Initial impressions and appearance:
I was excited at first, with a quick glance, I could already tell that the facelift lived up to the evolution-vs-revolution theory of car design that Porsche is known for. The rear wing and spoiler design looks a lot more "gt" than the previous generation. Seeing the ceramic brakes and the center lug wheels also almost gave me a hard-on.
The only thing that irks me is the mesh they use in the ducting and vents. A bit too boy-racer to me. I liked the molded plastic grills from before.
Engine, chassis, and mechanics:
This car doesn't have the new direct-injection motor that the regular sports cars have. It's the same crankcase architecture that's been in use for more than 20 years, and in reality, I think it's just a bored version of the 07-08 engine. The displacement is up to 3.8 liters, and the hp up to 435. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. It's a bulletproof design, and I'm glad they're keeping it in use for these cars. It has variable cam timing, and no variable lift. This one also had a sport exhaust, which bypasses the two mufflers and sends the exhaust straight through to the center pipe. This car also had ceramic brakes.
Interior:
As you can tell from the pics, this car didn't have the optional sport bucket seats, which isn't really a big deal to me. These standard seats are comfortable enough. The seat butt, seat back, steering wheel, headliner, shifter, and door handles/armrests were all alcantara, so everything feels comfortable. The interior design is pretty much the same as it is on all 997s, which I have no complaints about. The steering wheel itself may leave more to be desired from some people, but for me, as long as it feels good to hold, I'm alright with it, and it feels fine.
Road test:
This is what I was excited about. This car is so fast, yet so streetable, that it's hard to find such a balance in any other type of car. Turning on to the main road, the oil, coolant, brakes, and tires were still cold, so I gave it a little time on some surface streets and some back alleys, just to get a feel for the car. After about a mile and a half or so (5 mins), the tires were just a bit warmer, the coolant was up to operating temp, and oil was getting there. I took a general route, turning off the main road onto a 65mph non-highway road that began with a long sweeping 2-lane S-curve that opened into a long straight. Grip was great going into the first curve, but as with most of these rear-engined cars, the ass-heaviness can really be felt. I left the S-curve at the end of 3rd gear, and this thing was a bullet all the way into 5th. Another section of road I tried was a double cloverleaf on a low-usage on/offramp for the freeway. The car held great, and I turned off the stability control and traction control just to test the limits of the car. I prefer the Pirelli P-zero Corsas on these wheels over the Michelin PS cups, but that's something most people wouldn't care about. The Michelins are more for the street and the Pirellis feel better on good tarmac. On the surface streets it's a little bumpy, I wouldn't roll with this thing on a long ass road trip unless I feel like peeing blood, but it does have variable dampening for the coilovers, so short trips are almost bearable.
Overall, the new facelift refreshes the look of the car, and the improved engine is quite responsive, with great power delivery early in the revs. It still doesn't compare to the RS, but that's a different beast altogether.
I'm sick of writing, so ask if you'd like to know more.
Now some pics, I apologize in advance, they were taken with a camera phone.
The front lip spoiler wasn't installed, so that's why it looks a bit goofy.
carbon ceramic brakes.... *drool*
