Harder, faster, sexier beauties on the way
UPGRADED/ Five GTS models will be blanketed across the standard Porsche 911 range when they arrive in a few months' time, writes Michael Taylor
Alayer of wider, faster and more powerful GTS models is about to be draped over the top of the Porsche 911 range. Five GTS models will be blanketed across the standard 911 models, all pushing their top speeds out beyond 300km/h thanks to a new turbocharger and stickier aerodynamics.
When the GTS arrives in a few months’ time, its upgraded 3.0l six-cylinder engines will add another 22kW of power to give the five models 331kW, which will also be up 15kW on the last GTS generation.
The horizontally opposed motor pumps out 550Nm of torque from 2,150r/min to 5,000r/ min in a range-topping package offered with either the sevenspeed manual gearbox or the PDK dual-clutch transmission.
The GTS upgrade will be available on both the coupé and cabriolet versions of rear-wheel drive 911 Carrera, the all-wheel drive Carrera 4, plus the allwheel drive 911 Targa.
The hardest hitter of them, the all-paw 911 Carrera 4 GTS, will punch to 100km/h in a claimed 3.6 seconds, while the lighter rear-drive version claims the badge’s top-speed honours with 312km/h. The PDK version of this model also has the lowest consumption figure, with a claimed 8.3l/100km, giving it 188g/km CO2 emissions.
All of the GTS models have the Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) system, so they ride 10mm lower than the standard variants, and all of them use the all-wheel drive 911 Carrera’s wider body shell.
This means its wider (1,852mm) hips give it greater cornering muscle, while it also gets the Sport Chrono Package as standard equipment.
The GTS models integrate the package’s stopwatch into the centre of the dashboard and the GTS’s launch also coincides with an upgrade of the Porsche Track Precision app. It now has automatic recording, a more detailed smartphone display and more detailed data analysis.
Visually, the GTS versions all score a deep front spoiler and a higher extension of the rear spoiler to reduce lift at speed, while the all-wheel drive versions get exclusive use of a light trim strip between the tail lights, while the rear-drive versions use a black strip. The centrally mounted exhaust tips are also black, while Porsche has smoked the GTS’s tail lights and blackened the rear-engined car’s air-intake grille.
The steering wheel rim, armrests and centre console are trimmed in Alcantara, while brushed black aluminium trim strips have been fitted to the instrument cluster.
Prices start at the Carrera GTS’s R1,695,000, rising to R1,966,000 (Carrera 4 GTS Cabrio and the Targa 4 GTS).