Porsche 911 Carrera
Is ‘entry-level’ sports car the purists’ Porsche of choice?
THE hardcore GT models generate all the headlines, but it’s the cheaper versions in the Porsche 911 range that have always been the go-to variants for sports car buyers. And as performance has risen ever-upwards with each generation, the basic Carrera looks like the sweet spot, as it surely offers all the performance you’d need.
Porsche launched the 992-generation 911 in Carrera S guise earlier this year, but now we’ve got the keys to the entry-level Carrera for the first time. We use the term ‘entry-level’ loosely; this is a 380bhp sports car capable of 182mph.
Like the Carrera S, it gets a 3.0-litre twinturbo flat-six, but the Carrera is 64bhp down on the S, while torque drops by 80Nm to 450Nm. Still, the Carrera isn’t a car that you would describe as slow: 0-62mph takes 4.2 seconds, which is just half a second longer than the Carrera S.
It’s not available with a manual gearbox yet, so the only option for now is an eightspeed PDK sending power to the rear wheels. As standard, those wheels are 19 inches up front and 20 inches behind, although our test car wore larger 20 and 21-inch rims, as well as a host of other features.
Carbon-ceramic brakes, the Sport Chrono package, a sports exhaust and 18-way adaptive sports seats bump up the price to Carrera S territory. But as few of these add-ons fundamentally change the character of the car, we’d consider them niceties rather than essentials.
We’re already familiar with the 992’s cabin, and that’s no bad thing; it’s a clean and modern design, but one that buyers of previous-generation 911s should feel at home in. An intuitive, large central display is a notable inclusion in this generation, as is the redesigned central rev counter in the instrument cluster, which is flanked by screens that show additional information.
From the driving position to the excellent visibility and high-quality feel, there’s very little to complain about. You could spend hours behind the wheel in comfort, and once again, Porsche offers enough options to personalise virtually every aspect to your individual tastes. You’d still think twice about squeezing anyone but very small children in the rear seats, but the front luggage area is as deep and usable as ever.
On the move, the weighty steering reminds you that this is a sports car rather than a grand tourer. There’s an ever-present grumble from the exhaust as the PDK quickly shuffles up the gears for low-rev cruising, too. The gearbox can prove a little clumsy changing down, so if you want to drive a little quicker, you’re better off clicking the wheel-mounted dial to Sport or Sport Plus and pushing the manual button behind the gear selector stub.
Do so and the Carrera starts to feel like a proper sports car, surging forward and revving enthusiastically. On twistier roads it all feels a tad too grown-up at first, with little steering feel and a lack of driver involvement. Push harder, though, and the traditional 911 characteristics start to filter through, from tireless brakes to progressive, well weighted steering. There’s plenty of grip as well, and the car feels at its best with a slow-in, fast-out cornering technique – squatting on its bulging rear haunches to give you fantastic traction in the dry.
But like the S we drove earlier in the year, you have to be driving quite quickly before the Carrera really comes into its own – faster than you might wish to travel on the public road. That does mean that without driving the two side by side or whipping out the stopwatch, you’d struggle to notice the Carrera’s performance deficit to the S. With a similarly insistent surge of power, the basic 911 has no trouble spinning to the red line.
Despite the larger wheels, the Carrera rides maturely, and the stiff structure gives it an unruffled feel over bumps, too. As with 911s of old, there’s a healthy dose of tyre roar at higher speeds, however. We suspect the new Carrera would be at its best on those smaller wheels and tyres.
“The weighty steering reminds you that the 911 is a sports car rather than a grand tourer”