Porsche 911 998 spy shot

Testing of prototypes in Europe points to a preview sometime next year, even with the rollout of the current 997 continuing with everything from the GT3 to the ultimate GT2 RS.  Cars have been caught by Carparazzi in both winter testing in Scandinavia and hot laps at the Nurburgring, where a radical new hybrid 911 racer - using a kinetic energy recovery system developed by Williams F1 - led the Nurburgring 24-hour race a fortnight ago.

The new 911 is the 998 series and European sources hint at a first public appearance towards the end of 2011, most likely at the Frankfurt Motor Show. That would indicate Australian sales sometime in the first half of 2012.

Development of the 998, says Carparazzi, is focussed on improving the car's efficiency.  The current 997-series 911 has all-new engines so there will be no change in capacity for the 998, just more work on emissions and fuel economy. The car is also likely to be lighter, with more aluminium in key areas, and will have the latest paddle-shift PDK gearbox.

Porsche tries to disguise the 998 test cars with fake air vents in the rear wings, hoping to distract with talk about something on the GT2 turbo front.

But the car is definitely the new model, with a slightly lower line and what looks like a longer wheelbase.  It also has giveaway mirrors which have - like a growing number of cars - been moved onto the door itself from the area around the A-pillar.

The latest Carparazzi picture also shows the car's genuine tail lamps for the first time and points to headlamps which are slightly more upright.