PORSCHE’S GTS LINEUP
We put all four through their paces
Consider the GTS badge to be Stuttgart’s version of crowd- pleasing Neapolitan ice cream. You got your everyday vanilla, your luxo- strawberry, and that sweet, sweet track- day chocolate.
Like many things Porsche, there’s a racing icon to fill out the backstory. In this case, it’s the 904 GTS, a purpose- built mid- engined racing car from the 1960s. Small, light and focused, just 106 roadgoing versions were produced.
Then, as the sportiest version of a very fast V8 grand tourer, the 928 GTS is far more like the modern cars than the ladder- frame, fibre glass-bodied 904.
The Porsche 911 Targa is the latest addition to receive GTS tweaks, joining the Boxster and Cayman twins, the Cayenne, the Panamera and the 911 range. From the high craggy mountain peaks of Southern Spain to the challenging and technical Circuito Ascari, all were put through their paces. Grab yourself a bowl and spoon: Here’s the scoop on the whole lineup.
2015 Porsche Cayenne GTS
A narrow path through broken rock, the road that cuts through Sierra de las Nieves National Park is utterly breathtaking. In a 440- horsepower German SUV, things are even more gasp- inducing, particularly the bits with passing delivery trucks.
When the way is clear, the Cayenne is like a rhinoceros that ran away from the zoo and was adopted by a ballet troupe. Nothing this big should be this agile, but the GTS version of the Porsche’s SUV is fast with a capital F. On a wriggly road, it has little difficulty keeping up with a Boxster GTS.
Feed this bright red beast into a corner and it slurps up the tarmac like a noodle. You can feel the engineering working away, correcting your mistakes, fighting physics, shunting power around through all- wheel drive, Porsche Active Stability Management, and a torque- vectoring rear end.
You can almost feel the little electronic helpers dealing with any goofy thing you’d care to do. Full throttle mid- corner? We can fix that. The capability is impressive, the man- machine bond less so.
The Cayenne S lost its V8 this year in favour of a more efficient twin- turbo V6 and the Cayenne GTS is simply an enhancement. You get the Turbo front- end with smoked headlights, standard air suspension, eight- way sport seats with Alcantara panels, and a 20- horsepower bump for the 3.6- L twin- turbo V6.
Truth be told, it’s the least compelling offering here. Something like the diesel version would be more than enough for Canadian roads.
2015 Porsche Panamera GTS
Unlike every other GTS here, the Panamera carries a sledgehammer of a sales persuasion. Along with the usual package of suspension and cosmetic upgrades ( 10- millimetre lower ride height, adaptive air suspension, Turbo- look front end), the GTS gets a completely wonderful 4.8- litre, 440 horsepower V8 — Porsche’s only naturally aspirated V8.
It’s enormous, it’s friendly, and when it’s excited it makes noises like a 2,000- kilogram Labrador retriever. Woof!
What a hugely fun vehicle to fling around the Ascari circuit. Because the Panamera’s so heavy, it’s very composed over the curbs and chases around one of the 911s like it was after a tennis ball.
Canadians sales figures skew heavily toward the GTS version of the Panamera, and no wonder. It’s got the best sound, standard allwheel drive and an outsized personality: the highlight of the range.
2015 Porsche Boxster and Cayman GTS
Both the Boxster and Cayman GTS are a hoot on the track, their mid- engined construction giving the driver a lot more to do in the cockpit — and that’s a good thing.
As with the 911 GTS, Porsche’s entry- level sports cars can be thought of as a cash- saving bundling scheme, always assuming you were going to option the sport exhaust, Sport Chrono package, PASM and Alcantara goodies for the interior.
As a bonus, you get unique cosmetic upgrades and a 15- horsepower bump for both 3.4- L flat- sixes, bringing the Boxster GTS to 330 horsepower and the Cayman to 340.
So is it worth the extra money to move up to the more track- focused, hardest core GT4 instead? As a street car, I maintain that the Cayman GTS is just a little more civilized, but still huge fun.
2015 Porsche 911 GTS line
As a flavour to be added to any naturally aspirated 911, the GTS package of options can be found on coupe, convertible, and targatop, and in both rear- drive and all- wheel- drive versions for the first two. Also, both manual and dual- clutch variations are available. Plus options. And different colours. Yeesh.
Moreover, spec’ing a GTS also “unlocks” options such as centrelock wheels, and comes with smoked headlights and other cosmetic trim.
On the track, the clear champ is the Coupe version. Fitted with the optional ceramic brakes and sevenspeed PDK dual- clutch, the car is so confidence inspiring, it encourages a little cheeky behaviour.
Trail- braking to let the tail step out is hilarious fun on the downhill left- hander and the stability control will let you play, but still be there to save you.
The Targa is still competent enough to work as a fun track- day car occasionally, but compared to the fixed- roof versions, the extra weight and chassis flex make the car feel looser and less reactive. The electronics have more work to do, and their safety- based machinations are a little less transparent.
I head back from the track through the mountains and something magical happens. Among all the flavours of the new 911, until this point I had yet to find one that really clicked, but this one somehow does: manual transmission, Targa roof, Sapphire blue paint.
It’s not the pace that works, it’s the rhythm. The 911 claws its way over a rutted road and then settles down over smoother stuff. Different scents come wafting into the cabin: fresh tarmac, plowed fields, a herd of sheep led by a shepherd with a face like a dried apple.
I stop to chat with a U. K.- registered Cayman coming the other way. “Beautiful!” he says of the Targa. “Watch that road behind me — challenging, but wonderful.”
I crest the hill to find an entire calendar’s worth of picturesque countryside laid out before me: white painted cottages, green fields, crumbling mountains, and the road unfolding like a story to be read. It is heart- fillingly beautiful.
Up the hill and into the wild alone, through the pass and down the other side. Slow through a tiny village, creeping over a one- lane stone bridge, the narrow switchbacks corkscrewing among the red- tiled buildings, oranges trees dropping fruit to roll under the wheels of parked cars, children in a playground running to the fence and calling out to me excitedly.
I pause on a narrow street to let an old man on a motorcycle pass the other way. He stops and beckons me on, nodding cheerfully and lifting his hand to his mouth, finger and thumb circled in the universal gesture meaning perfection.
He’s absolutely right.