 2009 Porsche 911; photo by Paul Williams. Click image to enlarge |
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By Chris Chase
The 2009 Porsche 911 was an updated version of the fifth-generation car (code named 997) that dated back to 2005. Key among the changes were new engines, the first 911 powerplants to use direct fuel injection, which boosted power outputs and reduced fuel consumption.
Carrera coupe and convertible and Targa models (all offered with rear- or all-wheel drive) used a 345-horsepower, 3.6-litre motor, while S versions of the Carrera and Targa (again, in rear- or all-wheel drive form) got a 3.8-litre good for 385 hp. The GT3 used a non-turbo 3.6-litre making 415 hp, while the GT2 got a turbocharged 3.6-litre rated at 530 horsepower. The GT2 and GT3 were rear-wheel drive only. The 911 Turbo carried over from 2008.
Porsche 911 drivers were also introduced to the brand’s seven-speed PDK (Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe) transmission in 2009. This dual-clutch automated automatic replaced the five-speed Tiptronic as the automatic option in all but GT2 and GT3 (which were stickshift-only) and the carried-over Turbo.
 2009 Porsche 911; photo by Peter Bleakney. Click image to enlarge |
For 2010, the Turbo got a redesign similar to the rest of the 911 range, as well as a new 500-hp engine the PDK transmission option. The GT3 engine gained 20 horsepower (for 435), while a new GT3 RS boasted 450.
The 2011 GTS model got a 408-hp version of the 3.8-litre shared with the 911 Carrera/Cabriolet/Targa S. Also that year, the GT2 was replaced with the GT2 RS for 2011, whose turbocharged motor made 620 horsepower. A new Turbo S got 530 hp, to the regular Turbo’s 500.
Talking about a sports car’s fuel consumption is mostly academic; if you’re shopping for a car like this, I suspect you’re not too worried about what it costs to keep the tank full. That said, these later 997s are notably efficient. The thirstiest Carrera model (the 4S) is rated 11.8 L/100 km in the city, and 8.0 L/100 km on the highway, according to Natural Resources Canada’s testing simulations, numbers that put it in the same league as big sedans like the Ford Taurus. The really high-performance GT2, GT3 and Turbo all earned ratings close to 13.5 L/100 km range in the city simulation, and around 8.5 on the highway.
 2009 Porsche 911; photo by Michael Clark. Click image to enlarge |
Neither of the U.S.-based crash testing bodies (the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) have crash-tested a Porsche 911 (ever!). More surprisingly, not even EuroNCAP (New Car Assessment Programme) has done so.
German cars are well-known for being finicky beasts that don’t necessarily reward diligent maintenance with strong reliability. There isn’t a lot of “scientific” data on recent 911s from Consumer Reports, and TrueDelta.com has nothing on 2009-and-newer models.
That leaves us with anecdotal information from 911-centric discussion forums, of which there are many.
