Tag: Adaptive

CarCostCanada

2021 Porsche 911 Carrera receives important updates

2021 Porsche 911 Carrera S Cabriolet
The new 911 Carrera will be available with the innovative InnoDrive adaptive cruise control system starting in 2021.

Porsche only showed its new 2021 911 Turbo S Coupe and Cabriolet models in March, and we’re already find out what they’ve got in store for next year’s 911 Carrera, Carrera S, and Carrera 4S.

The two sportier trims will soon get a new seven-speed manual transmission, but we’re not yet sure if the DIY gearbox will be standard in Canada and therefore priced lower than the current standard eight-speed automated PDK dual-clutch transmission, as it was in 2019, or if it will be no-cost option like the latest 2021 models are being offered in Europe. Fortunately, Porsche Canada will announce pricing in a few months, which will clarify this question.

2021 Porsche 911 Carrera
Want a faster and more agile 911? Good news! 2021 Carrera Coupes will be available with a new lightweight glass package.

PDK-equipped 911s in mind, Porsche will make its InnoDrive adaptive cruise control system available for 2021 as well. InnoDrive has the ability to automatically maintain set speed limits and slow down for corners, in addition to the usual adaptive cruise control capabilities.

Also new, optional Smartlift raises the 911’s front axle to clear steep driveways and larger than average speed bumps, while it can also be programmed to automatically remember specific locations where it needs to lift. A tire temperature readout gauge is new for 2021 911s equipped with the Sport Chrono Package as well.

2021 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet
Smartlift will raise your 911s front end upwards to overcome big speed bumps and steep driveways.

In an effort to make the 911 even sportier, a lightweight glass package reduces mass up high in the body and therefore lowers the car’s centre of gravity. Only available with the Coupe, this feature will be popular with performance purists, while those wanting more refinement can opt for thicker, better-insulated glass.

Porsche looks to its past for a new leather upholstery upgrade package, introduced earlier for the base 2021 Turbo S. The retro upgrade pulls styling cues from the 930-generation 911 Turbo, and is available in both the Coupe and Cabriolet.

More trivial yet still cool, Porsche’s seven-colour Ambient Lighting Package has been renamed from the outgoing model year’s somewhat less obvious Light Design Package name, while the 911’s exterior paint palette has grown to include Python Green for 2021, a colour also offered with the 911 Turbo S and 718 Cayman GTS 4.0.

We can expect more 2021 911 details closer to launch.

Story credit: Trevor Hofmann

Photo credits: Porsche

CarCostCanada

Watch how Porsche Adaptive Aerodynamics enhance 2020 911’s performance (video)

2020 Porsche 911 Carrera S
The new 2020 Porsche 911 Carrera uses adaptive aerodynamics, including an active rear spoiler, to improve safety while adding speed and all-weather grip. (Photo: Porsche)

Who isn’t excited to see the new 2020 Porsche 911 Carrera on the road, let alone experience one first hand? While the latest sports car of sports cars might look to some like a mild makeover of a classic design, it’s a radical departure to those who live and breathe Porsche. 

Most applaud its fresh new styling, although some have criticized its backside when its attractively tapered deck lid transforms into a rather unorthodox rear wing, but no matter how much you like or dislike the car’s design, the method behind Porsche’s madness is hard to argue against. 

Less noticeable than the protruding rear wing are a set of active shutters that hide within the front corner grilles, which open above 70 km/h to minimize aerodynamic drag, while at 90 km/h the just noted rear spoiler gets raised into its most fuel efficient Eco position to once again reduce air resistance, although the aero system’s purpose changes from eco stewardship to maximum speed and grip at 170 km/h, when the front shutters open and the rear spoiler moves farther upward into its Performance position. 

2020 Porsche 911 Carrera S
The rear wing moves into three different angles, depending on need. (Photo: Porsche)

What’s more, as part of this Performance position the PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management) sport chassis automatically drops down by 10 millimetres in order to improve its aero efficiency further, this sole feature adding four seconds per lap to the 911’s Nürburgring performance. 

The 911’s adaptive aero also adjusts for new Wet mode, plus the active rear spoiler will literally spring into action when emergency braking is needed by automatically canting farther upward into its “Air Brake” mode, adding downward pressure over the rear wheels for greater braking grip. 

How does it work? Like the previous 911, the new model’s sculpted body panels provide precise paths for oncoming air to flow overtop, underneath and around the entire car so as to minimize drag and maximize downforce, a balancing act that’s always challenging to perfect, but the new 911’s adaptive aerodynamics take it a step further by letting that air vent into the front corner intakes, pass through each radiator, and then flow around the front wheels like an air curtain in order to reduce turbulence. 

2020 Porsche 911 Carrera S
When the active air shutters are closed, air moves around the car as shown, and when open, air moves through the front intakes. (Photo: Porsche)

This airflow continues along the 911’s doors before moving up and over the rear fenders into the engine vents mounted below the rear window, which feeds the 3.0-litre, twin-turbocharged horizontally opposed six-cylinder engine’s new air-to-air intercoolers, after which it gets directed down and out rear vents at each side of the back bumper. 

For a more visual insight, make sure to watch the video provided by Porsche below, and don’t forget to check out the photo gallery above, where we’ve included some close up shots of the rear wing as well as some illustrations of frontal and rear airflow.

The Porsche 911 – Adaptive Aerodynamics (2:56):

Story credits: Trevor Hofmann

Photo credits: Porsche