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Comment by pg | Hacker News Reader

"The Porsche 911 proved both an immediate and enduring hit, and the company has never replaced it, instead allowing the car to evolve over almost half a century."

Not quite. That was true till 1998, but the present 911 is just a similar-looking car with the same name, like the new Beetle, the new Mini, and the new Fiat 500.

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You're saying that it stopped being evolution just because the engine finally went from air-cooled to water cooled? That seems like a feature upgrade, which is an evolution; not a new product.

It wasn't just the engine. The 996 was a new design. The 911 has been replaced twice, once in 1998 and once last year. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_911)

Sorry PG but you don't have the full story clear. The 911 is on its sixth major product evolution and to say that 996 was the first 'new design' is inaccurate. Kirk Seaman's retrospective here, while not complete, is a good starting point: http://blog.caranddriver.com/porsche-911-generations-the-leg...

to say that 996 was the first 'new design' is inaccurate

The article you link to calls the 996 the "first truly all-new 911."

Yeah, but it's like an axe. The 964 replaced the handle, the 993 replaced the head.

The 996 replaced both the head and the handle at the same time - but all 911s have evolved along the same lines,and the 996 just followed that line.

the 996 and the new 991 are all new designs, and not always for the better depending on your POV.

996: air cool -> water cool 991: hydraulic -> electric steering

Even from a physical standpoint the 996 on are positively large compared to 993 and earlier. Isn't a cayman about the same size as pre 90's 911s?

Those are two different things, though!

I always liked the air cooled 911s myself because I remember playing with a MicroMachines 911[1] and they had all of the cool vents (which I guess are silly reasons), but man the new water cooled ones are fast. I think the eggplant headlight change from (I think) 97-01 was a bad move though. I'm glad they're back to the more traditional oval headlamps...

[1] http://www.toycollector.com/hwdphotos/uploads/1653/1691/Micr...

Refactoring the design was mandatory to meet statutory emission and fuel consumption limits. Moving to water cooling, reducing aerodynamic drag and using lightweight materials were all necessitated by this.

There's a DVD called "The Porsche Way" available at the Porsche Museum in Zuffenhausen in which F.A. Porsche himself defends the move to water cooling, justifying it with legislation.

As it is, Porsche already has to pay CAFE penalties in the US, and similar legislation exists in the EU as well, called Flottenverbrauch.

It's all a shame, there aren't enough 911s on the road for it to really matter what their emissions or fuel consumption are.

Just out of curiosity, what makes the 996 and 997 models a different car from 993 and before?

Aqua

See the wikipedia[1] page. Basically, the 996 was a complete overhaul, new chassis, new engine (water cooled).

[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_911

The evolving has happened mostly under the hood. You can't really see it but you sure feel it once you get behind the wheel.

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