim pieces that will complete the final product.

I cannot imagine those structural mounting holes flanking the license plate are the end note. And the center opening it's self is not fully defined either.

I reserve final comment when I see the final design, I do not think photos available today are of the very final design - stuff is missing.

I generally like it. I find the interior gorgeous and quite fitting for a luxury road car (GT) -- admittedly, it's too nice for a track car. It will be interesting to see what they do with the GT3. Still not completely sold on the back end -- I prefer the horizontal slats on the rear deck, but that's been going on for a few years already. As stated above, the rear light treatment is a bit Cylon helmet -- I'm not sure how well that's going to age.

I find the "OMG, it's got new-fangled electronics -- I can't fix that with a Crescent wrench" comments to be funny. Even the beloved aircooleds were once considered somewhat exotic, only to be breathed on by a trained specialist named Dieter. Today, they don't seem very complicated and the DIY knowledge base is huge.

The aftermarket will step in to hack/reverse engineer/fix/improve these cars as long as there's demand for them. It just takes time. Consider all the technology retrofits available to aircooleds: coil overs, ignition systems, brake packages, electric A/C, modern fuel injection, upgraded turbos, the list goes on. Replacement electronics/radios get designed to update the interior. Specialists rebuild speedometers, ABS units, control modules and so on. The aftermarket support is part of what helps these cars keep their value in old age. It's a business opportunity for those so inclined.

But yeah, the first 20+ years are going be nothing but depreciation -- just like it was for the aircooleds.

Yeah, good point, read through the comments, a few of us like it, or at least are reserving judgement for when we actually see one in the wild.

Milt I do agree with your comments , the 911 is a great GT machine but no longer a true sports car . Porsche has tried their best to keep it a sports car AND have all the safety and electronic gizmos that the competition offers but that is a very difficult thing to do . Enter the Cayman and Boxster which in my opinion are sports cars . But I think in the not too distant future Porsche will have to offer as an option the 6 cylinder engine . Have the turbo 4 as the base engine but offer the 6 and let the sales figures determine the path forward . I love my 6 ( far from stock ) and would never give it up for a 4 .

The 911 has been 928-esque for the past few generations now.

I dont like the squared off edges of the "frunk" and dont like the back end too much. The 991 is a MUCH better looking car.

I think this is what will happen, but Porsche will have a new entry level model coming onboard. I mean, when you can spec a base Boxster to almost $100k, it is nuts!

Can you go in and spec a basic 911with the highest power motor and not lots of extras? Or do you need to do packages etc?

I don’t mean the GT3, 911 Turbo (i know they all are but the new 930), is it possible to get a “basic” S? Or is it like other companies where you have to get a limited package etc.?

You can build a basic car, but you need to get your dealer to order it for you. If they see it as a stripper with a limited buyer base in case you back out, they won't do it. Heck, a friend wanted to order a 997 cab in guards red and the dealer didn't want to do it. He was paying cash for the car as it stickered over $100k, but they wouldn't do it. He flew to Florida and got it from Brumos for $10k less. He bought a condo complex while he was there, too!

I just went to the website and they list the “new” Carrera S and 4S as a choice. Unless I was doing something wrong, PDK was the only transmission choice....

If I wanted a two door Panamera this car would be perfect. As a 911 Porsche f'd up.

This is very true. A buddy of mine who has owned several 911's and is the "ultimate car guy" just went into the dealer to order his first ever brand new 911. He wanted a base Carrera 4, manual transmission, with basically no options. He wanted no options not because he could not afford it, but because he is a "purist" and wants the car only for driving pleasure with no extras. He was paying in full, in cash, up front.

The dealer would not allow him to order it this way. He tried other Porsche dealers, same thing.

They wanted him to order a C4S for an extra $30K just to get AWD and he did not want to do that. In order to get them to allow the special order he ended up ordering a Carrera T, forgoing the AWD, and adding two options, + european delivery at Stuttgart. This was the only way they would allow him to order one in a low-optioned format with a manual transmission.

Crazy.

That is so messed up.

A couple years ago I saw a Cayman GTS on the showroom with zero options. It was like seeing a unicorn. Granted it was a GTS which by definition is an S with options, but surprising nonetheless

I wish I could have found a 996TT without a sunroof and it would not have hurt the price in my opinion. I realize there are some desirable options, but would a low optioned car hurt the resale after its depreciation?

I realize that dealers do not give a you know what about that...

rear spoiler is hideous when it open, the entire back end looks to plastic & cheap
that 3rd break light on top of the rear grill is bleh.
LED dashboard bleh

It's becoming an appliance, soon it will be electric, and then the transformation will be complete

Says the guy with an E36 M3? :D

The "stop living in the past" retort seems to be the go-to for those who suddenly become defensive for some reason, when others are critical of a marque's design changes. Progress is good and all, but "new" doesn't always equal "better".
Sometimes design changes work, and sometimes they can be can be ill-conceived/implemented, rushed to make deadlines, or simply solve problems that never existed. All just to have something "new" for the next model year...

From an aesthetic design standpoint:

The original 911 style/shape was virtually unchanged from 1964 to 1994. I wouldn't consider Porsche as "stuck in the past" during that stretch.
They just seemed to be more mindful/careful back then with the incremental design changes, as to not depart too far from the iconic design that got them to where they were.

For me, the 993 was a step forward, the 996 several steps backwards, the 997 a step forward (course correction), and the 991 sort of "meh"., etc. YMMV... :)

+1

I like it, I actually think it looks a little more like the originals than some of the last few generations.

That be said I also think the transformation is nearly complete for the automobile. It’s inevitable isn’t it? Soon enough non-appliance cars will be a niche hobby like mechanical watches, film cameras, analog audio. The digital equivalents of these provide far more utility for 99% of users than the best of their forebearers.

Besides, what are the car companies to do at this point? Everything gets to 60 in 5 seconds and holds nearly 1g.

+1