94 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | MAY 2019
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PRE-FLIGHT BRIEFING PORSCHE 911Why is it here?
Because it’s the
new 911. (Porsche
says it is, at least:
sceptics argue it’s
a comprehensive
update to the 991.)Any clever stuff?
Oh yes. New body
uses more aluminium
to save weight.
Inspired by the GT3
RS, the new Carrera
S also gets vast
21-inch rear wheels
and 20-inch fronts,
plus broader track
widths. 9A2 Evoengine makes more
power (444bhp) while
offering sharper
responses and cleaner
emissions. Even
quicker twin-clutch
’box gets an eighth
gear. Inside, the
interior’s made a
giant leap with
Panamera-style
infotainment, while
the car’s electrical
architecture is all-newand hybrid-ready.Which version is this?
Rear-drive Carrera S
with PDK transmission
(Carrera 4S is also
available now, as
is the convertible –
manual gearboxes will
come later). This car
has the 10mm lower
suspension (£665) but
no rear-steer.But still you don’t need to be driving like your trousers are on fire to enjoy
the Porsche’s chassis: it delights and rewards at any speed.
But while grip and stability are beyond reproach (the Carrera S’s
21-inch rears and broad front track are inspired by the GT3 RS, and there’s
plenty of that car’s miraculous combination of pliancy and poise here),
the 911 is no blunt instrument. Just as the steering’s accuracy and tactility
are as pleasing at five-tenths as they are at nine, so the car’s clearly tele-
graphed sensitivity to weight transfer is there for everyone to enjoy.
Carrying so much speed that the view in the mirrors is a haze of engine
heat, dust and roadside debris blown in the sky by the Porsche’s passing,
my foot leaps to the brake pedal. It’s a key point of interaction with this
most interactive of sports cars, and nothing less than the best of both
worlds: the reassuring solidity and accuracy of the McLaren’s pedal with
something of the Audi’s table manners. You can slow the Porsche at will,
while also helping it change direction with such conviction that, as with
this car’s astonishing engine, you wonder where the inevitably harder,
faster GTS and GT3 can possibly go from here. And once into the corner,
this monstrously tyred machine is as pliable and sensitive as a Caterham,
tweaking its line and attitude to the tune of your hands and feet. Tow-
eringly capable but accessible, indomitable but playful, the Carrera S is
every bit as brilliantly oxymoronic as its engineering layout.
The powertrain, too, is persuasive. An evolution of the 3.0-litre flat-six
that came before, the main changes are particulate filters and shorter,
more direct plumbing for the turbochargers, for quicker responses,
achieved via expensive cast manifolds and bespoke turbos for each
cylinder bank, rather than a common design flipped. With oceans of
torque, a midrange that’ll drop a Civic Type R at full chat and a top end
that doesn’t feel far off the McLaren’s, despite the on-paper deficit, it’s not
hard to forgive the occasionally comedy turbo-heavy soundtrack, not
least because that haunting flat-six cry is still in evidence (helped here by
a £1844 sports exhaust).
And the gearbox? Oh, the gearbox. Eight ratios, shifts so fast and
smooth you’ll think you dreamt them, and no pointless theatre to the
action of the paddles, just a near-silent click that is the entire car in
microcosm: precise, engineering-y (not a word, I know; forgive me) and
entirely bewitching.
It’s at this point you normally have to start making excuses for the 911’s
dated interior but, right now, the 992’s is a triumph. Elegant, luxurious
and yet appropriately focused and flab-free, it makes you smile every
time you climb in, just as the 10mm lower suspension option, while
worth its weight in gold when you’re really trying, makes you wince.
(Too unyielding for UK roads, you need it only if you’re planning regular
trackdays – same with the ceramic brakes.)
So, there it is. The 992 is an inspired update of Porsche’s timeless sports
car, one that manages to broaden its versatility while trading none of its
purity. Come on then, Audi and McLaren, waddya got? ⊲Giant test: Porsche 911