styling of 996

Hello, I usualy don't post in this forum but I have a speciifc question concerning the 996. A whiile back I was told that the styiling of the 996 was done by a designer outside of Porsche. I was wondering if anyone could confirm or deny this. I am talking about just the styling not the engineering of the car. Thanks for your help, I appreciate it,

I don't know who it was, but I definitely know who it WASN'T--Chris Bangle, the current BMW chief of design!

It was styled in house. Same guy did most of the 996 variants and recently retired. Had been with Porsche a long time... There was an article in one of the mags about him a few months back. Roy

Why try to pin the styling on one person? More than any other automobile in history, the 966 is an evolution of an almost 40-year theme. You could get analytical about it: Gerhard Schroder designed the first convertible top, which influenced the Speedster, which was resurrected in the Boxster, which influenced the 996. That's just ONE thread. Plenty of outside design houses have contributed over the years: Anziano, Ruf, Gemballa, as well as Porsche's own Special Works. Porsche stylists Erwin Komenda, Butzi Porsche and Harm Lagaay all have their fingerprints on this car. Probably an innocent question. But the real answer (and I have only scratched the surface here) would demonstrate why it's an interesting question for every other car, but overly simplistic for this one. Beauty is timeless. Something BMW (and GM) have forgotten. (This could be a cross-post to that silly Porsche vs. Corvette thread). IMHO!!

i've been told by someone observing the 996's when I first got mine that the look is going back to the old 928 style of the back. I did notice this resemblence when they mentioned it to me. the tailights are more similar as well as the rear window being the same as the 928. any comments?

Line up pictures of a 901, 996 and 928. Now compare the tail lights. The 901 and 996 lights are both relatively flush with the exterior body and seamlessly wrap around the corner as a single unit. The 928 lights are sunken into the bodywork and heavily divided into brake, running, backup lights. No, I'd say the look is going back even further, to say, 1963!

ervtx is obviously describing the tail lights of an early (pre 87) 928. The later tail lights, however, are flush just like the 996. I do see quite a similarity between the back of a 996 and a later 928. Ian '84 911 targa, '87 928s4 5 speed.

To a degree all Porsches look alike, but I was struck with how much a 996 and 928 share similar lines and curves. They've got a similar melted-soapbar shape, their sloping backsides have almost the same inclination (esp. on a C4S) and they both have this shark-like snout. It's almost like the 928 and 993 merged together and out came a 996! Such beautiful cars - it's like being forced to choose between your date and her sister! p.s. My current 'date' is a 928, but my my my her sister looks soooooo fine <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

I'm obviously biased. I could have purchased a better performing car, so the 996 styling heritage means something. Questioning its purity will get me going... <img border="0" alt="[jumper]" title="" src="graemlins/jumper.gif" /> Of course there are similarities due to the fact that they are both P-cars. To the extent that the original question was one of "origin", looking at the differences are just as important. Where does the slope towards the rear begin? On a 911 it begins almost from the windsheild, in front of the drivers head. On a 928 it begins behind the head making it look more like a hatchback. As far as the front end goes, all 911's have steeply raked hoods compared to the wheel wells. 928 hoods are flat from wheel well to wheel well. The 996 headlight assembly now integrates the turn signal, running lights, etc., which makes it look more flush to the body, but it is distinctly raised from the hood. A 928 headlamp is flush with the hood. The lower front bumper of a 928 slopes backwards so that the leading edge of the car is higher off the ground. 911's do not have this shark feature. Engine placement (while an engineering decision) obviously has an impact on these design elements. My point is not in opposition to the ones made above, but rather, a clarification: there is simply no other car in the world that has maintained its original profile as long as the 911, and like the 911's that came before it, the 996 builds on that basic profile (including the tail lights). Doesn't mean I would turn down a date with a 928, however! <img border="0" alt="[cheers]" title="" src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" />

The highest point on 911s previous to the 996 is at the top of the windshield. Starting with the 996 it's slightly forward of the driver's head, by design. Roy

IMHO, Porsche moved away from the original lines after the 964. For the better, again IMHO.

The man who headed Porsche's design dept. and was responsible for the 993 and 996 among others was Harm Lagay. He has appeared in a number of Porsche promo videos speaking about his designs. he has always stressed the fact that the canopy is more narrow than the body (i.e. a fighter jet cockpit look). He is very impressive and an elegant and refined man to be sure, no wonder his car designs are so great.

Irvtx, you may be thinking of the change in manufacturing or assembly procedure with the 996 v the 993. PAG hired a Japanese consulting firm to help them with more efficient production methods, etc.etc. and in the process may have influenced a portion of the design to facilitate new production techniques. Or not!

I own both an '84 911 and an '87 928s4 so I see the backs of both cars all the time. I see a greater similarity between a 928 rear and a 996 than I see in my 911 (admittedly a targa and not a coupe). From the front, however, the 928 and 996 are quite different. I think that the profile view is where the 996 most shares its appearance with an original 911. Ian '84 911 targa, '87 928s4

some of the design of the 996 is taken from the 989 that never made production. It had the newer look tail lights and also had a headlight assembly similar (not the same) as the headlight asembly of the pre 02 996s. And you can see the genesis of the 996 "swoosh" dash on the 944/968 as well.

The Japanese consulatants were brought in during the 964 era. The 993 was the first 911 to take "advantage" of their techniques. Blurb from Fortune article: Shortly after becoming CEO in 1993, Wiedeking hired a group of hard-nosed Japanese manufacturing consultants, known as Shin-Gijutsu, to overhaul production. By 1997, Porsche workers took only 45 hours to build a 911, compared with 120 hours in 1991. The time required to develop a new model shrank to three years from seven, and finished cars drove out of the plant after just three days of work, vs. six weeks previously. <a href="http://www.fortune.com/fortune/ceo/articles/0,15114,418670-1,00.html" target="_blank">SOURCE</a>