Book excerpt: The Porsche 911 is an automotive legend, a super successful automotive icon that has been in production for 50 years, won in every major motorsport discipline and yet, on the street, has retained breathtaking appeal as a practical and involving, high performance sports car. Success in both competition and in the showroom has gone hand in hand for the 911, improving a reputation for reliability and robustness without losing any of the raw appeal of the original. And with the 997, the 911 story reached a new peak. At launch in late 2004, just two 997 models were available - the Carrera with 325hp (238kW) or the 355hp (260kW) Carrera S. Nevertheless, in typically Porsche style the range expanded quickly to include cabriolets, wide-body four wheel drive models, awesome turbocharged grand tourers and race bred GT3s. In the completely revised Generation 2 models from the start of the 2009 model year, the 997 set the standard in modern high performance sports car design. This all-new book is a one step reference for all the production 997s built between 2004 and 2012, describing the detail differences , year by year changes, vehicle identification data, performance, colors and options. Using color photography throughout, renowned marque experts Grant Neal and Peter Morgan offer detailed buying and ownership tips and how to get the best from your 997.