911 GTS: Porsche performance-plug or purist’s pick?
FOR the premium European sportscar and supercar enthusiast, Porsche’s venerable 911 has most bases covered.
Fans of Stuttgart's finest can hop into an entry-level 911 Carrera for a little over $200,000 before on-road costs, which brings Porsche’s synonymous flat-six rear-mounted engine, 275kW pumped through the back wheels and all wrapped up in one of the motoring world’s most unmistakable bodies.
Throw a little more money at the dealer and you can have the front wheels driven as well, while yet more cash will slot in the S-badged 294kW 3.8-litre engine with either two or four-wheel drive transmissions.
For a snip under $300,000 the 911 GT3 brings the most visceral and vicious variant in the current range with a stripped out interior, track-ready chassis and a manic 350kW normally aspirated engine that revs to 8250 rpm.
Sitting at the top of the performance pack is the $366,500 Turbo which blows the 3.8-litre engine up to 383kW or the even more boosted Turbo S flagship, which breaches the 400kW barrier for $444,900.
Not enough choice? Well that’s okay because with the exception of the GT3, all 911 variants are available as a Cabriolet for those who like to be looked at and have between $229,900 and a healthy $466,900 to spend.
And if a full convertible is just a little too showy, the Carrera 4 and Carrera 4S are available with an ingenious sliding/folding half-cabriolet Targa-top, slap in the middle of the coupe range, priced at a quarter of a million or $287,200 for the hotter 4S.
Phew. That’s a whopping 15 variants of just one niche high-performance car, so where in all Germania are the four new GTS variants going to fit?
In the current range, there is a 56kW power void between the sub-GT3 3.8-litre variants and the road racer version and turbo twins, but with 316kW the new GTS narrows the gap to a more comfortable 34kW.
Priced from $268,700, the new GTS forms a more driver-focused option based around the lively 3.8-litre six-cylinder, with some of the more mature range-topping version’s kit but a more accessible price tag.
Offering a little more performance and technology along with the wide-body stance sought by many Porsche customers, does the GTS hit the sweet spot on performance and design?
Not only is it the most powerful normally aspirated 911 available with a manual gearbox – the GT3 is PDK auto only – but it’s claimed to be as fuel-efficient as the Carrera S, taking as little as 8.7 litres per 100km on the combined test cycle - Porsche purists had better sit up and take notice.
The sharpened 911 broke cover at the Los Angeles motor show last November, and added another four options to the range available in both coupe and cabriolet forms, as well as rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive and a choice of seven-speed manual gearbox or dual-clutch PDK automatic transmission.
The GTS gets Porsche’s high-performance Sport Chrono system that enhances engine mapping, suspension and transmission, while its active-damper suspension lowers ride height by 10mm.
All GTS variants also get the more desirable 911 Carrera 4 body with its wide-flared rear wheel arches and wider track as part of the GTS body kit that also includes 20-inch wheels with matte black centre wheel locks, more sinister smoked bi-Xenon headlight covers, smart black trim and black-chrome-plated exhaust tailpipes.
Standard kit includes bi-Xenon headlights with the Porsche Dynamic Light System (PDLS), more outspoken sports exhaust and Alcantara inserts in the leather-trimmed sports seats.
The tantalising GTS badge has graced other Porsche models such as the sledgehammer four-seater Panamera, Boxster/Cayman sports twins and Cayenne big SUV, but is relatively new to the 911, featuring just once before on the previous generation model (997) in 2011.
That 911 had 16kW fewer than the latest iteration and got to 100km/h a whole 0.6 seconds slower compared with the 2015 version, which does the dash in a light-footed 4.0 seconds and joins just a handful of normally aspirated cars capable of passing the magic 300km/h barrier.
Thinking of forking out for your own example of the world’s most recognisable sportscar? Well from February you’ll have 19 ways into the 911 institution.
Does Porsche’s GTS badge pin-point the sweet-spot in the German car-maker’s 911 range, or are vehicles wearing the promising nameplate simply a performance-plug between earthly atmo models and the celestial turbo heavyweights?
Daniel Gardner goauto.com.au
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