Porsche has announced yet another new version of its evergreen 911 sports car, boasting a power upgrade and other valuable options for a bargain price.
Okay, it still costs £76,758 – a £2,152 premium over the Carrera S on which it is based. But the Carrera GTS’s standard-fit Powerkit Carrera S package would usually cost £8,241 on its own and boosts power by 23bhp to 408bhp.
And that’s before you factor in the thousands of pounds worth of additional extras like centre-lock wheels, Alcantara interior trim and a SportDesign front bumper. Uniquely, the Carrera GTS also uses the 44mm wider 911 bodyshell usually reserved for four-wheel drive and Turbo models.
It’s faster than a standard Carrera S too, with both quantifiably improved top speed and acceleration figures and a more subjective mid-range torque boost that increases the 3.8-litre engine’s flexibility and pulling power. A standard sports exhaust system lets you – and passers by – know about it too. For the record, top speed is increased by 2mph to 190mph and the 0-62mph time is cut by a tenth of a second to just 4.2 seconds.
Cabriolet version available
New GTS: faster than a standard Carrera S
That’s only a tenth of a second slower than the track-ready GT3 but the Carrera GTS has much broader appeal. For a start, you can choose to have it with Porsche’s seven-speed PDK automatic gearbox or as a cabriolet. Emissions and fuel economy are also much more realistic, with CO2 of 240g/km and an official combined average of 27.7mpg when fitted with the PDK gearbox.
You’ll need to be a proper 911 geek to spot the Carrera GTS from a well-optioned Carrera S; the small stickers on the sills and the owner’s huge grin at the amount of money they’ve saved are the only real giveaways. Suffice to say, if you’re in the market for a new 911 you’d be a fool not to upgrade to Carrera GTS spec if you can.
The 911 Carrera GTS will debut at the Paris Motor Show in October.
source: which.co.uk
