Porsche 911 Carrera
The 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera is new in an inside-out way.
The new, light engines deliver improved fuel economy, escaping the government's gas guzzler penalty. The 911 Carrera is rated at 19/27 mpg on the city/highway cycle with the PDK, and the Carrera S comes in at 19/26. Ratings with the manual gearbox are slightly lower: 18/25 for both engines.
Both models get bigger brakes, with vented rotors on all four wheels that are nearly 13 inches in diameter.
Outside cues to the 2009 911 are LED taillights, stoplights and running lights. Other than that, and slight differences in the tailpipes, anyone would be hard-pressed to distinguish the new models.
The new Carrera exhibits the balanced performance, handling and braking that have attracted enthusiasts through six generations of the 911 - except that now everything works incrementally better.
It's no surprise. The iconic sports car still looks essentially the same as the first U.S. model in 1965.
Then, as now, the 911 featured a horizontally opposed six-cylinder engine mounted behind the rear wheels. It has three cylinders lying on each side of the crankshaft, feet to feet, instead of leaning to the side or standing up as in V-designed or in-line engines. Originally air-cooled, it now has liquid cooling.
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 BODY: Convertible
RATES: $ 550 Daily Call us for Weekend Special
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