news update the new 911 porsche

Developing a new generation of Porsche's 911 is a bit like taking the stage after Elvis has left the building in Vegas - it's an incredibly tough act to follow.
So when you climb behind the wheel of the new 911 Cabriolet, you don't expect to be blown away. In fact, disappointment is a real possibility. On the surface, the car certainly doesn't seem like a great leap forward.
The styling changes are subtle - from the outside, the car has a more muscular look and a cleaner silhouette both with top up and down. Inside, the cabin retains the character of the previous car, including the trademark racy instrument gauges, but feels a little plusher.

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The seats grip with the same vigour and the steering wheel instantly feels comfortable in your hands. Turn the key and the flat-six engine sounds familiar.
But stab the throttle and this latest iteration of a motoring icon begins to step out of the shadow of its ancestors.
The 911 has been criticised in the past for lacking the aural drama of its V8-powered sports car rivals, but the new car is unlikely to cop any flak on those grounds, thanks to a neat trick that Porsche calls the "sound symposer". The symposer feeds engine noise from the new exhaust system back into the parcel shelf at the rear of the cabin, ensuring that top-up or top-down, there's plenty of noise when you press the pedal. The system can be activated at the press of a button and makes the 911 crackle and burble like a real sports car when you lift off the throttle.
For those wanting a more sedate trip, the button can be turned off. The ability to change character is one of the real attractions of this new car.
Around town, it can be as tame as a tabby, but if you're looking for a more involving driving experience, it can turn positively feral.
As a daily driver, the new 911 has improved in key areas. The folding roof is a case in point. It looks more integrated than before, thanks to an all-new design; it's lighter than the previous one, yet blocks out noise and buffeting more effectively; and it opens and shuts at speeds of up to 50km/h in just 13 seconds, seven seconds quicker than the previous model.
Porsche claims the car is as quiet as the coupe at freeway speeds, and our test did little to disprove that claim.
At 120km/h on the freeway, it's easy to have a civilised conversation without shouting. The cabin is also impressively calm with the roof down, thanks to a new automatically deploying wind deflector.
That other scourge of the convertible - body flex - is also well contained. Porsche says the car's body is 18 per cent stiffer despite weighing 60 kilograms less, and the driving experience backs up the claim. The car feels solid and composed over the choppiest of surfaces.
Usually car companies choose wide, flowing, billiard table-smooth roads to launch sports cars, but Porsche chose a far more adventurous path for the 911. The roads that lead up into the hills of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands are pockmarked, tight and treacherous, with drop-offs that would scare the most foolhardy enthusiast.
Add to that mist and wet roads and you have a torture test for any car.
But the 911 came through with its formidable reputation intact. Its arsenal of acronyms - Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV) and Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC) - adjusted the car's suspension and stability control systems to suit the road surface and the end result was more confidence behind the wheel. The car's wider footprint and lower kerb weight help to make the car feel more balanced in tight corners.
The car's much talked about new electro-mechanical steering also impressed with its accuracy and feel. It may not be as razor sharp as some purists would like, but it more than compensates by feeling more relaxed at speed.