PORSCHE 911 FIRST DRIVE
New model bigger and better
VALENCIA, SPAIN A new Porsche 911 is upon us and some have already said the 2020 edition has grown too big, too heavy and less beautiful than the seven generations before it.
Words such as bloated and obese have been hurled about. But when seen and heard and touched, the one adjective that most aptly describes the new 911 is gorgeous.
While pictures don’t do justice to the new 911, the car truly does look alluring and it drives even better. On this sunny morning, the 911 4S in my hands is carving the narrow roads more easily than any car I can recall, as though somehow my driving skills have been elevated, my confidence peaking at new levels. Each turn in the road tugs gently at the wheel, the feedback deliberate, purposeful, precise. Electronic steering that’s 11 per cent quicker and optional rear-wheel steering combine to erase the effort of negotiating winding roads.
The sound is quintessentially Porsche, but even these revamped mufflers could be a bit louder for us juveniles with a driver’s licence. A sport exhaust, identifiable by twin exhaust ports instead of quads, is available, amping up the sound in Sport and Sport-plus modes, while staying remarkably quiet in Normal mode. But I still want more — more of that flat six.
That six cylinder, of course, still bolts up behind two fabulously small rear seats, just like every 911 since 1964. But the 3.0-litre engine now fastens to the chassis with relocated mounts that reduce vibration — and, indeed, there is little. This is a thoroughly revised flat six, with 443 horsepower and 390 poundfeet of torque routed through an eight-speed dual-clutch PDK automatic transmission. It’s standard equipment on the 911, although a seven-speed manual will become available after the first cars land in dealerships this fall.
Power on the street is plenty, the full force of it coming on strong above 1,500 rpm, maintaining thrust past 6,000 rpm on its way to a redline of 7,500. Track addicts might pine for the higher authority of a GT3, but most of us mortals will discover there is plenty here — enough to dust a Mustang GT from a stoplight. Acceleration from zero to 100 km/ h is 3.7 seconds for the C2S, 3.6 for the all-wheel-drive C4S. Those numbers drop to 3.5 and 3.4, respectively, with the optional Sport Chrono Package.
Some of these gains come from a new manifold and injectors, but mostly new turbos with larger turbine and compressor wheels. Larger intercoolers have been moved above the mufflers to better inhale and optimize fresh air.
Out on the racetrack, quickerreacting front dampers keep the tires planted. But the way the coupe dives into a corner and consumes an apex, even when speed is excessive, never fails to induce adrenalin, the chassis and electronics letting the rear slide out ever so gently in controlled exits. The updated suspension and steering alone make the new 911 a fast and willing friend, but the 45 millimetres of wider front track, along with specially developed Pirelli tires on 20-inch wheels up front and 21 inches out back, give the new 911 an astonishing level of front-end grip. It all adds up to make the car equal parts fast and fun.
Yes, the car feels a bit bigger as it is hurled about, but it doesn’t feel any heavier, the 23 extra horsepower making up for the 70 kilograms of extra weight.
With familiar oval headlamps — updated with LED lighting and available Matrix lighting with 84 individual LEDs in projector housings — and a long, tapered roofline, the 2020 911 could be the best-looking, water-cooled 911 to date.
Also coming from the 993 911 (produced for 1995-98 model years and which many agree is the best-looking 911 ever) is the sharply creased hood, an elegant touch with a retro salute. Too bad Porsche felt the need to add flush-mounted door handles: they seem overly complicated when the old handles worked so simply. The brake pedal has also been changed to a lighter composite and the brake booster is electrically pressurized. The pedal feel and stopping power are excellent.
Less excellent is the tiny shifter for the automatic. Paddle shifters, too, are on the small side and don’t feel up to the quality of a car in this price range — $129,100 for the C2S and $137,400 for the 911 Carrera 4S.
There are also large swaths of piano-black plastic (which can no doubt be optioned in just about any material a buyer wants), but the stock material was dusty and fingerprinted after just a few hours of driving.
The rest of the interior is much more impressive. There’s plenty of technology, new seats, onboard Wi-Fi and lots of safety equipment and tech.
A 10.9-inch, high-definition touch screen dominates a horizontal landscape with buttons or dials dispatched only for those controls used more frequently. Everything is within easy reach. Dominating the instrument cluster is an analog rev counter that does a decent job of imitating a tachometer from an early 911, although this one is clearer and easy to read, as are the two digital screens on each side of the rev counter, which comprise the five instrument circles that have been a Porsche 911 hallmark for so many years.
The 911 has always done so much so well. The new model, which can be ordered now for delivery in the fall, simply does everything a whole lot better.