Porsche 911 review - design
Can look bulky from some angles, but overall the new 911 perfectly pairs the model’s classic proportions with some slick surfacing and modern details
Well, it’s a 911, isn’t it? You could recognise that profile a mile off, and Porsche’s head of design, Michael Mauer, and the team only delicately reformed many of its iconic details. The biggest structural difference at the front is that the front wings now totally encapsulate the round headlights, met by a square-edged bonnet and extremely tight shutlines. The bonnet also now has a central divot, referencing the earliest 911 models. If you’re wondering why the 992 seems to mimic the 993-generation 911, it’s for these reasons.
There are more substantial changes at the back, where all models now get a full, unbroken light bar that gives all 911s a very distinctive night-time signature. The light bar is hardly a unique attribute in 2022 (everything from a SEAT Leon to the vast majority of new EVs throw light from end to end), but it’s this unbroken nature that sets the 911 apart. Different rear bumper options either place the rear number plate within the rear garnish or in its own dedicated placement on the coloured bodywork, but neither option does much to hide the mass that’s created from slinging the engine behind the rear axle.
A more artful graphic is the rear screen and engine cover, which are now integrated into the one graphic, reducing visual clutter. All Carreras come with an active rear wing, but there’s an optional Aerokit available on the options list that replaces it with a static unit. With so much variation possible via the options list, you really can specify a 911 anywhere from LA poser to track-honed racer with only a few ticks of the right option boxes.
There is one design detail we’re still not keen on, though: the door handles. The old 911 pull-style handles have been replaced by lift-up items that sit flush with the body when the doors are locked or the car is in motion. Inconveniently, they require you to reach below a semi-closed handle to unceremoniously pop the door open. They feel a bit fiddly even when correctly popped-out, and it’s a slightly frustrating initial interaction with the car every time you use it.
