Narrow Body v Wide Body 996

Deffo in former category. look at the GT3. I rest my case. What do you think

I have to agree. These days cars seem to be getting fatter by the day. I live In Cornwall where there are countless lanes just seven feet wide. My 3.2 Carrera feels small and at home down these lanes. A wide bodied 911 would be far more difficult to drive in this environment. As for looks, well that is always a matter of opinion. Personally I have always preferred the narrow bodied 911s. Certainly the Carrera 4S and Turbo models look decidedly overweight, flabby even!! Of course they are still fantastic cars but not for me.

I think that the essence of the 911 is to be a compact car. I remeber being turned on in the 60s by how understated they were, compared, say with an E Type. If the 997 is a smaller car than the 996 (unlikely) I will be a happy man.

For me the deciding factor was looks (shallow, me [ ]). The bigger brakes are a bonus though... I only notice the width locally because we have particularly narrow roads (not an issue in the UK or France). Having said that, I would not want it to be any wider. [ ] The 997 I saw at Weissach seemed to be about as wide as my 4S, so the trend seems to be for each incarnation of the 911 to be bigger. [&o] Regards Ian

I think they both look great, it's all down to personal taste. Let face it any Porker is something special. Having said this my personal preference lies with the widebodied cars, before I got my current steed I had a C2 facelift & I remember seeing one of the first C4'S in the OPC's showroom as I went to collect my car. In honesty it took the shine off my new toy (just a little) as I thought it looked meaner, a more balanced & cohesive design !!! But as they say ones meat etc etc !!!

Ian, you saw a 997. Tell me more. My dealer suggested that maybe the C2 would be a narrow body and all C4s wide body. Spizz

It was disguised but reckon it was definately wider than the C2 (there is a thread and link to a spy photo on the 996 Register titled Re:997). I understand that the current 996 wide bodied car (presumably Turbo and 4S) will continue in production alongside the 997 for around 18 months - according to my dealer. (Good for residuals of the 4S [ ])

Ian, Your car looks great. Slate grey - is it a standard/optional colour. Spizz

Thanks! [ ] It is a special order colour; otherwise known as "discontinued" or "old"!