On May 7, 2004, Porsche announced that the new 911 generation will come as a 2005 model, as a successor to the 996 model. The 997 ended up being the most commercially successful 911 of all time, selling over 200,000 units during its production run. It marked the return to the classic 911 styling after the 996’s “fried egg” look. Today many consider it the quintessential 911 design and the last of the pure 911 sports cars. Some 45 iterations of road cars in total were made but the 997’s significance should not be measured purely on its commercial success. This was a milestone car for successfully introducing the dual clutch PDK transmission to Porsche’s 911, and also Porsche’s now ubiquitous and ingenious active suspension management or ‘PASM’. The 997 represented a significant relaunch of the 911 that included a major body restyling and interior update, while using much of the rolling chassis of the outgoing 996. At launch there were two uprated versions of the water cooled Carrera engines – the Carrera 3.6 and the Carrera S 3.8. See all of our Porsche 997 Research.
