991
Two distinct phases sharing a chassis code. They take different parts — pick the one you actually have.
- Years
- 2012–2019
- Phases
- 2
- Spec blocks
- 25
- Power
- 350–700 hp
The 991 was sold in two phases that differ enough to be treated as separate cars — different engines in most cases, and different service parts in all of them. Choosing the wrong half is how people end up ordering a bulb that does not fit.
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991.1
2012–2016Longer, wider, electrically steered — and the last naturally aspirated Carrera.
12 trims 350–560 hp 7 known issues -
991.2
2017–2019Every Carrera turbocharged, and a naturally aspirated 4.0 GT3 alongside it as the counter-argument.
13 trims 370–700 hp 4 known issues
About the 991
The 991 is the largest structural rethink the 911 had received since the 996. The wheelbase grew almost four inches, the front axle moved forward, the body went largely aluminium, and the hydraulic steering rack was replaced by an electric one. The last of those was the controversy; the first three are why the car works so well.
It is also the generation where the used-Porsche engine conversation quietly stops. The 9A1 has no intermediate shaft, so there is no IMS bearing to worry about, and the bore-scoring epidemic of the M96 and M97 years does not follow it here. What replaces engine risk is complexity risk: PDK, adaptive dampers, rear-axle steering, active mounts and an infotainment system that ages faster than the car does.
The 2017 facelift turbocharged every Carrera. A 991.2 Carrera makes more torque, lower down, than a 991.1 Carrera S, and returns better economy doing it. What it gives up is the top-end character of a naturally aspirated flat-six — which is precisely why the naturally aspirated 4.0 L GT3 of the same era became the car everyone now wants.