CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | OCTOBER 2019
First drives
A 911 that’s
more 9 than 11
Is there a Head of Venn Diagrams at Porsche,
whose sole job is to ensure the 911 range fills
every conceivable segment of sports car? I do
hope so.
From madcap GT heroes to in-betweener
specials, maximum Turbos to open-top Speed-
sters, the product footprint is always expanding
- and now one year after launch the circle casts
wider again with the arrival of the cheaper,
more accessible Carrera 2.
Not that this is a cheap 911, mind. With a C2
Coupe costing £82,793, you’d hardly call this
entry-level. For that outlay you get the same
aluminium-intensive platform as the S, a
shared 2981cc flat six slung out back, the same
wide-hipped shape as all new-era 992s, an iden-
tical techfest cabin with large touchscreens and
more toys than you can shake a selfie stick at.
The two turbos are smaller than in the
S, running lower boost to restrict power to
380bhp, while torque stands at 332lb ft. Hardly
piffling outputs, hence the startling 4.2sec
0-62mph time and 182mph top whack. It feels
every bit that fast on the road, with instant,
forced-induction shove available across the rev
range, and peerless rear-engined traction.
No manual gearchange is yet available (the
seven-speed stick-shifter comes next spring)
so it’s PDK eight-speed twin-clutch changes for
now; this is no hardship, since you can schlep
around town in auto-slusher mode or go all-out
race-spec with finger-tapping instant upshifts
if you’re living out your G r a n Tu r i s m o fantasies.
The new 992 has something of an arcade
game quality to it: the engine note is never
loud enough, and even with the Porsche
Sports Exhaust fitted that inner flat-six fizz is
muffled as you wring it out to the redline, as if
somebody wrapped the horizontally opposed
six-cylinder engine at the bottom of a pile of
coats at a student party.
Cheapest 911: not cheap, not quite brilliant
PORSCHE 911 CARRERA 2
THE FIRST HOUR
1 minute
Coupe or Cabriolet?
We settle for the
tin-top, and pocket
£10k
5 minutes
Trip computer range
says 450 miles. Yep,
we’ve got the optional
90-litre fuel tank
30 minutes
Can’t see two outer
dials: sportier GT
steering wheel blocks
instruments badly
48 minutes
This or an S? I can’t
imagine needing
anything faster, yet
still yearn for more
PRICE
£82,793 Coupe
(£92,438
for Carrera
Cabriolet)
POWERTRAIN
2981cc 24v twin-turbo
flat-six, eight-speed
PDK twin-clutch auto,
rear-wheel drive
PERFORMANCE
380bhp @ 6500rpm,
332lb ft @ 1950rpm,
4.2sec 0-62mph,
182mph
WEIGHT
1580kg
O N S A L E
Now
Data
EFFICIENCY
31.4mpg,
206g/km CO2
▲
PLUS
More polished
than ever; very
quick; hugely
desirable
MINUS
▼
Is this entry-level
911 a little too
sanitised for its
own good?
54
