NEW AND FUTURE CARS
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Landing in customer hands right about
now, Porsche’s eighth-generation 911
delivers—surprise!—more doses of the
same Carrera goodness that has for
decades made Stuttgart’s sports car
stalwart one of the world’s best. We won’t
call driving the 992 series a revelatory
experience, but it’s definitely a step up
when compared to the 991.2 it replaces.
The 3.0-liter twin-turbo flat-six produces
443 hp and 390 lb-ft of torque, gains of 23
hp and 22 lb-ft, thanks in part to bigger
turbos, piezoelectric fuel injectors, and
electronically controlled wastegates. The
standard twin-clutch gearbox features
eight speeds rather than seven (a manual
transmission will show up on cars next
year), the chassis is stiffer, the active
suspension is significantly revised, rear
wheels and tires are larger than before,
rear brakes are bigger, and for the first
time in the 911’s history, it comes standard
an 80-kW-hr battery, and is powered by
a choice of 240-kW (322-hp) or 280-kW
(375-hp) motors. We’ve heard conflicting
information regarding pricing; we don’t
expect a base Taycan to come in at less
than $75,000, give or take, and one Porsche
source tells us it could be priced in the low
$90,000s. The same source claims the 4S
equipped with a 96-kW-hr battery pack
and a 320-kW (429-hp) or 360-kW (483-hp)
motor will be in the high $90,000s, and
the Turbo will start at about $140,000—all
subject to change, of course. All-wheel
drive and the bigger battery are standard
on the latter two versions. Still to be signed
off on are a 540-kW (724-hp) Turbo S and
a lighter RWD GTS. AMtwitchiness. In fact, we encountered no
scenario that puts the new Carrera out of
sorts—it’s certainly the best bone-stock
Carrera S and 4S to date.
Up next for the 911 range, later in 2019
Porsche will reveal non-S base models
rated somewhere in the neighborhood
of 385 hp; those cars will hit streets
next year. Also, along with the arrival of
Cabriolet models and the announcement
of a new Targa, expect to see new Turbo,
Turbo S, and GT3 models, which will
likely hit the market in late 2020 or early- Good news for GT3 fans: The next
version of the street-going “race” car
will soldier on with a non-turbocharged
engine despite semi-constant rumblings to
the contrary heard in Porschephile circles.
If you prefer Stuttgart’s mid-engine
sports cars, get ready for the new 2020
718 Spyder (don’t call it a Boxster) and
718 Cayman GT4 models; Porsche
adjustable camber, toe, caster, and ride
height. The Spyder is now a Porsche
Motorsport car, something the GT4 was
already, with both models employing 911
GT3 brakes and other hardware, plus
GT3 RS calibration for the differential,
stability control, torque vectoring, active
suspension, and ABS. Porsche says the
Spyder is “downforce neutral,” or void of
aerodynamic lift, whereas the GT4 makes
real downforce, up to 50 percent more than
its predecessor. Both cars will be priced
right around $100,000.
On an entirely different front, the all-
electric Taycan, with a range of up to
250 miles, is almost here and will be seen
on roads in 2020, perhaps even late 2019.
Because its official debut remains some
months away, final specs remain undecided,
but we do know there will be three versions
of the sedan with a wagon to come later.
The base Taycan is rear-drive only, sportswith the wide-body/wide-track treatment
previously reserved for all-wheel-drive
and Turbo and GT models. Porsche also
designed the 992’s underpinnings to
accommodate future plug-in hybrid tech-
nology, but if such a version does arrive,
it likely won’t do so for another three or
four years, when the 992 receives its first
factory face-lift.
After driving the new 911s, we noted
their overall performance feels on par
with the 991.2 911 GTS—0-60 mph
happens in about 3.4 seconds; top speed
is 190-191 mph—and the wider front track
and quicker steering make the cars’ noses
your eager ally more than ever before,
turning into corners with bite yet zerorecently unveiled each, but they won’t
be in customers’ hands until next spring.
Other than one of them having a fixed roof
and the other being a convertible, they’re
mostly the same mechanically, featuring a
naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six. This
is not the GT3 engine, however, but rather
a new version of Porsche’s boxer, known
internally as the 9A2 Evo. It revs to 8,000
rpm and produces 414 hp and 309 lb-ft
of torque, which it channels through a
six-speed manual gearbox. The engine also
boasts a stop/start function and cylinder
deactivation at speeds between 1,500 and
3,200 rpm under partial throttle load.
The Spyder/GT4 suspension features
three-way adjustable anti-roll bars, plus718 Spyder, 718 Cayman GT 4