2005 Porsche 911 Carrera S

If you have to ask why we'd add a new Porsche 911 to our long-term fleet, you're reading the wrong magazine. The 911 is a true automotive icon, a car that for millions of enthusiasts around the word defines the very essence of Porsche.

Improving an icon isn't easy. Common sense tells you hanging an engine out behind the rear axle will screw up the chassis balance that's the hallmark of a great sports car. Yet when Porsche went back to the drawing board to reinvent the 911 with the 996 variant, almost 40 years of history and tradition dictated that's exactly what it had to do. Even so, with its water-cooled flat six, "fried egg" headlights, and long overhangs front and rear, the 996 was different enough to bother the True Believers. To them, the car lacked the tautness and drama of the 993, the last--and arguably greatest--of the air-cooled 911s.

The 997 is designed to win over the True Believers. Back are the hourglass curves, signature round headlamp design, and a RWD-version of the higher-performance S model. Porsche gave the Carrera better balance and handling, new rolling stock, and an upgrade in the power department--even the shifter is new and, yes, improved. To us, a new 911 Carrera S hit all the right emotional hot buttons, while bringing worthwhile technical improvements to the party. Of course, we had to have one.

We ordered our S in an optional hue called Atlas Grey Metallic with matching full leather seats. Gray, charcoal, and anthracite are the new black, and ours looks like liquid metal. To the base price of $79,895 we added over $10K in options, including the paint ($825) and seat-material upgrade ($3315) as well as matching floormats ($115), leather steering wheel ($490), the Sport Chrono package ($920), Sport Exhaust (pricey at $2400, but the sound is amazing), and Bose sound system ($1390) with remote six-disc changer ($650).

Lust never comes cheap.