2005 Porsche 911 Carrera

The 911's classic, time-weathered shape has never looked better. The wider fenders give a beefy, more purposeful look that complements the silhouette. And the packaging benefits of the rear-engine layout are as handy as ever. For the first time, the 911 is longer than the Corvette. And the Porsche, at least, still has room for a couple of kids in the back seats.
So when it comes to handling, which is better, an engine in front or in back? For racing, the answer is neither—the mid-engine design is clearly better, as demonstrated by every purpose-built race car. But what about street cars that offer at least some practicality?
We're not going to answer that one because, well, there is no simple answer. Here, both of these cars are fantastic curve carvers. On the street, though, the nod goes to the 911.
We never found a patch of road that gave us even a whiff of that "Oh, %#$@!" feeling that precedes some type of midcorner correction or wheel sawing. Editor-at-large Pat Bedard calls this "path accuracy." At speed, how accurately can you place the car? With the 911, the answer is in fractions of an inch; with the Vette, it's in inches. This feeling likely is why the 911 went through the cones of our lane-change test 1.1 mph faster than the Vette. You can plant this car anywhere