Porsche Index: 991.1 Carrera S
The 991 marked a major shift in the 911’s emphasis compared to its predecessor, becoming both larger and more luxurious. How is it viewed as a buying proposition today?
This eight-year-old 911 can be yours for as little as 50k. Here’s your complete dossier on the last atmospheric Carrera S
Launched alongside the Carrera, the S made its debut at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show and went on sale in December of that year. It was instantly apparent that Porsche had taken a slightly different path with its new Neunelfer, the relatively compact dimensions of the 997 making way for something notably wider and longer. Sitting on a wheelbase stretched by 100mm, this was an altogether roomier, more luxurious proposition, and it’s one that not all 911 devotees were comfortable with – more than a few voices accused the new model of being more cruiser than sports car. Thankfully the flat six sitting in the tail would appease most critics, the Carrera’s 350hp, 3.4-litre unit making way for the larger 3.8 boasting 400hp and 440Nm of torque. Naturally aspirated, it
featured direct fuel injection and Variocam Plus and was linked to a new seven-speed manual gearbox or an optional PDK unit. The manual has come in for criticism since, but the double-clutch unit was impressive, getting the Carrera S to 62mph in 4.3 seconds and on to 187mph. However you view this car those are impressive numbers, and they were little different for the Cabriolet variant that arrived in March 2012 wearing a price tag of £89,740.
This was certainly a cleaner, more efficient 911, with Porsche claiming that fuel consumption and CO2 emissions had been reduced by 14 per cent; new technological features such as auto stop/start, better thermal management for the engine and a coasting function for the PDK ‘box all coming to the 991’s aid. Adopting electrical assistance for the steering no doubt shaved further fractions when it came to efficiency, but it was at the expense of yet more criticism in some quarters. In reality, it’s a good system. As for the rest of the chassis specification, it was a more-than-tasty recipe that featured PASM and Porsche Torque Vectoring as standard, along with uprated and iconic ‘Big Red’ brakes: compared to the Carrera there were larger discs and Monobloc fixed front calipers with six rather than four pistons.
There was the option to spend plenty of cash on further enhancements, too, from the likes of Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control and Sport Chrono to special interior finishes and £3,000 of Burmester hi-fi. With plenty of buyers happy to indulge when it came to options, there are rich pickings to be had for today’s buyers. Like its immediate predecessors, just four years were allowed to pass before the Gen2 model arrived, bringing with it the end of natural aspiration. Today the 991.1’s specification marks a good link between the more classic-oriented 997s and the tech-laden drive of the 992.