Local FIRST DRIVE REVIEW: Porsche 911 Carrera GTS
Does mild electrification signal the beginning of the end of the flat-six symphony of 911 sportscars? We don’t know but by our latest driving experience of the do-it-all GTS, the future certainly looks bright….and fast.
When we first met the new Porsche 911 Carrera GTS in Spain last year, it was a revelation. This was the first electrified 911 that still felt unapologetically like a 911. Fast-forward to today, and it’s swapped the Spanish coastline for Cape Town’s canola-lined countryside. The scenery is different, the accent is beautifully local, but the question remains the same: can Porsche’s so-called t-Hybrid GTS magic translate just as well on home soil?
In Porsche’s vast 911 universe, the Carrera GTS has always occupied that sweet middle ground. It’s not the stripped-back, purist Carrera T, nor is it the full-fat, speed demon Turbo or Turbo S or the track-bred exotica of the GT3 RS. Instead, the GTS blends everyday usability with more than enough performance seasoning to feel special. The new 992.2 GTS arrives still in the middle, but now much higher up the field than before. It’s still civilised and focused but my word its fast. Yes faster than before…much faster.
Over the years, GTS has quietly evolved from being just another trim level into a badge of its own significance. First seen on the 904 GTS in 1963, Porsche brought back the nameplate in 2002 with the 997 generation. Since then it has also adorned the metal of Cayennes, Panameras, and Macans, the GTS nameplate consistently signalling a car that’s sharper, more athletic, and more engaging than the regular versions, without tipping over into the extremes of the higher end of the range. Think of it as Porsche’s enthusiast handshake, with a promise of more feel, more noise, and more bite, but still wrapped in a more value-filled package.
There’s a twist in the tale now. This 911 GTS is Porsche’s first-ever step into the use of hybrid tech in the 911 family but rest assured, it’s not as sacrilegious as you may think. In fact, it’s a very smart play to eke out the best benefits from electrification without compromise…at all. For a start, Porsche has beefed up the flat-six to 3.6-litres and instead of the previous twin-turbo setup, this unit now sports a single turbo. Instead of a second turbocharger, Porsche has embedded an electric motor into the turbo housing that spools up the turbo impeller much faster and up to 120 000 rpm. This turbocharger can boost to a max of 1.8 Bar in a fraction of the time that a conventional turbocharger might. The electric motor is powered by a small 216-cell lithium-ion battery courtesy of Rimac. The 1.9kWh battery pack weighs 27kg and in addition to adding performance to the GTS, it also acts as the starter generator and alternator. The entire system with all of its wiring, cooling and peripherals adds 50kg of weight to the car which, when equated with a 67kW power jump, is almost negligible. Out on the road, this is more acutely understood. Numbers don’t quite tell the story.
It’s been some time since we’ve unleashed Stuttgart-bred horses into the Western Cape’s scenic hills. The 911 Carrera GTS is a blend of contrasts here. It blends and blurs – depending on what sort of mood or driving mode you’re in. In Normal mode, the GTS is the cover story of why this Porsche nameplate remains as iconic and popular as ever. It’s a dream to drive at leisure lapping up the scenery within a package that is comfortable, premium and occupant-friendly. The 12.6-inch driver’s display is Porsche’s latest UX lifted nearly wholesale from the latest Taycan, Panamera and Cayenne models. With a variety of screen options and sub-menus, it’s a self-tailored system with all information you want or don’t. It is complemented by the 10.9-inch central infotainment display, wherein you’ll manage all on-board functions including wireless phone connectivity as well as bevy of applications including navigation. It’s a seamless, fast operating system with one key difference – an energy meter that shows the deployment of the electric motor and battery at work. It’s the only visible sign that the powertrain here is different to what has come before. Other than this screen graphic, you’d be hard pressed to tell me there was any form of electrification whatsoever. This is no plug-in hybrid system that can run on electric power alone. No, this is simply a case of Porsche making use of smart engineering to mitigate or nearly obliterate that old patience-inducing menace called turbo lag.
When the leisurely drive turns urgent, the GTS becomes totally belligerent. Whilst a lot of the GTS’ design and engineering has been fettled and tweaked, the biggest and most surprising change is it power. In all aspects of acceleration, in-gear and through the gears, the GTS has gained a formidable punch. Turbo lag is indeed almost non-existent and while one can feel that there is a difference in the turbo’s behaviour, its ability to very quickly deliver power to two or four wheels is mighty. Porsche claims a 0 – 100km/h time of 3.0-seconds? It’s bang on the money with three of our launch starts in Cape Town registering 2.97; 3.05 and 3,07-seconds. That’s not expected GTS territory is it? Higher up the speed range, the GTS remains blistering and eager and in all consideration, simply based on its accelerative shove I found myself asking whether one really needs any more power, let alone this much power in a package like this?
Beyond the absoluteness of speed on paper, the experience of it is equally mind-boggling. This is a GTS that drives with the dynamic agility and directness of a new 911. Rear-axle steering creates a car that is eager to rotate through the hairpins of seven of the Western Cape’s passes. Slow speed grip is tremendous particularly in the rear-wheel driven GTS where the front end is noticeably sharper and feeds back inputs and feel better than the all-wheel drive version. The ‘2’ GTS is also a little more playful and confidently boisterous so where the choice ever came, I would opt for the RWD. That said, what the ‘2’ brings in playfulness, the ‘4’ covers with a higher level of all round grip especially where road conditions are slippery. Porsche’s Dynamic Chassis control is integrated into the same high voltage control system computing all of the data from the revised chassis with active suspension management. How this translates on the road is best felt when you approach a series of corners too quickly, or on the wrong line where the balance is poorly upset – it’s here that the systems actively find purchase on the tarmac and work to reassert the right feel. It’s an excellent chassis made more enjoyable when you’re dialled into the right driving mode for the right occasion.
Does it sound any different? Nope. It sounds very similar to the previous GTS and if you didn’t know any better, most if not all wouldn’t be able to tell the difference in aural character. The only real signs that this is a different animal would be the aesthetic changes. Up front, the vivid removal of any front lighting strips apart from the Porsche signature round matrix LED units into which the indicator lights have been placed. The front valance is now cleaner up top because the lower half of the GTS’ face now boasts active aero flaps that double as cooling apparatus as well as aero panes. When the engine is under heavy load and cooling is far more important than aero, the flaps will open to let as much air into the radiators and brake ducts as possible. On the flip side, when the car is cool enough and instead operating in a more efficient manner, say, highway driving at 120km/h, then the vehicle will find reason to close the flaps and make the 911 body a little more aerodynamically efficient.
Pricing and derivatives
The Carrera GTS has been on sale in South Africa for just a few months now and is offered in the following body types and derivatives:
- 911 Carrera ‘2’ GTS is R3 525 000.
- 911 Carrera 4 GTS is R3 680 000.
- 911 Carrera ‘2’ GTS Cabriolet is R3 793 000.
- 911 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet is R3 948 000.
- 911 Targa 4 GTS is also R3 948 000.
These prices are all inclusive of the Porsche 3-year/100 000km Driveplan. The 5-year Driveplan is an option.
Considering the previous generation of this model, the pricing has stretched far into nether regions of the R3M price bracket. The 992.2 GTS is now offered at the price of the 992 Turbo and Turbo S models. It’s a significant jump and that’s the state of the premium car landscape in which some consumers play. Luxury tax is real. Imports are more expensive and in truth, the 911 Carrera GTS really is playing the field of the previous generation of flagship cars. It’s a marvel of engineering and performance and I’m not entirely sure we ever needed to know that there was an electric motor in that larger flat-six. It makes no difference to me at all. It sounds like a 911 should. It drives like a 911 should and that is all that matters.
As this first drive review of the 911 Carrera GTS goes live, Porsche has just announced its official pricing and performance figures for its new 911 Turbo and Turbo S hierarchy. These models use a similar t-Hybrid setup and the numbers make for preposterous reading. More power is always answered with a yes from any 911 Turbo models and so, head on over to the story to find out more. We’ll bring a full first drive review of these models in the next few weeks after we have driven them in Spain on the global launch.
