2012 Porsche 911 on video

2012 Porsche 911 - Hot weather testing in South Africa

The arrival of the 2012 Porsche 911 is getting closer with a debut expected at the Frankfurt Motor Show in just a couple of months. Which explains why Porsche are now ready to play tease with the 2012 911.

The first shot by Porsche in the PR salvo for the next generation 911 comes in the form of video of the new 911 hot weather testing in South Africa, complete with smiling, excited children and dramatic landscapes. But looking beyond the pretty imagery we can see the new 911 is pretty much what we expected.

We last ran spy photos of the 2012 911 back in December (with a car that looked much as it does in the Porsche video) and it was clear that although the new 911 followed Porsche’s policy of evolutionary design (or bone-idle designers, as Clarkson would prefer to put it) there were significant changes in the offing.

Chief of those changes was probably size, with the new Porsche 911 growing in size, with a longer wheelbase and – in Carrera S guise – a larger girth thanks to the bigger rear wings. It now also looks as though the very simple, and slightly dated,  interior of the 911 will get a more contemporary, Panamera-inspired makeover.

On the engine front we expect the entry-level lump to actually reduce in size. The new 3.4 litre Boxer engine will improve economy by 13% and will, despite the reduced capacity, manage 180mph and 0-62mph in 4.8 seconds.

The Carrera S versions of the 2012 911 will get a revised version of the current 3.8 litre Boxer engine with 395bhp and a similar improvement in economy to the new, smaller unit. The Carrera S is expected to hit 62mph in 4.5 seconds and top out at 188mph.

This is just Porsche’s opening salvo in it PR campaign for the 2012 911. It’s safe to assume there’s more to come.

Much more.

By Cars UK