Car India – August 2019

(Above) The

five-dialconsole

hasa senseof

retro-coolness

aboutit

(Right) Connect

toPorsche’s

PrecisionTrack

andwatchreal-

timedataand

laptimesonyour

smartphones

cabin.Thelayoutisminimalisticwitha senseofretro-coolnessaboutit.
Alarge10.9-inchtouchscreendominatesthedashboardwhichmadeitsdébutin
thePanameraandMacan.Followingthe 911 tradition,thedriver’sinformationgets
fivedialscocoonedbythesignaturedashboardarc.Ofthesefive,justthe
tachometerdialsittinginthecentreismechanicalwhiletheresthavegonedigital.
Similarly,manyofthebuttonshavebeenreplacedbytouch-sensitivepadswhich
makethecabinlookneaternow.
Youstillgetfivetoggleswitchesonthedashboardtomanagethingslikestability
control,hazardlights,anda fewotherequipment-specificfeatures.Butwhatreally
standsoutonthecentreconsoleisthenewstubgear
shiftwhichremindsmanyofmycolleaguesofanelectric
razorandI havetoagree.Butsinceit workswithout
fuss,I havenocomplaints.Talkingofwhich,some
plasticbitscouldhavebeenbetterandmorepremium
consideringtheaskingprice.Youcanalwaysgetthe
cabincustomizedtoyourlikingfora littleextramoney.
Althoughthecabinsizehasincreased,therearseats
stillcan’taccommodategrown-ups.Thankfully,the
driver’sseatiscomfortableandsnug.Ourtestcarcame
withtheoptionalSportsSeatpackagewhichmade
findinga perfectdrivingpositioneasierstill.
The3.0-litreboxer-sixtakesupmostoftherearhalf
ofthecarandhasbeensignificantlyupdatedaswell.
Nowa pairoflargerturbosareuniquelypositionedto
spinintheoppositedirectiontooptimizeair-flowand,
inturn,improveperformance.Theprecisionofthe
valveswithsteppedliftatlowerrevsandelectrically
controlledwastegatesbringa seaofchangesinthe
flat-six.Eventheenginemountshavebeenmovedfrom
behindtheunittoitssidesforthesakeofrefinement.
Alltheseenhancementshavepumpedupthepower

outputto 450 hpand 530 Nmnow,whichisanincreaseof 30 hpand 30 Nm

overtheprevious991.IIversion.Tokeepa leashontheperformance,the 911

employsa neweight-speedPorschedoppelkupplung(PDK).Thisdual-

clutchautomatictransmissionnotjustdrivestherearwheelsbutalsopreps

upthePorscheforthefutureelectricallyassistedpowertrainrevolution.

The 992 isnotjustmoreeageronthetrack,butalsoremainssurprisingly

collectedontheroad.Whatimpressesimmediatelyisthelevelofgripand

theeagernessfromthefrontendasit glidesthroughturns.Thewiderwheel-

tracksgiveit stunningcorneringlimitsasitsnosedivesfromoneapexto

another.LetmeremindyouthatI’mdrivingthemoreroad-biasedCarreraS,

whichontheracetrackalmostseemstoofferGT3levelofgripandstability.

Thecheerfulpopsfromtheexhaustnote,teasingtwitchesfromtherear,

snappygearbox,andthespontaneouspowerdeliverymakethe 992 properly

funtodrive.Preciselywhypeoplebuy911s.

ThefirmerspringsandspeciallydevelopedPirellityresarea perfect

combinationforthetrackaswellasfastlane-changesontheautobahn.You

havetheoptionoftheSportChronopackagewhichfurtherstiffensupthe

springsandlowersthebody.Andthere’sevena four-wheelsteeringonoffer,

allforextramoney,ofcourse.

Theelectricallyassistedsteeringhasbeentweakedtobecomemore

The stub gear

shift looks a

bit like an

electric razor

http://www.carindia.in August 2019 CAR INDIA 65