RE: New Porsche 911 Carrera 4 and Targa 4

RE: New Porsche 911 Carrera 4 and Targa 4

Wednesday 7th October 2015

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!



By now everyone should be familiar with the new Porsche 991; turbos for the Carrera models, the mildest of styling changes and even more technology. The rest of the 911 range was certain to receive the updates at some point, so here are the four-wheel drive and Targa 911s. Exactly one month after the two-wheel drive cars... Media launch on November 7 then?

Targa still sitting pretty
Targa still sitting pretty
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".

Carrera 4 cabrio not one for purists...
Carrera 4 cabrio not one for purists...
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!





Author
Discussion

PhantomPH

Original Poster:

4,043 posts

224 months

Wednesday 7th October 2015
quotequote all
It strikes me that the success of the Boxster and Cayman have forced Porsche to do two things to differentiate the 911: 1) Make the 911 crazy fast in a straight line, and 2) Put the price of a 911 up through the roof.

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??

Ozzie Osmond

21,189 posts

245 months

Wednesday 7th October 2015
quotequote all
911 Targa is a very highly desirable car IMO. The price --- less so!

Guvernator

13,109 posts

164 months

Wednesday 7th October 2015
quotequote all
PhantomPH said:
It strikes me that the success of the Boxster and Cayman have forced Porsche to do two things to differentiate the 911: 1) Make the 911 crazy fast in a straight line, and 2) Put the price of a 911 up through the roof.

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??
Have to agree with this wholeheartedly, since when did a vanilla 911 become a £100k car? Only the very special 911's are worth 6 figures IMO and now they are all going to be turbocharged, they interest me even less.

kambites

67,462 posts

220 months

Wednesday 7th October 2015
quotequote all
I don't know whether it's just a trick of the pictures, but the arches look oddly squared off at the top edge?

loose cannon

6,029 posts

240 months

Wednesday 7th October 2015
quotequote all
Perhaps it's to find more pennies for development as they wont have much soon

kambites

67,462 posts

220 months

Wednesday 7th October 2015
quotequote all
Guvernator said:
Have to agree with this wholeheartedly, since when did a vanilla 911 become a £100k car? Only the very special 911's are worth 6 figures IMO and now they are all going to be turbocharged, they interest me even less.
I don't think the price has risen significantly in real terms and the competence of the car certainly has, although arguably at the expense of some of what made the 911 a 911. If I was after a GT for inter-continental cruising which was still fun to throw around a B-road when I got to wherever I was going, it's hard to think of anything that can match it at any price.

I agree about the turbos though; it'd have to be a pre-facelift manual 2WD model for me.

Guvernator

13,109 posts

164 months

Wednesday 7th October 2015
quotequote all
kambites said:
I don't think the price has risen significantly in real terms and the competence of the car certainly has, although arguably at the expense of some of what made the 911 a 911. If I was after a GT for inter-continental cruising which was still fun to throw around a B-road when I got to wherever I was going, it's hard to think of anything that can match it at any price.

I agree about the turbos though; it'd have to be a pre-facelift manual 2WD model for me.
I agree it's competent enough, maybe it's a psychological thing or maybe it's because I'm a tight git, or because there seem to be loads of them everywhere in London so they loose out on exclusivity.

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.

Ozzie Osmond

21,189 posts

245 months

Wednesday 7th October 2015
quotequote all
Guvernator said:
when did a vanilla 911 become a £100k car?
Amazingly Porsche sell MORE £100k 911s than they sell £50k Boxsters/Caymans! Mind you, they also sell a lot more £75k Cayennes and Panameras then they sell sportscars.

Boxster/Cayman are the sportscar bargains on sale today yet they sell in relatively small numbers.

pagani1

683 posts

201 months

Wednesday 7th October 2015
quotequote all
Like most mainstream sports car manufacturers it's " Lost the Plot" year. The prices are presumably to pay VW's fines in the USA from diesel poisoning of the whole American nation, unlike the native products which are largely exempt. Nonetheless it is cynical behaviour how the prices have been hoisted when the bottom line is already the biggest in the industry.
Having sold my 964, I know I will never buy another Porsche at these prices. Goodbye Stuttgart.

kambites

67,462 posts

220 months

Wednesday 7th October 2015
quotequote all
So what are you going to buy that will do the same job for less?

pagani1

683 posts

201 months

Wednesday 7th October 2015
quotequote all
I won't buy a new car again. So it will have to be a classic.

kambites

67,462 posts

220 months

Wednesday 7th October 2015
quotequote all
pagani1 said:
I won't buy a new car again. So it will have to be a classic.
So what you're saying is that the 911 is more expensive than similar second-hand cars? Yes, I'd agree with that.

Axionknight

8,505 posts

134 months

Wednesday 7th October 2015
quotequote all
I'd take the Targa, but I expect to be in a minority of one. Looks smart - despite the price tag of eleventy nine billion pounds.

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.

rouge59

332 posts

126 months

Wednesday 7th October 2015
quotequote all


Looking forward to buying one of these Targas in 8 years for 25-30k as my middle aged GT/pootling around car.

mnx42

215 posts

162 months

Wednesday 7th October 2015
quotequote all
Axionknight said:
I'd take the Targa, but I expect to be in a minority of one.
Nope,+1 here. I think they are a very good looking car.

Ozzie Osmond

21,189 posts

245 months

Wednesday 7th October 2015
quotequote all
mnx42 said:
Axionknight said:
I'd take the Targa, but I expect to be in a minority of one.
Nope,+1 here. I think they are a very good looking car.
Do you think we could get a nice discount for three? smile

PhantomPH

Original Poster:

4,043 posts

224 months

Thursday 8th October 2015
quotequote all
Ozzie Osmond said:
mnx42 said:
Axionknight said:
I'd take the Targa, but I expect to be in a minority of one.
Nope,+1 here. I think they are a very good looking car.
Do you think we could get a nice discount for three? smile
Group buy discount - I'll take one. smile

C7 JFW

1,205 posts

218 months

Thursday 8th October 2015
quotequote all
£100,000 for a non-special Porsche? I'll let someone else shoulder that depreciation.

The all wheel drive variants make excellent dailies.

Guvernator

13,109 posts

164 months

Thursday 8th October 2015
quotequote all
PhantomPH said:
Ozzie Osmond said:
mnx42 said:
Axionknight said:
I'd take the Targa, but I expect to be in a minority of one.
Nope,+1 here. I think they are a very good looking car.
Do you think we could get a nice discount for three? smile
Group buy discount - I'll take one. smile
In that case add me to the Targa appreciation list too as if you aren't out chasing lap-times in a GT, I think the targa makes the most sense as it will still be plenty quick enough, drive brilliantly with the added benefit of open top motoring, plus that roof is just so cool.

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. smile

ESOG

1,705 posts

157 months

Thursday 8th October 2015
quotequote all
Absolutely stunning, i love the way the chrome/silver/aluminum whatever its made of strip across the rear window/roof is a distinct homage to the Carrera's of old.

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!!!