# Porsche 911
Source: https://fullysorted.com/research/models/porsche/911-997
Publisher: Fully Sorted (fullysorted.com), collector car research
Last updated: 2026-09-24

## Key facts
- Make: Porsche
- Model: 911
- Factory code: 997
- Years: 2005 to 2012
- Body styles: 2-door coupe, 2+2, narrow rear body (Carrera and Carrera S, 2005-2012), 2-door Cabriolet with power soft top (Carrera, Carrera S, Carrera 4, Carrera 4S and GTS), 2-door coupe and Cabriolet with the wide rear body (Carrera 4 and Carrera 4S from 2006; Carrera GTS, rear-wheel drive, 2011-2012, rear seats optional), 2-door Targa with sliding glass roof and opening rear glass, all-wheel drive only (Targa 4 and Targa 4S, 2007-2012)
- Engines: 3,596 cc M96/05 water-cooled flat-six, port injection, naturally aspirated, 325 hp at 6,800 rpm and 273 lb-ft at 4,250 rpm per Porsche's US release; Stuttcars also prints 321 (997.1 Carrera, Carrera 4, Targa 4, 2005-2008); 3,824 cc M97/01 flat-six, port injection, 355 hp at 6,600 rpm and 295 lb-ft at 4,600 rpm per Porsche's US release and MotorWeek; Stuttcars also prints 350; X51 power kit 381 hp per the release or 376 per Stuttcars (997.1 Carrera S, 4S, Targa 4S); 3,614 cc MA1/02 direct-injection flat-six, no intermediate shaft bearing, 345 hp per Porsche's release and MotorWeek, 288 lb-ft per MotorWeek; Stuttcars prints 339 (997.2 Carrera, Carrera 4, Targa 4, 2009-2012); 3.8-liter MA1/01 direct-injection flat-six, 385 hp per Porsche's release and MotorWeek, 310 lb-ft per MotorWeek; Stuttcars and Wikipedia print 380 (997.2 Carrera S, 4S, Targa 4S, 2009-2012); 3.8-liter direct-injection flat-six in Sport Classic tune, 408 hp per Road Test TV and PCARMARKET or 402 hp at 7,300 rpm per Winding Road, 310 lb-ft at 4,200-5,600 rpm (Carrera GTS and Carrera 4 GTS, 2011-2012)
- Production notes: No manufacturer production total for the 997 Carrera line was fetched, so productionTotal is null. Stuttcars says the 997 generation as a whole sold over 200,000 units; that figure includes the Turbo, GT2 and GT3 and rests on one secondary source. By variant, from secondary sources only: 997.1 Carrera, classic.com prints 16,521 coupes and 9,249 Cabriolets. 997.1 Carrera S, Stuttcars and classic.com both print 27,237 coupes, and classic.com adds 15,288 Cabriolets for 42,525; the matching coupe figure may be one number copied rather than two confirmations. 997.1 Carrera 4S, Stuttcars prints 15,056 coupes and 12,587 Cabriolets for 2006-2008. 997.2 Carrera coupe, Stuttcars prints 8,368. 997.2 Carrera S, classic.com prints 9,470 coupes and 6,577 Cabriolets. Carrera GTS, classic.com prints 6,947. Targa, Wikipedia says 1,760 were built worldwide in the first model year, 2007, with 800 sold in the US, out of 38,922 911s that year; no second source was found. Club Coupe, 50 cars, stated by Wikipedia and Stuttcars. Black Edition, Stuttcars states 1,911 with about 25 percent intended for the US. None of these writers names Porsche as the origin of its count, no count was found for the Carrera 4, Targa 4S or Carrera 4 GTS, and no production conflict turned up between the sources checked. US list prices: 2005 Carrera S $79,100 (MotorWeek), with the Carrera about $10,000 less and no exact 2005 Carrera figure fetched. 2009 Carrera coupe $75,600, Carrera S coupe and Carrera Cabriolet $86,200, Carrera S Cabriolet $96,800 in Porsche's release as printed by Jalopnik, against $87,150 for the 2009 Carrera S in MotorWeek's test and $76,300 for the base car in Wikipedia; neither difference is explained. 2011 Carrera S $90,500 coupe and $101,500 Cabriolet (Winding Road). 2011 GTS $103,100 coupe and $112,900 Cabriolet (Winding Road and Road Test TV). Club Coupe $99,911 (Wikipedia only).

## Summary
The 997 is the 911 that put oval headlights back on the car. Sold in the United States for the 2005 through 2012 model years, it kept most of the 996's water-cooled engineering underneath a body that answered the complaints about its predecessor's looks. The first series, known as the 997.1 (2005-2008), used port-injected engines from the M96 family: a 3.6-liter Carrera rated at 325 hp in Porsche's US literature and a 3.8-liter Carrera S at 355 hp, with a five-speed Tiptronic S as the automatic. For 2009 the 997.2 brought new direct-injection engines at 345 and 385 hp, with no intermediate shaft bearing, and the seven-speed PDK dual-clutch in place of the Tiptronic. All-wheel-drive Carrera 4 and 4S models arrived for 2006, the glass-roofed Targa 4 and 4S for 2007, and the wide-bodied, rear-drive Carrera GTS for 2011. As of September 2026 the split that sets price is engine family and gearbox more than year: classic.com values a manual 997.2 Carrera S coupe about $16,000 above a PDK car.

## Specifications
- power: 325 hp (997.1 Carrera, Porsche US release; Stuttcars also prints 321); 355 hp (997.1 Carrera S; Stuttcars also prints 350); 381 hp with X51 (release; Stuttcars prints 376); 345 hp (997.2 Carrera); 385 hp (997.2 Carrera S); 408 or 402 hp (GTS, sources differ)
- engine: 997.1: port-injected M96/05 3,596 cc and M97/01 3,824 cc with an intermediate shaft on a ball bearing. 997.2: direct-injection MA1 3,614 cc and 3.8 liters, no intermediate shaft bearing, Alusil bores
- layout: Rear-mounted flat-six; rear-wheel drive (Carrera, Carrera S, GTS) or all-wheel drive (Carrera 4, Carrera 4S, Targa 4, Targa 4S, Carrera 4 GTS); 2+2
- torque: 273 lb-ft (997.1 Carrera); 295 lb-ft (997.1 Carrera S); 288 lb-ft (997.2 Carrera, MotorWeek; Stuttcars prints 287); 310 lb-ft (997.2 Carrera S and GTS)
- weight: About 3,100 lb for a 997.1 Carrera and 3,150 lb for a 997.2 Carrera per Stuttcars; 3,197 lb for a 2011 GTS with PDK per Winding Road; each single-sourced
- wheels: 18-inch standard on the Carrera; 19-inch standard on the Carrera S; 19-inch center-lock on the GTS
- chassis: Steel unibody carried over in concept from the 996 and described as technically very similar to it; wide rear body on all-wheel-drive models and the GTS
- redline: 7,500 rpm on the 997.2, up from 7,300, per Stuttcars
- us_msrp: $79,100 (2005 Carrera S); $75,600 (2009 Carrera coupe); $86,200 (2009 Carrera S coupe) or $87,150 per MotorWeek; $90,500 (2011 Carrera S coupe); $103,100 (2011 GTS coupe); see productionNotes
- top_speed: 177 mph (997.1 Carrera) and 182 mph (997.1 Carrera S), Porsche claims; 188 mph (997.2 Carrera S, Porsche release and Wikipedia; also GTS PDK per Winding Road)
- wheelbase: 92.5 in (2,350 mm), unchanged from the 996, per MotorWeek
- acceleration: 0-60 mph: 4.8 sec (997.1 Carrera manual) and 4.6 sec (997.1 Carrera S manual), Porsche claims; 4.4 sec (2005 Carrera S, MotorWeek test); 4.5 and 4.3 sec (997.2 Carrera and Carrera S with PDK, Porsche claims); 4.0 sec (2009 Carrera S PDK, MotorWeek test); 4.0 sec (GTS PDK with launch control, claim)
- braking_60_0: 113 ft (2005 Carrera S); 112 ft (2009 Carrera S); MotorWeek
- quarter_mile: 13.0 sec at 109 mph (2005 Carrera S manual); 12.4 sec at 117 mph (2009 Carrera S PDK); both MotorWeek
- transmission: Six-speed manual standard throughout; five-speed Tiptronic S automatic optional 2005-2008; seven-speed PDK dual-clutch optional 2009-2012, replacing Tiptronic
- epa_fuel_economy: 18 mpg city, 26 highway (997.1 Carrera manual) and 17/25 (997.1 Carrera S manual) per Porsche's US release for 2008; 19/26 (2009 Carrera S PDK, MotorWeek)
- compression_ratio: 11.3:1 (997.1 Carrera); 11.8:1 (997.1 Carrera S); 12.5:1 (997.2 Carrera and Carrera S); Stuttcars

## Notable variants
- 2005 Carrera and Carrera S (997.1, first year): The only 997 model year that Stuttcars and LN Engineering agree carries the small single-row intermediate shaft bearing from the 996, which can be reached and retrofitted with the engine in the car. MotorWeek tested the 2005 Carrera S at $79,100 base and 4.4 seconds to 60 mph.
- 2006-2008 Carrera S and Carrera 4S (997.1): The 3.8-liter M97 at 355 hp with PASM and 19-inch wheels standard on the S, a larger intermediate shaft bearing that cannot be serviced without splitting the engine, and the X51 kit as an option. Stuttcars and classic.com both print 27,237 Carrera S coupes.
- 2007-2012 Targa 4 and Targa 4S: All-wheel drive only, with a power sliding glass roof and a rear window that opens as a hatch. Wikipedia counts 1,760 built worldwide in the first model year, 800 of them for the US.
- 2006 Club Coupe: Fifty Carrera S coupes with the X51 power kit built for the 50th anniversary of the Porsche Club of America, with 48 sold to randomly chosen US and Canadian PCA members. Wikipedia gives the MSRP as $99,911.
- 2009-2012 Carrera S (997.2): Direct injection, 385 hp, no intermediate shaft bearing, and the seven-speed PDK as the automatic. Priced at $86,200 as a coupe in Porsche's 2009 US release. As of September 2026 classic.com values the manual coupe about $16,000 above the PDK coupe.
- 2011-2012 Carrera GTS and Carrera 4 GTS: The Sport Classic's 3.8 tune, the wide rear body on a rear-drive car, center-lock 19-inch wheels and rear seats deleted unless ordered. $103,100 as a coupe. classic.com prints 6,947 built and benchmarks manual coupes at $122,316 as of September 2026.
- Black Edition (late 997.2 Carrera): A 3.6-liter 997.2 Carrera coupe or Cabriolet in black with 19-inch Turbo wheels and a numbered plaque. Stuttcars states 1,911 were built, about a quarter of them for the US.
- Turbo, GT2 and GT3 (brief): Same body, different engine lineage: their intermediate shaft runs on pressure-fed plain bearings. The 997.2 Turbo came for 2010 with a 3.8 and PDK. The GT3 family is on the 911 GT3 (997) page.

## History

### Why the 997 exists

The 996 sold well and was disliked for its face. Its headlights, shared with the Boxster, were the complaint everyone repeated, and the 997's job was to fix the look without paying for new engineering underneath. Wikipedia's account has development starting in the fourth quarter of 1998, body design under way by February 1999, and Grant Larson's final design approved after full-size clay models built from 2000 into 2001. The result replaced the 996's "fried egg" lamps with oval units and made 18-inch wheels standard, while remaining technically very similar to the car it replaced. Porsche announced on May 7, 2004 that the new 911 would be sold as a 2005 model.

### 2005-2008: the 997.1 in America

The coupe and Cabriolet came first, as Carrera and Carrera S. Porsche's US release for the 2008 car gives the 3.6-liter Carrera 325 hp at 6,800 rpm and 273 lb-ft, 4.8 seconds to 60 mph with the manual and 177 mph, and the 3.8-liter Carrera S 355 hp at 6,600 rpm and 295 lb-ft, 4.6 seconds and 182 mph. MotorWeek tested a 2005 Carrera S at $79,100 base and ran it to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds, noting that the standard Carrera cost about $10,000 less and that the S added Porsche Active Suspension Management and 19-inch wheels. MotorWeek also reported a factory oil change interval of 20,000 miles. The Carrera 4 and 4S arrived as 2006 models and the Targa 4 and 4S as 2007 models. Porsche built 50 Club Coupes on the Carrera S with the X51 power kit for the 50th anniversary of the Porsche Club of America. The automatic in these years was the five-speed Tiptronic S.

### 2009: direct injection and PDK

Four 997.2 Carrera models went on sale in North America in September 2008 as 2009 cars. Porsche's release gave the new 3.6-liter Carrera 345 hp and the 3.8-liter Carrera S 385 hp and 188 mph, and the seven-speed PDK replaced the Tiptronic outright. With PDK Porsche claimed 4.5 seconds to 60 mph for the Carrera and 4.3 for the S, 0.2 seconds quicker than the manual; MotorWeek's PDK Carrera S did it in 4.0 seconds on a freezing track day. US pricing opened at $75,600 for the Carrera coupe, and the Carrera S coupe and the Carrera Cabriolet shared a price of $86,200. The engines had no intermediate shaft bearing and used Alusil cylinder bores, which is the reason the market treats the two series as different cars.

### 2011-2012: the GTS

The Carrera GTS reached the United States in late January 2011 at $103,100 for the coupe and $112,900 for the Cabriolet. It put the Carrera S in the wide rear body of the Carrera 4 while keeping rear-wheel drive, the only standard-range 997 with that combination, and it came without rear seats unless a buyer ordered them. Its 3.8 carried the Sport Classic's tune: 408 hp by most accounts, 402 by Winding Road's, and 310 lb-ft either way. An all-wheel-drive Carrera 4 GTS followed. classic.com and Stuttcars both give the GTS model years as 2011 and 2012.

### Turbo, GT2 and GT3

These shared the body but not the engine story. Their engines descend from the air-cooled case and run the intermediate shaft on pressure-fed plain bearings, so none of the M96 bearing question applies. EPA still listed a 2009 Turbo with the 3.6 and a five-speed automatic; the 997.2 Turbo followed for 2010 with a 3.8-liter engine at 493 hp. The GT3 family has its own page.

## What to look for

The model year answers the first question, which engine. A 2005-2008 car has the port-injected M96/M97 with an intermediate shaft on a ball bearing; a 2009-2012 car has the direct-injection engine with none. On a 2005 car the question is whether the original small bearing has been retrofitted: LN Engineering says bearings through the 2005 model year are reachable with the engine in the car, and Stuttcars says a 2005 bearing should be replaced, usually with the clutch. A 2006-2008 car has a larger bearing that cannot be replaced without opening the engine, so the paperwork that matters is oil change history rather than a retrofit invoice. The factory interval in 2005 was 20,000 miles; LN's advice is every six months or 5,000 miles. Bore scoring on the 3.6 and 3.8 is the bigger bill: a borescope inspection or used-oil analysis showing rising iron, silicon and aluminum finds it before it is heard. LN Engineering puts a rebuild including bore repair at $15,000 to $30,000 or more, and a PCA article says a proper rebuild starts around $20,000. LN says the 997.2's Alusil bores can still score, at a significantly lower rate. Gearbox is the other split. A 997.1 automatic is a five-speed Tiptronic S; a 997.2 automatic is the seven-speed PDK, which Porsche said was 0.2 seconds quicker to 60 mph than the manual. The market pays for the manual anyway: as of September 2026 classic.com has a manual 997.2 Carrera S coupe at $72,753 against $56,836 with PDK. On a GTS the wide body and center-lock wheels are standard and rear seats were optional. Color: the 2008 release added Macadamia Metallic; no fetched source publishes a full US color and paint code list, so the car's own option sticker is the record.

## Common problems

The 997.1 carries the M96 family's two engine faults in reduced form. The intermediate shaft bearing: LN Engineering says the small single-row bearing ran through the 2005 model year and a larger single-row bearing, with the load capacity of the early dual row, came in for 2006; Stuttcars dates the change to mid-2005 in one paragraph and mid-2006 in another. Stuttcars calls the later bearing's failure rate negligible and estimates the overall 997.1 risk at 1 to 5 percent; LN says every M96 and M97 engine through 2008 can still fail one, and that a failure sends debris through the whole engine. Bore scoring is the other: the Lokasil cylinders of the 996 and 997.1 score, and a PCA article lists the 3.6 and 3.8 among the engines most commonly diagnosed. LN Engineering prices a rebuild including bore repair at $15,000 to $30,000 or more, with 80 to 90 hours of labor before removal and installation; the PCA article says a proper rebuild starts around $20,000 and that labor is over half of it. Some owners run a scored engine for months or years on heavier oil. The 997.2's direct-injection engine has no intermediate shaft bearing and uses Alusil bores, which LN says still score at a significantly lower rate and cost about the same to repair. Stuttcars adds rear main seal leaks to the list of general concerns. No fetched US source prices a PDK repair.

## Market notes

All figures are US dollars, as of September 2026, from classic.com market benchmarks read through a rendering fetch unless noted; no individual classic.com row is quoted. 997.1 Carrera: benchmark $38,723; manual coupes $42,344, Tiptronic coupes $33,045, Cabriolets $37,847 manual and $38,002 Tiptronic. 997.1 Carrera S: benchmark $47,397; manual coupes $52,368 against $38,179 for automatic coupes, Cabriolets $46,932 manual and $41,712 automatic; lowest recorded sale $10,125 on March 23, 2025. 997.2 Carrera S: benchmark $59,571; manual coupes $72,753, PDK coupes $56,836, Cabriolets $57,529 manual and $58,962 PDK; lowest recorded sale $22,750 on November 8, 2025. Carrera GTS: benchmark $87,352; manual coupes $122,316 against $80,509 for PDK coupes, manual Cabriolets $105,067 and PDK Cabriolets $74,733; lowest recorded sale $39,250 on September 18, 2024. The one individual result fetched is a 26,442-mile 2012 GTS coupe with the six-speed manual, Carrara White over black, sold on PCARMARKET for $136,000 from a New Jersey seller; the page prints no sale date. No Carrera 4, Carrera 4S, Targa or 997.2 Carrera benchmark was fetched, and no auction-house lot for a 997 Carrera was found.

## Value trajectory

As of September 2026 the 997 Carrera market is shaped by two changeovers, engine and gearbox, more than by body or year. classic.com benchmarks the 997.1 Carrera at $38,723 and the 997.1 Carrera S at $47,397, against $59,571 for the 997.2 Carrera S, a gap of about $12,000 between Carrera S cars on either side of the 2009 engine change. Within each series the manual carries the premium even though PDK was the quicker car when new: $52,368 against $38,179 for 997.1 Carrera S coupes, and $72,753 against $56,836 for 997.2 Carrera S coupes. The floor of the line is a Tiptronic 997.1 Carrera coupe at $33,045. The GTS has separated furthest. A car that listed at $103,100 in 2011 benchmarks at $87,352 overall, with manual coupes at $122,316, and a 26,442-mile manual 2012 coupe sold for $136,000 on PCARMARKET, date not printed. A 2005 Carrera S cost $79,100 new; the 997.1 Carrera S benchmark is about 60 percent of that. None of this is a forecast.

## Sources

- [2009 Porsche 911 Revealed With Direct Injection, Dual-Clutch](https://www.jalopnik.com/2009-porsche-911-revealed-with-direct-injection-dual-c-395230/) (Jalopnik)
- [Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe (997.2) (2009 - 2012)](https://www.stuttcars.com/porsche-911-carrera-coupe-997-2-2009-2012/) (Stuttcars)
- [2005 Porsche 911 Carrera S Program #2411](https://motorweek.org/road_tests/2005_porsche_911_carrera_s_program_2411/) (MotorWeek (Maryland Public Television))
- [Porsche 911 Carrera S Coupe (997) (2005 - 2008)](https://www.stuttcars.com/porsche-911-carrera-s-coupe-997-2005-2008/) (Stuttcars)
- [2009 Porsche 911 S](https://motorweek.org/road_tests/2009_porsche_911_s/) (MotorWeek (Maryland Public Television))
- [Porsche 911 (997) - Ultimate Model Guide](https://www.stuttcars.com/porsche-model-research/porsche-911-research/porsche-911-997-6th-generation-research-hub/) (Stuttcars)
- [Porsche 911 (997)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_911_(997)) (Wikipedia)
- [Driven: 2011 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS](https://windingroad.com/articles/reviews/driven-2011-porsche-911-carrera-gts/) (Winding Road)
- [2011 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS - 408 hp - Road Test TV](https://roadtesttv.wordpress.com/2010/09/15/new-for-2011-porsche-911-carrera-gts-road-test-tv/) (Road Test TV)
- [Understanding Cylinder Bore Scoring Repair Costs for Porsche 911 996 and 997 Models](https://lnengineering.com/products/watercooled-porsche-cylinders-sleeves-and-pistons/porsche-cylinder-bore-scoring/porsche-cylinder-bore-scoring-repair-costs/) (LN Engineering)
- [Cylinder Bore Scoring Repair Solutions](https://www.pca.org/news/cylinder-bore-scoring-repair-solutions) (Porsche Club of America)
- [IMS 101 - IMS Retrofit](https://imsretrofit.com/ims-101/) (LN Engineering (IMS Retrofit))
- [Porsche 911 Carrera - 997.1 Market - CLASSIC.COM](https://www.classic.com/m/porsche/911/997/9971/carrera/) (CLASSIC.COM)
- [Porsche 911 Carrera S - 997.1 Market - CLASSIC.COM](https://www.classic.com/m/porsche/911/997/9971/carrera-s/) (CLASSIC.COM)
- [Porsche 911 Carrera S - 997.2 Market - CLASSIC.COM](https://www.classic.com/m/porsche/911/997/9972/carrera-s/) (CLASSIC.COM)
- [Porsche 911 Carrera GTS - 997.2 Market - CLASSIC.COM](https://www.classic.com/m/porsche/911/997/9972/carrera-gts/) (CLASSIC.COM)
- [2012 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Coupe | PCARMARKET](https://www.pcarmarket.com/auction/2012-porsche-911-carrera-gts-coupe-2) (PCARMARKET)
- [2009 Porsche 911 - fueleconomy.gov](https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymodel/2009_Porsche_911.shtml) (US Department of Energy and EPA)

Cite as: Fully Sorted, "Porsche 911", https://fullysorted.com/research/models/porsche/911-997, updated 2026-09-24.