Didn't they already do that by switching to 911 turbo-style headlights across the board and bumping the output to 320 hp? Oh well.

What is it with Porsche cutting short versions of the 911? At least they let the 996 stay around for a while (1999 to 2005). It seems like as soon as they perfect one generation they come out with the next one. With the schedule of the schedule of the unveilings set as it is, it appears that maybe they'll let the current iteration run its course before coming out with the new model instead of coming out with the 996 as soon as it was ready.

The 997 does seem to be a minor evolution from the 996 (kind of like the 964 to the 993) though, so I guess it's no huge issue. The 993 had "new mechanicals underneath" as well but for the most part was a kind of smoothed-over and modernized 964. They must be pretty far along in their development work to have a 911 Cabrio running around, unless that's a 996 with 997 front bodywork grafted on.