What is it?
Porsche’s 911 has always been an example of gradual change. Never one to rewrite the rulebook, Porsche is always about honing a model to a fine edge with each new incarnation rather than starting afresh every time.
This is why electrification poses a unique problem for this Stuttgart manufacturer. How do you go about implementing battery-assisted power into a model as reputable as the iconic 911? Well, that all starts with this car – the Carrera GTS – and its hybrid-assisted powertrain. Is the 911 we all know and love? That’s what we’ve been finding out.
What’s new?
Quite a lot has changed underneath this latest 992.2-generation car and it’s all designed to make this feel as much like a ‘true’ 911 as possible, without the added electrification dominating proceedings. But how do you tell it apart from other models within the range? There are those eye-catching front diffusers, for one; the individual flaps open and close depending on the driving situation to either promote cooling or aerodynamics. It’s good news for UK drivers, too, as they’ll close when it’s wet.
Prices for the new 911 Carrera GTS start from £132,600 for the standard Coupe, or £142,600 for the Cabriolet. Naturally, you can go to town with the options list and with a smattering of extras, our test GTS Coupe came in at £145,543. Add-ons included the £4,622 bucket seats, £2,562 tinted HD Matrix LED headlights and a £1,233 Bose sound system.
What’s under the bonnet?
Make no mistake, this isn’t your ‘usual’ hybrid car. No, the electric motors that you’ll find in the GTS are integrated into particular areas of the car’s powertrain. There’s a small electric motor housed within the 911’s PDK dual-clutch automatic gearbox to help deliver plenty of torque at low speeds, and then there’s the electric exhaust turbocharger for the 3.6-litre flat-six engine which brings quicker boost and, as a result, a sharper throttle response. You’ve also got a compact battery to ‘hold’ energy during recuperation.
The result is an impressive 533bhp and 610Nm of torque, equating to a sub-three-second 0-60mph time and 194mph flat-out. Despite this performance, Porsche says that you should still get up to 26.9mpg alongside CO2 emissions of 244g/km.
What’s it like to drive?
The 911 Carrera GTS delivers a driving experience far removed from the usual hybrid one. This isn’t the car to saunter about town on electric-only power and the way the 3.6-litre engine crackles into life, there’s very little to let you on to the electrical wizardry fizzing away underneath. To drive, the GTS is just as user-friendly as any other 911, though the seating position offered by the optional bucket seats feels a little higher than usual. There are no rear seats in the GTS – though you can add them back in as a no-cost option – and at speed, this does mean that the car can feel quite ‘boomy’, with tyre noise being quite noticeable.
It’s a chilly day that we get to test the GTS out on the UK’s roads and unleashing all 533bhp takes a lot of caution. However, add in some bravery and you can quickly see the plus-points of having that electrification on board; the GTS surges ahead without any delay and the gearshifts are near-instantaneous. It would be nice to have some slightly longer and wider gearshift paddles, though, as the ones on the GTS feel a little stubby. It’s a minor niggle, however – this is one resolved and fine-tuned powertrain.
How does it look?
This 992.2-generation car represents a small step forward from the previous ages of 911. It’s one of the most recognisable sports cars on the planet, so you can’t fault Porsche for adopting an evolutionary approach to its styling changes. However, this GTS model does have some distinguishing features, such as the aforementioned aerodynamic vents at the front and model-specific badging here, there and everywhere.
There are plenty of ways to customise the look of the GTS, too, from a near never-ending range of exterior colours to alloy wheel choices and special decal packs. These options can quickly ramp the car’s price up, mind you.
What’s it like inside?
Porsche is currently riding high on a wave of great interiors at present and nowhere is that more evident than in the cabin of the GTS. Everything has a sturdy, rock-solid feel to it and though we’d like some more physical controls for certain aspects of the car’s driving setups, there are some handy quick-access buttons here and there. A steering wheel-mounted ‘favourite’ button is also useful and can be configured to quickly change a desired setting.
You’ve got 135 litres of boot space on the ‘nose’ of the GTS, too, and with this car’s lack of rear seats, there’s acres of room behind the driver and passenger.
What’s the spec like?
Though it’s easy to go a little crazy with the options list, there’s still more than enough standard equipment on board the GTS. Included features such as 21-inch alloy wheels and a sports exhaust are what you’d expect to find here, in all honesty, and there is also a large number of assistance systems which aren’t too tricky to switch off when you need to.
The main infotainment system is slick and works nicely with Apple CarPlay, though we did have a few grumbles when connecting our smartphone to the car’s display, which required us to switch the car off and on before trying again successfully. As we’ve mentioned earlier, go easy with the options if you don’t want your car’s price to skyrocket, though there’s thankfully enough equipment included as standard to get by.
Verdict
The 911 Carrera GTS is just as you’d expect a hybrid from Porsche to be. The electrical assistance isn’t distracting nor overbearing but has been integrated in such a way as to give the GTS an incredible amount of performance. But it’s performance that is easy to access and usable day-to-day.
In fact, that a GTS is able to go this quickly makes things tricky for the rest of the 911 range. But as an overall package, the GTS is fearsomely competitive.
- Model as tested: Porsche 911 Carrera GTS
- Price (as tested): £145,543
- Engine: 3.6-litre turbocharged flat-six with hybrid assistance
- Power: 533bhp
- Torque: 610Nm
- Max speed: 194mph
- 0-60mph: 2.8 seconds
- MPG: 26.9
- Emissions: 244g/km