Back to his old self
09/03/2022
"Der Alte" is a TV crime series that first appeared on television in 1977. For around 100 episodes, Siegfried Lowitz solved tricky cases as Erwin Köster in the service of the Munich homicide squad. Since then, the actors have been replaced again and again, but the show has remained in the program.
This fits quite well as a parallel to the eternal car theme" Porsche 911". The 911 has also been replaced and reinvented several times to this day, but has remained true to some of its basic values. As is well known, the 911 still has a rear engine to this day, contrary to all trends to the contrary. However, the air cooling, which was characteristic of the six-cylinder boxer until 1997, was replaced by water cooling in the 996 model. And in 2004, the 997 followed the 996, to which Automobil Revue devoted a test report in September 2004 under the title "The old car again".
In particular, it alluded to the now rounded headlights, which replaced the rather unpopular "fried eggs" of the 996. At the same time, the cockpit was of a higher quality, the seats were more comfortable and a number of other changes were made, but without altering the basic values. However, it had become somewhat larger and heavier, but only 5 hp more powerful.
The 997 managed to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.8 seconds in the Automobil Revue test in late summer 2004 and consumed an average of 12.4 liters per 100 km. In addition to the basic price of CHF 113,500, extras worth almost CHF 20,000 were added. Nevertheless, in Switzerland it was even CHF 6000 cheaper than its predecessor. And so at least the AR testers were thoroughly satisfied. Of course, you can read more in the test report from that time.
That test drive was around 18 years ago; today, even mid-range saloons mobilize significantly more power. And the 911 also continued to grow steadily in size.
However, 2004 also had many other things to offer, such as the rebirth of the Fiat 500, a new Golf and the Range Rover Sport. Which also makes it clear that the SUV role was already firmly on the roll back then.
If you would like to read up on what happened in the world of cars in 2004, we recommend the 2004 issue of AR , which we have just republished. 52 issues with a total of over 1000 pages.
