BASIC OR BLINGED – IS THE GTS THE BETTER CARRERA SPECIAL?
Porsche’s mastery of options up-selling has reached a bewildering level. Compared with a ‘basic’ Carrera S, one with all the options could, for example, have completely different suspension settings, a 50hp Powerkit upgrade, rear-wheel steering, PDCC active anti-roll and active engine mounts, and would, to all intents and purposes, drive like a different car despite wearing the same badge. It would also cost about £20,000 more.
In reality the changes possible on the options sheet are significant enough to merit an entirely different model name. Which is where the GTS comes in, combining as it does a choice selection of options under one desirable badge and proving quite how broad a descriptive term ‘Carrera’ now is.
Compare the car you see here with the T in the main feature. They’re both ostensibly 911 Carreras. But against the T this Carrera 4 GTS gains four-wheel drive, a PDK gearbox and a host of technical goodies like the aforementioned rear-axle steering and self-stiffening engine mounts. With 450ps/444bhp it’s also considerably more potent, packing an additional 85ps/84bhp and 74lb ft over the T’s Carrera-spec 3.0-litre turbo six, worth nearly 10mph on the top speed and slashing the 0–62 from the manual T’s 4.5 seconds to just 3.6 seconds.
Negatives? It’s around 100kg heavier, a figure all but the most puristminded won’t be too bothered about given the perceived all-weather advantages of its all-wheel drive chassis. At £120,924 it’s a burly £30,000 more than a lightly-optioned T though, a figure that’s harder to overlook given it’s not a massive leap from there to the Turbo in all its 540hp glory.
Yet for all the philosophical and mechanical differences the T and GTS share a similar job, given they are intended to inject a bit of excitement into a range not that far off replacement. Having driven both as near back to back as possible which is more successful?
Certainly the GTS is more reflective of the way a significant number of Carrera customers spec their cars. PDK is seemingly de rigueur for most 991s, Sport Chrono, interior upgrades and many of the other features included in the GTS clearly popular additions.
It’s also indicative of the general direction of travel the 991 has taken. The GTS is a faster and considerably more potent car than the T, the extra performance offering pace previously reserved for the more senior Turbo. Like that car the GTS combines astonishing thrust you can deploy confidently in all weather conditions with true GT levels of luxury and comfort. This combination of raw pace and refinement have been 911 attributes from the very beginning of course, the GTS benefiting from all the latest technology to enhance the experience further.
Is it the better car though? While the ‘proper’ Turbo has regained a little rawness and the ‘lesser’ Carreras, with this new T version as cheerleader, demonstrate the fundamental quality of the 991 platform there’s a risk the GTS comes across as a little over-seasoned. The chassis gizmos add objective performance gains and there’s no doubt the GTS has a wider range of ability. But by focusing on the essence of what enthusiasts love about the 911 the T may well be the more fitting climax to the 991 lineage. At least for the likes of us.
fun without the head-nodding lurches you can get in a manually shifted, snappily clutched GT3 or R.
As such it’s easier to make smooth progress, though the fact the only way to disable the auto-blipping in Sport or Sport Plus modes is to turn the stability control completely off remains daft. There’s no lack of traction and even in these conditions you’re driving well within the limits of the tyres and chassis. But the need to go without any electronic safety nets for the privilege of being able to do your own heel ’n’ toe blips in the more assertive engine modes is infuriating, especially given there’s a configurable Individual mode via the rotary selector on the steering wheel.
Accepting the need to man-up and deal with it you can at least set Individual up to have the Sport Plus throttle response and loud exhaust but keep the PASM dampers in their default setting for the optimum road set-up. The Sport mode is there if you really want it but the suspension is already stiffer and 20mm lower than the standard Carrera’s and for anything other than track “work the standard setting is – just – the right side of assertive, giving superb body control and just enough sense of flow to enjoy and exploit weight shifts in the traditional 911 manner.
One thing anyone who’s ever enjoyed a Porsche of any era will appreciate is how seemingly minor details can have a transformative effect on your mood at the wheel. A degree of placebo effect is to be expected but the smaller 360mm GT Sports steering wheel – a £194 option on the Carrera – and the sharper feedback through it from the stiffer suspension all help dial you into the driving experience. You can now option the rear-wheel steering fitted to the Turbo, R and GT3 (and optionally available from Carrera S and above) but, as it comes, the T hardly feels inert or cumbersome.
The standard suspension setting is the right side of assertive