New Porsche 911 Carrera 4 and Targa 4
For when a two-wheel drive 911 on 305-section rear tyres just doesn't have enough traction!
Both Carrera 4 and Carrera 4S use the same 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat six, making 370hp in the Carrera and 420hp in the S. A Carrera 4 PDK with Sport Chrono (there is still a manual if you so desire) will hit 62mph in 4.1 seconds, the S taking three tenths off that. Yep, 3.8 seconds. Both the Cabriolet and the Targa are two tenths slower for the sprint than the hardtop models. Porsche quotes the top speeds as between 178 and 189mph. Fuel consumption - because that's now about as important as speed - is rated at 36mpg for a C4 PDK cabrio and 35mpg for the equivalent Carrera S.
As before, the four-wheel drive 911s are identifiable through the additional 44mm in the rear wings and the strip between the lights. 911s do look good with wider arches, don't they? Porsche says the new all-wheel drive responds even faster thanks to tech from the 911 Turbo, making the car more stable "during extremely sporty driving".
Other than that, the four-wheel drive cars are much as the other facelifted 991s. PASM is standard, the 918 Spyder wheel is optional and the PCM infotainment now has real-time traffic info. Don't forget the 'Sport Response Button' too; because who wants just kickdown when you can have kickdown on a button?
The Carrera 4 and Targa models are on sale now, with deliveries expected early next year. A Carrera 4 Coupe starts at £81,398, a £4,986 premium over the Carrera 2. The Carrera 4 Cabriolet is £90,240, just a few hundred pounds less than a C4S Coupe (£90,843). A 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet is a £100K car without options at £99,684. Finally, the Targa 4 and Targa 4S are priced identically to the equivalent cabrios. Coming to your local high street soon!
It really does feel like they are charging all that money 'because they can'. I spec'd a C2S the other day, quite conservatively. I really only added things that I believed were expected of a car in that bracket. £102k...for a C2S???I promise this did not include extended leather this or alcantara that...in fact I didn't even tick the box for a rear wiper or floor mats.
I still have a PDF from when I spec'd a 997 C2S in a similar fashion and it was roughly £76k. Did Porsche start using solid gold instead of aluminium and I missed that article??
It really does feel like they are charging all that money 'because they can'. I spec'd a C2S the other day, quite conservatively. I really only added things that I believed were expected of a car in that bracket. £102k...for a C2S???I promise this did not include extended leather this or alcantara that...in fact I didn't even tick the box for a rear wiper or floor mats.
I still have a PDF from when I spec'd a 997 C2S in a similar fashion and it was roughly £76k. Did Porsche start using solid gold instead of aluminium and I missed that article??
I agree about the turbos though; it'd have to be a pre-facelift manual 2WD model for me.
I agree about the turbos though; it'd have to be a pre-facelift manual 2WD model for me.
Either way, in my mind a vanilla 911 will always be a 70k car as I see it as the first rung onto serious sports\gt car ownership with six figures being reserved for the more specialised 911's or the upper echelon players like Ferrari, Lamborghini etc.
Boxster/Cayman are the sportscar bargains on sale today yet they sell in relatively small numbers.
Having sold my 964, I know I will never buy another Porsche at these prices. Goodbye Stuttgart.
Truly, though, I was inches away from signing myself up for a Cayman around eighteen months ago (god damned house move), I'd still lodge my money there if I were buying a Porsche, these current, barmy 911's seem to be just too fast to truly appreciate on the open road.
Obviously not at £100k though so it would have to be a hefty group discount.
Either that or you'll all have to be fighting me for decent second hand examples in a few years time.
I have to say this, and unlike a few other brand enthusiasts who cannot humble themselves for any reason, i will put aside my many years of contempt for the Porsche name and openly admit tat IMO Porsche have come quite a ways in recent years in slowly winning my heart over, especially in the styling arena. (Side note: i am a die hard Lotus enthusiast and previous proud owner of my dream Lotus, a 1989 Esprit, white with tan interior).
For those of you not completely dedicated to the Porsche brand, you must admit the styling in recent years had become mundane, under used, and just plain boring, save for other than certain special models such as GT series. I mean in all seriousness if i saw one more g'damned 911 Carrera in that bland silver/grey color being driven with the windows fully up by a late aged man with MD on his plates going a throttling 5mph UNDER the speed limit it'd be all too soon!! And dont get me started on the owners of convertible models as well the Boxster.
But i digress, and dare i say this but, it seems car manufacturers are on the exciting verge of giving us the next leap forward from the great emerging minds of their engineers and styling team.
Proof is evident; New Porsche, Lotus Exige Cup and Evora, oh and i must mention the new Corvette. I mean, my God have you seen the new Vette in the flesh? Its unbelievably good looking, my point proven using the Corvette of recent years, horribly bland, boat like styling and size!!! The Vette is now a legitimate supercar.
Now, if we can only get Porsche to make these newbied in a traditional MANUAL!!!
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