If we at Grassroots Motorsports were asked by Porsche to design the perfect Porsche, we most likely would not have chosen much different than what it has given us with their new 911 Carrera T.
For starters, this 911 is reasonably priced–at least by new European super car standards–with a base price of $116,600. We like the car almost as much for what it doesn’t have as much for what it does. Porsche obviously has the track day enthusiasts in mine when they speced it out.
First, they took a base 911 Carrera, then they added a seven-speed manual transmission (an eight-speed PDK option is available but adds a few pounds to the rather lithe 3254-pound weight.)
Next, they added the Sport Chrono package and the PASM sport suspension package. The next goodie is an old-fashioned mechanical limited-slip differential with the Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV) option that is standard on the more expensive Carrera S and not available on the base Carrera.
Rear axle steering is also optionally available, but not available on the base Carrera.
The engine is Porsche’s twin-turbo, 3.0-liter flat six-cylinder masterpiece. With 379 horsepower on tap at 6500 and 331 lb.-ft. of torque, this car will, dare we say it, come close to rivalling at least an older GT3 that now fetches much more.
According to Porsche, zero to 60 mph take just 4.3 seconds with the manual transmission and a stunning 3.8 seconds with the PDK version. Top track speed is said to be 181 mph, regardless of transmission choice.
While the list of standard equipment reads like what any smart track rat would order, what Porsche took out of the car impresses us even more. First, the back seat has been removed to save weight. While it can be added back in at no cost, anyone who has tried to use a Porsche 911 back seat knows, that the move to leave them out was a great choice.
Some sound deadening has been removed, the battery is lighter as well and the car is equipped with light weigh glass. All this adds up to a car that is 100 pounds lighter than a standard Carrera.
Despite the de-contenting and reasonable price, this car still comes with an upgraded Bose stereo, huge touch-screen infotainment center, heated seats, cruise control and other niceties that make this the best equipped Porsche this author has tested.
A nice practical, tray hidden in the center console, but equipped with a cord for you iPhone is one such touch. Titanium Grey Carrera S wheels add a tough look to the car. The Sport Exhaust system, which sounds glorious once the car has been moved to sports mode, features attractive glass back tips.
Back inside, the four-way adjustable seats are comfortable and distinctive with ta super cool looking interior insert material. At this point, we have determined the new 911 Carrera T is striking to look at, perfectly equipped for the track day market, yet luxuriously equipped for real world use.
How’s it drive? Perfectly. The new 911 Carrera T is blisteringly equipped, easy to drive fast, completely composed and in our opinion, the perfect dual-purpose super, or sports car.
Fuel mileage is reasonable (25-30 mpg in easy use). You can really not turn a wheel wrong. Despite, the kind of power that will get you to 60 mph in the four-second range, this car is almost impossible to get sideways on ramps and presumably at the track. It is that good.
As the owner of a 997.1 911, this author found the new T had most of the characteristics and charm of that highly sought-after early water-cooled model, with more modern creature comforts and noticeably more of everything.
If a 997 has its proverbial knobs turned to 9, the new car takes those same knobs and turns them to 11. What we are saying is the new cars doesn’t feel like a different car, it feels like everything you love about the last of the lighter, early cars, with more of everything.
Our gripes were very few. The only notable one is that while the 21-inch rear and 20-inch front wheels were handsome enough and arguably aided the truly miraculous handling, we would move back to 18-inch wheels and tires for less road noise, lower tire expense at track days, and more sidewall for a more comfortable ride.
When we found the few good roads in the Los Angeles basin, we had no issues, but on many of the rutted, grooved roads, the car would often start to sound like a jet taking off from LAX.
The gorgeous Guards Red European model car we drove had optional Carrera T interior package with leather interior with grey stitching. Honestly, the attractive, comfort weave style seat inserts so dominate the look of the seats, we might save the $6930 price tag for this option. The car was also equipped with the 18-way Sports Seats Plus ($2820), extended range 23.7-gallon fuel tank (endurance racing, anyone?) power steering plus ($280), rear axle steering, LED matrix Design headlights ($4150) as well as lane change assistance and a heated steering wheel.
With all these options, and shipping charge, the total price of our test car was $137,480. We would love the opportunity to test a base car. We wonder how many of these options you would need, what they weigh and how much weight they add to this car.
If it sounds like we loved this car, that would be an understatement. This Porsche does everything right and we can’t wait to get one on our test track, or any track for that matter. Our hope is that Porsche dealers give us a break, order these cars in droves and keep the mark ups reasonable, so at least the upper end of our readership can experience what we have experienced this past week.
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