Porsche 911 Carrera T | Cars to be thankful for

Petrol engines have earned a stay of execution, but the manual gearbox hasn't. Buy now to avoid disappointment

Porsche, clearly, is at something of a crossroads. Or rather it was three months ago. Faced with faltering EV demand, an ongoing slump in the Chinese market and the onerous weight of US tariffs, the manufacturer was forced to slash its operating margin forecast and announced in September that it would shelve plans for another electric SUV, while reversing course on its decision not to invest in future combustion models. The latter, against all odds, is said to include petrol-powered derivatives of its successor to the 718.

A month later, Oliver Blume, the CEO held responsible for Porsche’s bullish charge toward a mostly electric future, was replaced by Michael Leiters, a man who repeatedly went on the record while at McLaren to suggest that EV technology was not ready. Or at least not ready to exclusively power the sort of weight-conscious supercars his former employer liked to build - which coincidentally describes a deep-seated pessimism that some Porsche buyers evidently share.

Consequently, if the firm can be said to have turned a corner at the crossroads, it is toward this train of thought. Additional help has materialised in the unlikely shape of the European Commission. Germany (and its profit-hit carmakers) have been lobbying Brussels hard for an EU support package, a strategy that paid off last week with confirmation that the EU will seek to water down the rules that effectively decreed the phase-out of combustion engines in 2035. With the lifespan of petrol-electric hybrids likely extended beyond the foreseeable future, Porsche’s change of direction seems to have lost its pervading whiff of short-termism.

Ironically, in one narrow sense the manufacturer had already charted a much more appropriate timeline - sadly for its shareholders, it was applied only to the 911. For years, when questioned about the electrification of its iconic sports car, it tended to be adamant in its response: so intrinsic was the rear-mounted flat-six to its appeal, the model would persist with a petrol engine for as long as it was practically and legally possible to include one. Almost certainly that was not just a deeply held internal opinion, but one voiced by its legion of repeat purchasers.

To prove this point, the introduction of hybrid technology was achieved with the lightest touch. The modestly sized 400V, 1.9kWh battery mounted behind the latest GTS’s luggage compartment drives an electric motor in the new 3.6-litre engine’s turbocharger, and another inside the eight-speed PDK transmission. All in, they add around 50kg to the 911’s kerbweight, and return around 50hp to proceedings - though the benefits are more readily felt in low-end efficiency and the elimination of lag than outright power. There is no EV mode, but nor is there any requirement to plug the car into a charge socket.

In other words, while the T-Hybrid system certainly helped to future-proof its flat-six, Porsche bent over backwards to make the GTS’s electrified components seem incidental to its status as a range-topping 911 Carrera. And as Matt reflected just last month, the model that has resulted, ‘feels like a 992 at the absolute peak of its powers’. Of course, such a bespoke solution has its limitations - yet it doesn’t seem unfair to suggest that had its maker applied a similar amount of tact and thoughtfulness more broadly, it might not be struggling for purchase elsewhere.

So why not be thankful for the GTS? Well, we absolutely are (in fact, alongside the Lamborghini Revuelto and the latest iteration of McLaren Artura, we’d argue it is right at the top of a new hybridised class of performance car), yet the cost of all this innovation is plain enough, given the model is priced from £137,900. And that seems like a lot, even allowing for 541hp and the supercar-rivalling performance it delivers. Additionally, for now, you cannot have the GTS as a manual - and that feels like an important attribute to celebrate in 2025.

Again, Porsche understands this as well as anyone. In previous years, the Carrera T tended to function as a vaguely desirable three-pedal oddity for those unable (or unwilling) to meet the exalted asking price (or high bar for entry) of a GTS or GT3. Now though, equipped with the six-speed manual denied to the rest of the 992.2 Carrera lineup, and furnished with nearly 400hp, it not only stands apart from its siblings, but suggests itself as arguably all the road-going 911 a fun-seeking owner could possibly need.

This, admittedly, could hardly be laid on more thickly had Porsche employed a trowel. We could do without the H-pattern stickers and the ‘MT’ badge on the centre console, much as the laminated walnut gearknob will surely not meet with universal appreciation (exposed timber in cars never does, regardless of its heritage value). But you still marvel at the sight of it; stubby and proud, improbably set against a bank of infotainment screens, like a harpsichord on stage at the O2.

In another manufacturer’s high-end sports car, this dissonance would likely spread to the driving experience - yet somehow the 992 accepts three pedals not just as some atavistic graft-on, but as the missing component needed for you to dig deeper into its handling repertoire. The new transmission is sprung like a farmer’s gate; it wants manhandling and rewards you with some of the progressiveness and positivity that was lacking in the old seven-speeder.

Better still, even with characteristically lengthy ratios, it meshes with Porsche’s 3.0-litre flat-six so convincingly that you forget all about the PDK’s easy-to-live-with cohesiveness. It helps, of course, that the turbocharged unit is endlessly taut, and has you chasing its rasp almost from the word go - although, as ever, the result is less about raw performance and more about participation. You could just drive along, upshifting as primly as the automatic might - and sometimes you do. But more often than not, you rummage around like a toddler at an open cool box, and gorge yourself on what turns up.

Fully aware that you’re probably the sort of person who gets a kick out of not just a heightened connection to the car but the road itself, Porsche is at pains to accentuate the relationship. The rear seats have gone, and so has some of the sound insulation. The glass is thinner; the seats (optionally here) are bucket-ier. The standard PASM sports suspension means it sits 10mm lower on larger 20/21-inch alloys. You get a switchable sports exhaust, rear-wheel steer and the PTV locking diff. The inference could hardly be clearer if the Carrera T decals were glued to your forearms.

In fact, Porsche runs so wild with this leaner, meaner vibe that there are moments where it strays a smidge too far; no other Carrera cares to jostle its occupants at slow speeds, nor thump righteously at ridges when loaded up. They all suffer from mildly intrusive road noise, but for the T, somewhat predictably, this is a jumping-off point: not only do you suffer poor surfacing, you hear it, too. But the payoff is equally apparent. Many of the edges that Porsche has patiently chamfered off in its more rounded siblings have returned, bringing with them a thinner-skinned 992, one that feels eminently easier - and ultimately more rewarding - to get to grips with.

Most importantly, though you do not necessarily quantify them while driving, there are all the things that the Carrera T is not. It is impressively accelerative, but not flagrantly too fast for the road. It is hugely adhesive when you want it to be, but does not have a driven front axle. It does not weigh more than 1,500kg. It does not change gear for you. For better or worse, it rarely seeks to cosset you. Yet it indulges you all the time, not despite its manual gearbox and louder, prouder attitude, but because of them. It isn’t a cut-rate GT3 and nor is it a Goldilocks 992.2, with its faculties sublimely balanced. But it is a frequently wonderful and very timely reminder that Porsche still knows which way to turn when it wants to have fun.

SPECIFICATION | 2025 PORSCHE 911 CARRERA T

Engine: 2,981cc, flat-six, twin-turbo
Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 394@6,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 332@1,950-5,000rpm
0-62mph: 4.5 secs
Top speed: 183mph
Weight: 1,490kg (DIN)
MPG: 26.0-27.1
CO2: 237-246g/km
Price: £115,400 (price as standard

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Billy_Whizzzz

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