The arrival of a Porsche 911 Carrera GTS is just as inevitable as a greatest hits album from a successful band. Ever since the success...
of the 997 GTS, it's been the same recipe for years, and it has been one of the best selling versions of the 911 for the same amount of time.
And that's not strange, because it's a Carrera S with a lot of options a lot of people want to have anyway.
Porsche Active Suspension Management comes as standard, the Sport Chrono-pack comes as standard, bigger wheels, sports exhaust and...
there's even additional power. However, Porsche says, they've gone even further than that. Sure, it has all of the aforementioned options and...
it comes with black accents, but it also has certain performance parts from the 911 Turbo, like the brakes and rear springs.
Also, it's got a special sports exhaust with less isolation, which makes it sound better. And if you go for the manual version, the gear lever will...
be shortened by 10 centimetres and Porsche now offers a Lightweight Package. If you select that on the Coupé, they'll remove the rear seat...
and they'll replace the seats with carbon buckets. Additionally, the windows will be thinner, so you'll lose 25 kg.
Ironically, if you select that package, you automatically get four-wheel steering as well, which adds six kilograms.
However, according to Porsche, the dynamic gain is so big, you should take that for granted.
Well, they aren't lying. Ironically enough, they've given me a version without the Lightweight Pack.
That means I still have a rear seat and I don't have aerodynamic parts that should reduce lift.
I do have carbon ceramic brakes, so this is actually a Carrera S with all of the options, plus better brakes and springs.
Sure, I could shout out I can feel all of the differences and they make it a very different car, but I would be lying then.
The changes are relatively small. Nonetheless, they are present. Since we're in Italy, it's a 911 Carrera S after three very strong espresso's.
Everything reacts a tad quicker, more lively, it's feistier as well. And I'm driving the 2S right now, which is only rear-wheel drive.
And you immediately notice it. I mean, the 911 has become quite a large car, and it doesn't get any lighter than 1.500 kg,
but when you steer... It's just feistier, the nose dives much more easily, so it positions itself better.
So if you encounter a quick imperfection on the surface, you can really profit from those better springs.
That makes it feel more stable, and that means it's exactly the car it should be to jump into the gap between the Carrera S and Turbo.
And it's a very good greatest hits compilation this. The steering is so sensitive, brilliant. This pack really zooms in on what makes the...
911 so great. Sure, it's a tad sturdier and a tad feistier, but it never becomes uncomfortable in any way.
Earlier today, I drove a GTS Cabriolet on an Italian mountain road, but it was never shaking. And those roads aren't necessarily of good quality.
But despite that, it's still not becoming uncomfortable. It's just a more dynamic and more direct version of the 911, which is absolutely lovely.
The engine hasn't changed. It's still a 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six, but it does produce a tad more boost however.
That means you'll have to wait a tad longer before you get all of the power. The maximum amount of torque will take longer to...
reach, and you'll have to wait a tad longer before when you get back on the throttle again.
But it's an engine which is really responsive, especially when you're throwing it around. And because there's less isolation, it will literally...
rattle your skull in the final 1.000 RPM. That's amazing. The PDK gearbox does what it needs to do, but it does raise the question:
was it necessary? Absolutely not. Does it make the 911 a totally different car? Not at all. But does it feel good?
It feels really good. And when you're driving around like this, it starts to tempt you. You'll know that the standard Carrera is incredibly...
good, good enough really. But this is better. And despite that knowledge, you'll start to want this car.
You'll start thinking about the additional €20.000 you'll have to pay compared to the Carrera S.
You do get Porsche Active Suspension Management as standard, and all of those black accents, and a better sounding engine.
Damn you GTS, you did it again.