Photos From Our Drive of the New 2020 Porsche 911

Well, it's just like a fancy restaurant — the basics are there, but a lot of little changes might add up to something entirely different.

Every generation of 911 brings unsettling recipe changes. We worry that some of the simplicity that is the hallmark of a sports car will be eroded with every inch of physical and metaphysical expansion.

Is it a full GT car at this point? All 911s have been suitable for daily use, but Porsche continues to widen the appeal of the 911, and this new car is its fiercest attempt yet to make it a user-friendly, supremely comfortable long-distance car.

But Porsche wouldn't be doing its job if it didn't also improve the 911's track prowess.

So Porsche brought us to the Hockenheimring in the south of Germany for a taste test of the 992 Carrera S and 4S. What strikes us first is the eagerness of the front end to turn in toward apexes, and the grip and ease with which the 992 nears its very high cornering limits.

The S's front track increases 1.9 inches, and its rear tires move outward 1.5 inches.

That wider stance aids stability and seemingly helps the nose bite harder into corners. Not that the old 911 lacked stick.

A larger, 10.9-inch touchscreen pulled right from the Panamera and Macan updates the 911's interior.

Many of the hard buttons that dotted the center console have been replaced by touch-sensitive areas that give off a little vibration when you hit them.

The cabin has grown slightly, but the rear seats are still sized for humans who dream of Disney cruises.

The goofy shifter looks like an electric razor, and on the dash in front of it are five toggle switches for operating stability control, the hazard lights, and equipment-specific features such as the optional front-end lift.

Luftgekühlt attendees will note that the five-gauge cluster and dashboard arc remain, but the only mechanical dial is the center-placed tachometer.

Should there be any poultry crossing the road, the 992's brakes, like those of all 911s, will get you stopped in time.

To future-proof the 992 for hybridization, an electric brake booster replaces the vacuum-driven unit.

That in itself is not a big deal, but a 911 with an electrically assisted powertrain is likely to become a reality before this generation is phased out.

Under the wraparound taillights and raised PORSCHE lettering is a familiar twin-turbo 3.0-liter flat-six.

Changes include new rear-engine mounts that move from a carrier behind the engine to the engine's sides, the better to control the six's movements.

New turbochargers have larger turbine and compressor wheels (up by 0.1 and 0.2 inch, respectively), and in the interest of reducing turbo lag, the left and right turbos are mirror images, spinning their wheels in opposite directions to ensure that the exhaust from each cylinder bank travels the same path.