Lowest Spec 991.2?
Lowest Spec 991.2?
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Discussion

ack0

Original Poster:

184 posts

234 months

Saturday 2nd September 2017
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With lots of people (well journo's anyway) saying that the purest experience is with a basic entry level 911, has anyone done just that and bought a vanilla 911 Carrera and left the option list well alone?

Love to see and hear how what you think

Thanks

Geneve

4,018 posts

248 months

Saturday 2nd September 2017
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Many enthusiasts will claim that the 911 is best kept simple, and the purest specification, going back through all the variants, is Coupe, RWD, Manual, Normally Aspirated, with no more than essential options.

The main benefit is weight saving. Options all add weight - even extra leather - and the lighter any 911, the nicer the dynamic feel.

Back in 2006, Porsche had a base 997 3.4 'press car'. Very low spec, except for PCCBs, which of course further reduced weight - crucially, unsprung weight.

Several magazines and notable journos, including Suttcliffe and Harris, IIRC, said that it was the nicest variant of the 997 you could buy, and attributed this to its simplicity and low kerb weight.

And it's true now, as it was then and throughout the 911 generations - 'less is more'

Cheib

25,360 posts

204 months

Saturday 2nd September 2017
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I think with the 911.2 what they are especially referring to is the fact that the base Carrera is the "least turbocharged" as all the Carrera, Carrera S and GTS all share the same engine block so in theory the base car feels the least turbo'd. I remember Harry Metcalfe saying that in his video review of the 991.2 Carrera S. Thing is having driven a GTS it doesn't really feel Turbo charged...and because they've managed to get a decent amount of induction noise into the cabin with the GTS they've gone some way to answering the lack of exhaust noise issue. Don't think that applies to the Carrera/S but I could be wrong!

In general it's definitely the case that less is more...especially when it comes to wheels. Bigger wheels are there for Porsche AG's balance sheet and the marketing dept. Cars generally drive better on the smallest wheels you can put on them.

Taffy66

5,964 posts

131 months

Saturday 2nd September 2017
quotequote all
Cheib said:
I think with the 911.2 what they are especially referring to is the fact that the base Carrera is the "least turbocharged" as all the Carrera, Carrera S and GTS all share the same engine block so in theory the base car feels the least turbo'd. I remember Harry Metcalfe saying that in his video review of the 991.2 Carrera S. Thing is having driven a GTS it doesn't really feel Turbo charged...and because they've managed to get a decent amount of induction noise into the cabin with the GTS they've gone some way to answering the lack of exhaust noise issue. Don't think that applies to the Carrera/S but I could be wrong!

In general it's definitely the case that less is more...especially when it comes to wheels. Bigger wheels are there for Porsche AG's balance sheet and the marketing dept. Cars generally drive better on the smallest wheels you can put on them.
Ime the 991.2GTS feels the least turboed especially compared to the 420HP S version as it seems the rate of acceleration increases above say 5.5k.As i've said on another thread all 991s perform better in the lightest coupe variants with two sweet spots in the range..One is the standard 370HP coupe in manual but absolutely no weight adding options and the other is like mine aka GTS coupe,PDK and RAS albeit a meaty £20K pricier.
That leaves the mid 420HP version sitting rather uncomfortably between two stools unless you go for a Targa/Cabrio where the 420HP S becomes more relevant.