The new Porsche 992 911 in three charts

THE 992 version of Porsche’s 911 doesn’t look all that different to its predecessor. Unveiled at the Los Angeles Show after a series of online leaks, the shape may well be familiar, but the car has changed fairly dramatically under the skin.

What’s not quite so apparent is how Porsche has stepped up the power war against key rivals. Back in December 2007, Peter McKay drove the 997 GT2 for Wheels.

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It was the fastest production Porsche ever built, and the first production car with launch control, smashing its way to 100km/h in 3.7 seconds. Which, incidentally, is an identical time to the cheapest 992 you can currently order, the $265,000 Carrera S.

Lay down $281,100 for the all-wheel drive Carrera 4S and you’ll outsprint the GT2, stopping the clock in 3.6 seconds. As the chart below shows, it’s in some pretty illustrious company.

0-100km/h

We put the 992 up against some Porsche legends to see just how quick off the mark it is. And the really scary thing? You can make the 992 Carrera S another 0.2s quicker to 100km/h with the optional Sport Chrono Package, so a little judicious optioning would see it become the quickest of this bunch.

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Power

Meanwhile, it’s clear that the 992 is leaning on its tech to do more with less. Despite that, it’s interesting that the 992 C4S’s acceleration and power figures are lineball with the vintage 959, although that was Porsche’s fantasy hypercar at the time and overall fuel efficiency has improved by 23 percent in the process. Weight has stepped up from the 959's 1450kg to 1565kg though. Middle aged spread? No - it's largely down to modern crash structures.

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Value

Using that durably universal benchmark, the Big Mac, as our common currency, here’s how each car stacks up in terms of bang for your burger using historic local Big Mac burger pricing at year of launch. The 992 emerges as easily the best value, but that outlay is still the equivalent of Big Macs for breakfast, lunch and dinner for nigh-on fifty years. Morgan Spurlock would be proud of you.

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