Porsche 911 (991) – Facelift Friday

The current generation of the 911, the 992, despite its other body still shares a lot with the 991. We saw the same with the even earlier 997, which again had a lot in common with the much-maligned 996. However, today we concentrate not on those generational changes, but on the facelift that Porsche carried out in 2015 to the 911 of generation – quite confusing – 991. More specifically, we stick to the Carrera models, because taking the Turbos, GT3s and other derivatives continues this story would make it more complex than it already is. Even so, most changes, such as those to the lighting, apply to all versions.

The 991 appeared in the base in 2011 and had a remarkably wide, low body compared to its predecessor. Porsche kept the car quite modest on a detail level, as the enthusiasts also expect and hope. Round xenon headlights were assisted at the front by a combination of turn signal and daytime running light, which in turn fitted seamlessly with the cooling opening in the front bumper. That ‘gap’ was part of a set of three, which was kept quite low and modest. Logical: after all, the engine is in the back.

At the rear we found LED lighting from the start. The pointed rear lights were in principle separate from each other, but were connected to each other by an LED light bar on the Carrera 4 and 4S presented a little later – with four-wheel drive.

And then came the facelift. The big news in 2015 was actually not on the outside at all, but under the hood. That is where the Carrera versions were also introduced to a turbo engine for the first time. However, since you can’t see that, we’re going to talk about appearances anyway. The front bumper became a bit tighter in shape and got larger air intakes. This was possible because the LED strips above were flattened to a minimum. The daytime running light therefore moved to the actual headlight, where it was installed in the distinctive ‘four dots’. Full LED headlights became available as an option.

We also note new light units at the rear. These were not only characterized by a different layout, but also had a subtly different shape. The red frame of the dark interior came out slightly and seemed to protrude slightly from the inside of the unit. In this way, the red also connected more beautifully to the LED strip of the four-wheel drive versions, which were fitted with a continuous light bar, just as before. Higher on the butt, under the rear window, we found a new air vent since 2015. It had vertical bars instead of horizontal bars, just as has been the case on the current 992 generation from the start.