Porsche Index: 991.2 Carrera GTS
The carefully honed 991 GTS is considered the best-value, nearly-new Carrera in terms of performance versus equipment. Here’s everything you need to know about both C2 and C4 variants
Your in-depth look at the latest 911 to wear the popular GTS badge, with buying tips from leading industry experts
HISTORY AND TECH
The GTS badge appeared fleetingly in 2011 on the run-out 997 and gave an intriguing preview of what Porsche was intending, but it was with the 991.1 GTS that Zuffenhausen really established ‘GTS’ as a sub category in its own right. 911 project manager August Achleitner had described the GTS as “corresponding to customer demand for a sporting yet comfortable Porsche.” In terms of price and performance the GTS slotted neatly between the Carrera S and GT3, and Porsche made the GTS all the more attractive by endowing it with options which, if all specified on the Carrera S, would have come to significantly more than the list price of the GTS.
During its short production run, the 991.1 GTS had garnered much praise and the challenge for Porsche was, as ever, to do even better next time round. Available in 2017, the GTS arrived a year and a half after the launch of the 991.2 and once again it used the same format, this being a widebody 911 offered as a two or four-wheel drive Coupé or Cabriolet and as an all-wheeldrive Targa. There was some speculation it might be fitted with a detuned version of the naturally aspirated 4.0-litre of the GT3, but this was to misunderstand the object of the GTS, which was to amplify the dynamic aspects of the Carrera rather than offer a ‘softened’ GT3. As it was, the GTS took the Carrera S engine together with the Powerkit (in this instance, bigger turbochargers and boost pressure raised from 16 to 18psi) which gave the GTS a 30bhp and 50Nm advantage over the S. The sevenspeed manual gearbox was standard and PDK a frequently specified option. Externally the GTS was distinguished by its handsome centrelock wheels (which also reduced unsprung weight) and by its Sport exhaust, whose twin outlets were placed centrally about 20cm apart. At the front, a more aggressive treatment of the nose was a sign that this was a special 911. PASM, Sport Chrono and active engine mounts were standard and the car sat 10mm lower than the S. If the Sport chassis option was selected, the GTS sat on shortened springs a further 10mm lower; rear-wheel steering and PDCC could also be ordered, as could the (arguably more useful) front axle lift. In a cabin generously accoutred with Alcantara were Porsche’s Sport Plus seats and the GT Sport steering wheel; rear seat delete was a no-cost option.
THE VALUES STORY
The 991.2 GTS was on the UK market for two years from 2017 and a search of the classifieds reveals plenty of used examples: a dozen in the OPC network, a handful with specialists and many more in general trade. Prices vary between £75,000 for 30,000-mile, three-yearold examples to £95,000+ for 2019 Targas and highly optioned Cabriolets. Depreciation has been mild even by Porsche standards: in late 2018 Ashgood Porsche sold a year-old GTS 4 with rear steer for £100,000, a model which should still fetch £83,000 in 2021. Mark Sumpter of Paragon, currently offering a similar specification at £82,900, is a fan of the GTS sub brand and thinks Porsche got its GTS marketing absolutely right: “When you see that customers are prepared to pay considerably more for the Touring than the GT3 because basically they don’t want the spoilers, you see where the GTS sweet spot is. Buyers want a sporty but grown-up looking 911, a Porsche you can park without attracting lots of attention, but which is refined and also good to drive.” This factor, combined with a reluctance he perceives among certain older buyers to adapt to the touch-screen control systems of the 992, should help to ensure 991.2 GTS values remain strong.
WHAT’S IT LIKE TO DRIVE?
Despite its corporate move to turbocharging, Porsche managed to retain much of the naturally aspirated flat six’s high-revving character: maximum power for the 991.2 GTS came at 6,500rpm and the engine would spin on to 7,200rpm, only 300rpm below the relatively high-revving 3.8 of the 991.1. Gains in torque meant that in terms of response the latest GTS, even with the manual gearbox, was rarely left wanting. The magazines were unanimous in their admiration of both the new engine and the 991.2 GTS’S handling. In Autocar Andrew Frankel commented, “This is the lightest and most engaging GTS. Broadly speaking standard Carreras are best enjoyed in corners and Turbos in straight lines. This GTS finds the balance between the two, something that not even the previous GTS had been able to achieve." Correspondents otherwise found the GTS’S handling so resolved that it was difficult to discern what difference four-wheel drive made on dry roads. On the other hand, Jeremy Clarkson complained that when the differentials were cold, manoeuvring in a tight space caused the front axle to plough straight on.
BUYING ONE
An intelligent package, the GTS cleverly manages to be more than the sum of its parts and this applies equally to the used market. A discerning buyer can acquire a faster 911 with many of the most desirable options for the same price as a Carrera S. In terms of transmissions, most GTSS were sold with the by now unimpeachable PDK, although this was a £2,500 extra when new, but for the traditionalist there are plenty of manual gearbox examples. The minority models, the Cabrio and the Targa were almost invariably specified with the double clutch, and the Cabrio very often as all-wheel drive. Whether 4x4 is necessary is a moot point. Bernd Kahnau, 911 project director from 1989 to 2001, used to joke that Porsche offered 4x4 only because the Swiss insisted on it. At the launch of the 991.2 GTS his successor, August Achleitner, put it a little more thoughtfully: “Advances in traction management have yielded improvements in [the Carrera 4’s] driving behaviour that until recently we would not have thought possible. Every all-wheel-drive 911 is now a dyed-in-the-wool Porsche in terms of responsiveness. Should you buy one? If you live in an area with harsh winters, definitely. Otherwise, not necessarily. I’d put it this way: the Carrera 4 is a more complete car.” By any standards, the GTS was a very well resolved 911. Few examples have covered more than 40,000 miles – it tends to be the base Carrera which clock up the higher mileages. Buyer caveats really only apply to the usual checks – provenance, veracity of service record and of course condition. But a 911, especially a GTS, is a specialist car and your correspondent’s first recourse would always be to a recognised Porsche Independent, because knowledgeable and committed aftersales service is part of owning a Porsche. Mechanically, water pumps can fail, but otherwise the 991.2's 9A2 engine is considered pretty faultless. Some examples will come with extended Porsche warranty, and buying with a trusted OPC or specialist usually offers the possibility of looking underneath the car, which is especially worthwhile on the Sports chassis with its limited ground clearance. One more note on the centrelock wheels: they require special tools and technique to remove, which is not possible at the roadside. This is a point to be borne in mind for any GTS owner before visiting a tyre fitter; again a Porsche specialist is to be preferred here.