You there! Been desperate to buy a brand-new Porsche 911 but furious that Stuttgart wouldn’t allow you to combine the basic 370hp Carrera engine with a manual gearbox?
What’s that? You desired a 911 with no back seats but resented having to buy the GT3? Well we’ve got good news, friend. The new 911 Carrera T is here, and it’s basically a lightweight version of the least powerful 992 coupe.
OTHER STORIES YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED:
The new Honda ADV 160 is now in PH with a P164,900 SRP
Specs, prices, features: Everything you need to know about the new Hyundai Stargazer
In the olden days, we’d call this a poor person’s GT3. But we won’t now, for two reasons.
Firstly, it costs £98,500 (P6.4 million). That’s more than a bog-standard Carrera. This ain’t a poor person’s anything.
Secondly, the old 991 Carrera T was a pucker little hidden gem in the 911 lineup, low on weight and complication yet rich in feedback and fun. So this new version could be a sweet spot bullseye.
Row the seven-speed manual quickly enough and the Carrera T will get you and your one-and-only passenger from 0-100kph in 4.5 seconds. If you’re in Germany, it’ll stroll down the autobahn at up to 291kph. But this is not a top-speedy kind of car. It’s a nerdy-details kinda car.
So, you get a limited slip differential as standard, with torque-vectoring capability to help the car pivot around a corner. The adaptive suspension is lowered by 10mm and you get a sports exhaust as standard, while options not allowed on the normal Carrera—like rear-wheel steering—are unlocked for the T.
Weighing in at 1,470kg, the T is also 35kg lighter than a normal Carrera with the PDK paddleshifters gearbox. Besides the lighter gearbox, that’s thanks to tweaks like thinner glass, a lithium-ion battery, and less soundproofing. A 911 that’s less golf club, and more club-racer.
So, is this the 911 you’ve been waiting for? Don’t worry if not—there’ll probably be another new version next month…
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
