The 911 Carrera 4 has been redesigned from the ground up for the 1999 model year. The Porsche Carrera is a 4-passenger, rear engine, all-wheel drive sports car that is available as a coupe or a convertible. The Carrera 4 resides at the top of the Porsche line-up above both the 2-seater Boxster and the rear-wheel drive Carrera. This permanent 4-wheel drive system distributes the majority of the engine power to the rear wheels unless it senses rear wheel slip. The amount of power sent to the front wheels then varies from 5 to 40 percent.

The 911 Carrera has been redesigned from the ground up for the 1999 model year. This new Carrera shares many design elements as well as mechanical and technological features with the Boxster. According to Porsche the shared features include: "new liquid-cooled engines, brake systems and, clearly, a strong family resemblance."

The Boxster is a 2-passenger, mid-engine, rear-wheel drive convertible. The Boxster is the least expensive Porsche available with an MSRP of approximately $41,000 and, consequently, has the highest sales volume in the Porsche model line-up. The Boxster and the 911 share styling, technology and engineering features. In particular, the 1999 Boxster and 911 share the same engine architecture -- a horizontally opposed, liquid cooled six cylinder. In fact, the name Boxster is derived from 'boxer' engine and 'roadster.'