Porsche fanatics don't like to identify the company's cars by their model names. These walking Porsche history books prefer internal code names, as if this bit of insider jargon demonstrates superior knowledge of the product. When it comes to the Porsche 911 (model name, not code name), the internal identifier has changed only a handful of times in 41 years, and only when Porsche considered changes significant enough to identify the model essentially as a new car. With the 2005 911, Porsche has changed its identifier to 997 (the internal code is 996 for 911s built since late 1998, and 993 before that). To consumers in a broader sense, this means that, whatever appearances might suggest, the 2005 911 is a major update. Porsche says that 80 percent of its parts are new, including every body panel but the roof stamping.

Given all that, no one other than a Martian will mistake the 2005 model for something other than a 911. In broad strokes, this sports car maintains the classis profile that has landed it in art museums and design school lecture halls. For Porsche, the 911's heritage can be a double-edged sword. Leave the car alone, and it might be perceived as dated. Change the car too drastically, and it might alienate hard-core loyalists, many of whom form the core group of 911 buyers.

If anything, the 2005 911's look seems to have devolved a bit, just like the basic character of the car. The most obvious change is the headlights and front fascia. Rounder, single-pod lamps replace the 2004 model's teardrop-shaped multi-light headlight assemblies. The new headlights sit more upright in the front fenders, and the turn signals and foglights are now laid horizontally in a squarer front bumper. The new look more quickly distinguishes the 911 from Porsche's less expensive Boxster. As significantly, it harkens back to the rugged look of 911s built during the 1980s.

In back, the new 911's taillights are smaller, installed at a more vertical angle relative to the bumper. Curvy rear fenders and wheel arches extend further from the side of the car, housing the 911's classic extra-wide rear wheels (the front wheels are eight inches in width, the rear, 10 inches). This staggered setup helps the 911's rear tires turn its horsepower into quicker acceleration and balances tire grip front and rear for high g-force turning. All 2005 911s have wheels at least 18 inches in diameter, and all are equipped with Z-rated tires. That's the highest speed rating available for street use.

In total, the 2005 911's styling changes sacrifice some of the 1999-2004 model's beauty in favor of more visual belligerence. Yet very little at Porsche is done strictly for appearance's sake. The 2005 911 is a few hairs longer and taller that the 2004; more significantly, the 2005's track (the distance between the outside edge of the tires) and overall width have increased an inch. This wider stance improves the 911's lateral stability during quick, sharp directional changes. The 2005 uses aluminum body parts more extensively than the 2004, minimizing weight increases that would otherwise come with new equipment such as active suspension and head-protecting side airbags. New structural designs underneath the sheet metal improve the chassis' resistance to flexing (as when the car brakes full force or crashes over a pothole) as much as 60 percent, without increasing weight significantly.

When an automobile is designed to be stable at 180 mph and beyond, you'd better pay attention to aerodynamics. Much of the 2005 911's design work was undertaken to more efficiently manage airflow over, under and around the car, down to very small details. The side mirrors were designed to direct air along the sides of the car toward the automatically deploying rear spoiler, sweeping the side windows clean in the process. A new undertray reduces friction beneath the 911, while the wheel arches are flared in a fashion that guides air around the tires (one of the biggest sources of drag on an automobile). Brake spoilers guide more air toward the rotors and brake assemblies, reducing operating temperatures as much as 10 percent, according to Porsche. That means more effective braking under extreme conditions.

In total, these changes reduce the 2005 911 Carrera's drag coefficient from an already slippery 0.30 to 0.28, despite the new, slightly more upright look. For drivers, that means less air resistance, improved fuel economy at a given speed and less wind noise inside the car. The changes also reduce forces that engineers measure as coefficient of lift at the front and rear of the car. In other words, the airflow over the car more effectively keeps it pressed to the pavement, in turn keeping the tires in better contact with the surface.

And if you still prefer the prettier, perhaps more graceful look of the 2004 911, you're not entirely out of luck. You'll just have to ante up another $50,000 or so for one of the turbo models. The 2005 911 Turbo S and Turbo S Cabriolet are still built on the previous 911 platform (remember, that's the 996), and haven't adapted the styling changes on the Carrera and Carrera S (the 997).

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