Porsche 911 (2011) the leaked images of the 991

This is the new Porsche 911, and these images have been leaked ahead of the car’s official debut at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show in September.

Codenamed 991, the new 911 is all-new, and while the silhouette is instantly recognisable (and we’d swear those doors are identical) the bow and stern are obviously altered.

It’s the rear that’s changed the most, with ultra-slim LED lights and a much wider but more neatly integrated pop-up rear spoiler. At the front the daytime running lights merge in the air intakes, and the new design of bumpers serves to emphasise the width of the new 911.

Think shrunken Panamera and Cayenne, with a sloping transmission tunnel festooned with buttons – Porsche clearly doesn’t think much of iDrive, MMI or Comand. Expect a decent hike in quality – and in legroom for rear seat passengers thanks to a wheelbase stretch.

The red car in the leaked images is the entry level Carrera (identifiable by the black brake calipers) – it features a 3.4-litre flat six with 345bhp, meaning 4bhp more than the current 3.6 manages. And the silver car (with red calipers) is the Carrera S, with four exhausts pipes expelling the gases from a 394bhp 3.8-litre flat six. Thanks to direct-injection fuel tech, stop/start and a weight reduction courtesy of aluminium parts, expect the new 991-gen 911 to top 30mpg.

UK sales start in early 2012.

By Ben Pulman