Driven: Porsche 911 Carrera S (991)
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss ... or is it? PistonHeads drives the new Porsche 911
The fear is Porsche has taken what we love about the 911, digitised and sanitised it and come up with some sort of electronically enhanced impression. Sure, it'll do the numbers. But with all the longer, more stable wheelbase, electric steering and Panamera-esque luxury trimmings surely we're seeing a shift in emphasis.
First impressions of the PDK-equipped Carrera S we've bagged for the first driving stint are good. But not blinding.
Familiar 911 cues are all there. Well, it still looks the same as it always did, inside and out. Up to a point though. There are some seriously cool flourishes, the slash over the recessed rear lights a sweep of a designer's marker pen made real. The illusion of a more cab-forward stance is just that according to the measurements but the worry the 911ness has been diluted just a tad lingers.
Inside the row of five dials and reverse rake to the dash are familiar as ever, ditto the slammed to the deck seating position and better than average visibility. The big centre console is new and as button festooned as the Panamera and Cayenne that influenced it but the 911 still feels narrow, compact and wieldy, the only extra width on the 991 in the front track. A pity about the stupid, fat-thumbs steering wheel though - oh for the slim-rimmed wheel of old!
Artificially enhanced
And what of the controversial move to electric assistance? OK, so it saves fuel. But the fluidity and gentle nibbles of feedback from the wheel are among the things we hold so dear about the 911. And no matter how good Porsche says it is the new system is an artificially enhanced impression. A very good one, with great weighting and response. But there's a twang and springiness about it that doesn't quite carry the illusion.
The PDK of our test car is the same. Objectively it works great, slurring its way rapidly through the ratios as quickly as possible. Left to its own devices it's crisp, efficient ... and, yes, mainly those things.
We're all used to digital music these days, the compression and loss of nuance accepted as the cost of convenience and portability. And cars are going the same way, the dial-a-mode button pushing selecting throttle response, damper settings, exhaust noise and more on our test car all contriving an effective simulation of a great new 911. But is it actually that? Hell, even the noise, great as it is, comes from a 'sound symposer' transmitting induction noise to the cabin.
Classic 911 traits remain though, just about. The longer wheelbase and extra track in the front (46mm on the Carrera, 52mm on the S) haven't entirely stabilised the familiar bobbing and chatter through the dampers, Porsche thankfully happy to let the body move and react to the road rather than just steamroller it into submission. And no PASM equipped 911 ever rode this well before, to the extent that you'll be happy leaving it in the harder sports setting more often than not.
To PDK or not PDK, that is the question
Manually controlled via the weighty, aluminium shifter paddles PDK does get better. There's a lovely tactility to the paddle, upshifts zinging through without delay and downshifts even more dramatic and delivered with a satisfyingly mechanical whump. But there's a sense that things are just a bit PlayStation and this detachment means it's easy to carry too much speed into bends and feel the car running away with you a tad.
For all the fuss about the manual version and its headline grabbing seventh ratio Porsche seems awfully reticent about letting anyone having ago. A degree of assertiveness is required to bag one of the three here but the PH beach towel is placed firmly over one of them at the lunch stop.
And it takes all of a few hundred metres in it to let out a huge sigh of relief. Suddenly it all clicks into place. It doesn't matter that the sound is artificially enhanced. Because the outrageous, searing howl that erupts in the extra 300rpm the flat-six now has was your choosing, not that of some black box or sensor. And those fierce little stabs of noise as you blip down two, three gears on the approach to that corner? All your own work.
It's easy to get complacent about quite how special this engine is too. We're only on the second rung of the 911 ladder here and already we've got 400hp and the kind of inertia-free zinginess that's always set Porsche flat sixes apart. It's magic but it needs working hard, both peak power and torque now at least 1,000rpm higher in the rev range than before. That's unusual in this day and age and a shock if you're accustomed to turbo engines - petrol or diesel - that hand it all on a plate before the rev counter passes 2,000rpm. You'll need nearly three times that for the best from this engine with nearly another 2,000rpm before things get really riotous. And with the manual you've got the time to fully appreciate every nuance of that huge power band at a time of your own, rather than the computer's, choosing.
Say hello to the £100K Carrera
To think, even a GT3 only had 35hp more power than this, the tight, short throw of the gearshift and appetite for revs offering more than a taste of that car. High praise indeed and, indeed, decked out with all the toys a Carrera S will now lap the 'ring in around the same time, recording a blistering 7:40. It will also cost, like our test cars, as near as makes no odds £100K.
With so much more interaction in what the car is doing you end up driving it harder and with much greater focus and clarity. Corners are properly assessed, entry speed considered, gear selection made and carried out and with this precision comes far greater speed and composure.
Turn-in becomes sharper because you're concentrating harder on getting it right, the fabulously quick damping meaning even violent bumps and dramatic camber changes the like of which are common on Californian back roads do nothing to upset the chassis. And, yes, that agility may be augmented by gizmos like the PDCC. But it's not alienating or artificial. You're involved, full immersed, all the time that flat-six howl burning deep into your head and carrying you bodily to a very, very happy place. And with that confidence comes ever and ever earlier application of power and that familiar 911 slingshot corner exit, again with a little help from the black boxes (this time PTV) but again thankfully natural in feel. Hell, it'll even pick up an inside front wheel, old school style, if you're really trying.
This is fabulous. This is what we want out of a 911. And it's all there for the taking with the simple addition of a clutch pedal and stick shift. Better still the £2,387 you save on PDK can go a long way towards more worthwhile options. Like the sports exhaust and, maybe, the PTV/limited-slip diff.
Is the extra plane on the gear selector as confusing as it appears? Not in this situation, third and fourth being adequate for nearly any eventuality. You wonder if a shift-lock like that engaged on PDK that cancels out seventh when in Sport Plus might be an idea but when you're driving hard you forget it's even there.
And finally a hint of the real 991 shows itself. It had us worried there for a minute.
Starved of stats? See our separate story for the number crunching bit
At least they can't take the manual gearbox out of my 993.
At least they can't take the manual gearbox out of my 993.
However, £97K or so (in my chosen specification) is a lot of money for something I am not sure is going to prove different (or exciting) enough to make me want to move from my current 997.2 GT3. I think I may sit on my option to purchase for a while longer….
Put simply this is not an F430 to 458 moment.
Which or what ever anyone comments the facts are all these cars are getting more costly when they could get cheaper, however, with the raw materials shooting up in price ......... It all makes sense ... Nobody reading this wants to work harder in future and get paid less ....
So then it's all good ... The review is great ... It's just so tough when you have and own these cars to choose what the hell next to buy!!!
997 Carrera: 4435/1808/1310/2350
As noted, front track on Carrera is +46mm and +56mm on the S but the overall width is the same.
Hope that helps! And, for what it's worth, as I said in the review from the driver's seat it still feels respectably compact. Not 964 compact but definitely usefully chuckable.
However, by the end of the article (especially when you got to use the manual car) and reading between the lines, I get the impression that you thought it was a really good car but (because of people like Clarkson) it's just not cool to say that about the latest 911.
As others have said, they are in danger of becoming Audi's sister sports car brand.
Hmmmmmmmmm, it looks good though!
Regards,
Mr.CarCoach.
However, £97K or so (in my chosen specification) is a lot of money for something I am not sure is going to prove different (or exciting) enough to make me want to move from my current 997.2 GT3. I think I may sit on my option to purchase for a while longer….
Put simply this is not an F430 to 458 moment.
Perhaps when the new GT3 or Turbo are released we might be able to assess how far the 991 has moved the game on.
And if I was you I would definately be sticking with the 997.2 GT3 for a while yet.
Secondly, it seems that those of us who have enjoyed the rawness of air cooled 911s in the past may want to look at the Caymans and Boxsters for our thrills nowadays, especially the R and Spyder respectively.
At £100K, it might not be the (relative) performance bargain it was before, but it's still half the price of a 458 or equivalent Lambo. Personally though, I'm suddenly very interested in a used 997...
Some would say that it seems to be working for Porsche, but I wonder if it is. Back in the 90's when I had my 993 it was a stunning car, admired wherever i went. Certainly it was on a par with the 'small' ferrari of the time in image and price. Now? As the article says, we question how a 911 can be touching £100k optioned up. The 458 on the other hand is changing hands at £200k plus. Lazy ambition will catch up with you in the end and I feel that time is coming for Porsche. People say it's in danger of becoming audi-like? I would say Audi has eclipsed it with the R8. Again, ambition pays...
as for the 997.2 gt3... I'd stick to that for a while too.. new carrera S might be as fast, but why not wait for the new gt3...
Some would say that it seems to be working for Porsche, but I wonder if it is. Back in the 90's when I had my 993 it was a stunning car, admired wherever i went. Certainly it was on a par with the 'small' ferrari of the time in image and price. Now? As the article says, we question how a 911 can be touching £100k optioned up. The 458 on the other hand is changing hands at £200k plus. Lazy ambition will catch up with you in the end and I feel that time is coming for Porsche. People say it's in danger of becoming audi-like? I would say Audi has eclipsed it with the R8. Again, ambition pays...
Have a look to see where the Gen2 Turbo S is in this leaderboard:
17. Ferrari 458 Italia 1:09.70 134 '09 570 / 1485
18. Koenigsegg CCR 1:09.80 134 '04 806 / 1418 Sport Auto
19. Nissan GT-R 1:09.94 134 '11 530 / 1736 Auto Bild
23. Ferrari 430 Scuderia 1:10.30 133 '07 510 / 1402 Sport Auto
24. Porsche 911 GT3 1:10.40 133 '09 435 / 1376 Sport Auto
25. Porsche 911 Carrera S 1:10.40 133 '11 400 / 1415 Host Von Saurma
26. Ferrari 458 Italia 1:10.50 133 '09 570 / 1485
27. Nissan GT-R 1:10.70 133 '08 479 / 1740 Sport Auto
28. Pagani Zonda F 1:10.80 132 '05 602 / 1371 Sport Auto
29. Mercedes SLS AMG 1:10.80 132 '10 571 / 1620 Sport Auto
30. Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera 1:10.90 132 '07 530 / 1520 Sport Auto
31. Porsche 911 Turbo S 1:10.90 132 '10 530 / 1585 Sport Auto
As others have said, they are in danger of becoming Audi's sister sports car brand.
Hmmmmmmmmm, it looks good though!
Regards,
Mr.CarCoach.
The same things seem to be said each time a new 911 comes out - the steering gets a little bit worse, responses seem to be a bit duller, yet they get faster and faster.
Like the rest of the car market really.
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