Coming back from the FACTORY with some interesting news
I picked up my wife's Boxster S from the factory yesterday.
CR and Gregor joined me, we had a lot of fun and some interesting discussions.
Well, unfortunately we weren't able to take pictures because security was VERY tight (I wonder why...
). They also closed the street to the entrance of Werk 2 for general traffic and although we were permitted to park our car on the parking lot next to the gate, no chance for pictures, a few guys from security with their eyes on everybody. 
BUT: pictures aren't really needed because we caught some interesting facts.
Here we go:
1. we saw a 997 Carrera 4S Cabriolet(!) and a 997 Carrera 4 Cabriolet(!), both without camouflage, only the 4S and the 4 were covered by black tape.
So yes, both models are coming soon, we already announced them here on Rennteam.com a while ago.
2. we saw a 997 Carrera 4 Cab and a 997 Carrera Cab standing one next to each other (would have been a great picture but when I tried to grap my camera, a couple of Porsche employees who unloaded stuff from a truck were with their eyes on us because we "lost" our group)
The good thing: the 997 Carrera 4 looks great. The bad thing: at first glimpse, you don't see ANY difference between the Carrera 4 and the Carrera, just if you look carefully. And if they don't stay one next to each other, you don't see ANY difference. We were really wondering why Porsche did that and came to the conclusion that they actually needed the wider rear for the new 997 Turbo which seems to use the same body like the Carrera 4/4S.
3. speaking of the 997 Turbo: all signs at the factory indicated an introduction for next year, we even think that production will start end of this year. When we visited production, some engineers were already setting up the new production gear for the 997 Turbo engine, the old engine isn't manufactured anymore but we saw a bunch of 996 Turbo "exchange engines", probably a batch for the parts department.
We also saw the front axle of the 997 Turbo, MASSIVE looking. But funny enough: it seems that the same part is used for the Carrera 4.
We also saw the cylindre head and the whole engine of the 997 Turbo next to engine dyno testing and I would say that judging by the look of it and the engine production changes we were able to witness, the 997 Turbo gets an engine based on the "old" 964/GT1 engine, not the M97 engine.
The 997 Turbo engine seems to have been updated substantially judging from it's looks, there seemed to be some sort of "housing" for the turbo chargers but we weren't able to take a closer look.
4. we weren't able to see ANY sign of a 997 GT3, no engine parts, nothing.
Strange.
5. we saw a batch of 997 powerkit engines which had a sticker on them that they were not to be released to production before July 15th.
6. we saw a 996 Turbo Cab which apparently actually was a camouflaged 997 Turbo. The brakes had black brake calipers, brake disc size was (just a guess) 350-360 mm in front and 330 mm in the rear. The car looked a bit strange, especially in the front but we weren't able to take a closer look with the security guards next to us.
7. we saw a couple of Cayman S driving around without camouflage. We all agreed that it looks nice but somehow too Boxster-ish. Whoever wants to get a 911 look for less money, gets the wrong car. Porsche design succeeded very much in building a car which seems to have the 911 shape at first look but doesn't actually share any similarity with it. Clever design but we're not sure buyers who actually went for a "cheaper" 911 will like it. Otherwise, the Cayman looks really nice and has a surprisingly "clean" design/line flow.
We also agreed that lighter colours look better on the Cayman.
8. we spotted a 3.6 l engine for the 987(!), no clue if it was for the Boxster and/or Cayman.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. I'm not sure I reported everything we saw.
I would also like to thank CR and Gregor for their company, we had a great time, unfortunately the weather wasn't too nice, it was raining all the time.
CR and Gregor joined me, we had a lot of fun and some interesting discussions.
Well, unfortunately we weren't able to take pictures because security was VERY tight (I wonder why...
). They also closed the street to the entrance of Werk 2 for general traffic and although we were permitted to park our car on the parking lot next to the gate, no chance for pictures, a few guys from security with their eyes on everybody.
BUT: pictures aren't really needed because we caught some interesting facts.
Here we go:
1. we saw a 997 Carrera 4S Cabriolet(!) and a 997 Carrera 4 Cabriolet(!), both without camouflage, only the 4S and the 4 were covered by black tape.
So yes, both models are coming soon, we already announced them here on Rennteam.com a while ago.
2. we saw a 997 Carrera 4 Cab and a 997 Carrera Cab standing one next to each other (would have been a great picture but when I tried to grap my camera, a couple of Porsche employees who unloaded stuff from a truck were with their eyes on us because we "lost" our group
)
The good thing: the 997 Carrera 4 looks great. The bad thing: at first glimpse, you don't see ANY difference between the Carrera 4 and the Carrera, just if you look carefully. And if they don't stay one next to each other, you don't see ANY difference.
We were really wondering why Porsche did that and came to the conclusion that they actually needed the wider rear for the new 997 Turbo which seems to use the same body like the Carrera 4/4S.
3. speaking of the 997 Turbo: all signs at the factory indicated an introduction for next year, we even think that production will start end of this year. When we visited production, some engineers were already setting up the new production gear for the 997 Turbo engine, the old engine isn't manufactured anymore but we saw a bunch of 996 Turbo "exchange engines", probably a batch for the parts department.
We also saw the front axle of the 997 Turbo, MASSIVE looking. But funny enough: it seems that the same part is used for the Carrera 4.
We also saw the cylindre head and the whole engine of the 997 Turbo next to engine dyno testing and I would say that judging by the look of it and the engine production changes we were able to witness, the 997 Turbo gets an engine based on the "old" 964/GT1 engine, not the M97 engine.
The 997 Turbo engine seems to have been updated substantially judging from it's looks, there seemed to be some sort of "housing" for the turbo chargers but we weren't able to take a closer look.
4. we weren't able to see ANY sign of a 997 GT3, no engine parts, nothing.
Strange.
5. we saw a batch of 997 powerkit engines which had a sticker on them that they were not to be released to production before July 15th.
6. we saw a 996 Turbo Cab which apparently actually was a camouflaged 997 Turbo. The brakes had black brake calipers, brake disc size was (just a guess) 350-360 mm in front and 330 mm in the rear. The car looked a bit strange, especially in the front but we weren't able to take a closer look with the security guards next to us.
7. we saw a couple of Cayman S driving around without camouflage. We all agreed that it looks nice but somehow too Boxster-ish. Whoever wants to get a 911 look for less money, gets the wrong car. Porsche design succeeded very much in building a car which seems to have the 911 shape at first look but doesn't actually share any similarity with it. Clever design but we're not sure buyers who actually went for a "cheaper" 911 will like it. Otherwise, the Cayman looks really nice and has a surprisingly "clean" design/line flow.
We also agreed that lighter colours look better on the Cayman.
8. we spotted a 3.6 l engine for the 987(!), no clue if it was for the Boxster and/or Cayman.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. I'm not sure I reported everything we saw.
I would also like to thank CR and Gregor for their company, we had a great time, unfortunately the weather wasn't too nice, it was raining all the time.
) and one or two 997 Turbo..and both cars will be MY2007
But this group was from PCNA I think, they all spoke US English and had a "Club" sticker on their shirts.
