Porsche 911 Carrera 2011 review

THIS Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet does not have stereo controls on the steering wheel.

Imagine this! In a $300,000 motor car a driver has to reach across and twirl an old-fashioned knob to adjust volume. What in Henry Ford's name are these people thinking?

Well maybe, just maybe, the folk in Stuttgart are thinking that anyone smart enough _ in soul and savings _ to buy one of these machines is a tad more interested in listening to the sounds of that rear-mounted motor than Johnny Be Good. Or that anyone smart enough to buy a Carrerra GTS can probably function on more than one plane at the one moment.

This is not a Playstation car. It is far more involving than that, far more involved. And yet for all the fury available the GTS is a sweet, well-mannered beast that sits most handsome in the middle of the current 911 pack.

VALUE

The GTS Cabrio is one of today's best incarnations of the 911 range. Add a Carrera 4 body to the rear-drive 911, lift power to an even 300kW, add some RS Spyder wheels and here's an impressive Porsche. It is simple, elegant and with more sports character than most. These are the prices for Maseratis and the like; Ferraris are more expensive. Hard to put a value on exclusivity plus engineering.

TECHNOLOGY

The 911 3.8 litre's flat six here takes on redesigned intake manifold, modified cylinder heads and engine electronics to gain the GTS 17kW over a 'standard' Carrera.

There's Porsche's suspension management system, Porsche's stability management helping out a chassis design that's been refined and refined over decades. (Even if the business of having an engine hanging out the back is a bit old-tech.) The rear track is 32 mm wider than a Carrera S, allowing for extra driver confidence and speed under cornering.

DESIGN

Go ahead and stare. This is one of the finest-looking, most handsome of 911s to hit the road with simple and bold lines, an elegant sufficiency.

Some of this drooling may be prompted by this particular Cabrio being dressed in white with black roof and black wheels adding contrast.

The GTS sits wider at the rear with the body 44 mm wider than a Carrera S but the interior is familiar, comfortable and sporting. "When you hold your breath you should at least be able to do so in comfort," notes Porsche's Rolf Frech.

SAFETY

Along with Porsche's primary safety features - great chassis management, great brakes and steering _ there's the electronic aids of stability management system, six airbags and pop-up roll bars for the Cabrio.

DRIVING

A Porsche 911 never fails to delight and this GTS proves, yet again, how great sports machines can bring life to the most jaded of motorists, adrenalin flowing as the car heads toward the next turn.

Down a gear, maybe two, a little brake and turn. Into corner, car and driver balanced between throttle and wheel. Almost out and into the throttle as the machine squats and heads into the sunset.

It is not always about driving fast, even if the GTS Cabrio can top 300km/h and jump from 0 to 100km/h in 4.4 seconds. It is not always about cornering with confidence at inordinate speeds and setting brilliant point-to-point times over lonely country roads.

Indeed the Cabrio is one of those super cars just as happy about a run to the corner shop. It is always tractable, easy to use in city traffic while remaining a very special car.

For there is something, almost intangible, about how the sum of these parts come together in a package that always feels alive, always communicative.

Fast or slow, the 911 is forever talking to the driver, whether through that perfectly weighted steering and balanced chassis _ for smooth and linear progress through turns _ or the bark from that engine when prodded _ for smooth and smart progress well past Australian speed limits.

It is this balance of power and prowess which makes an ordinary driver look and feel special. And this particular Cabrio ran the optional seven-speed PDK transmission, one of the slickest, most adaptive autos on the planet; this, plus the optional Sport Chrono package, sharpens the experience further with millisecond gear changes and more dynamic engine responses.

VERDICT

Hard to be objective here. Porsche's sporting heritage, the 911 GTS Cabrio's style and punch combine to produce one of the best sports cars, albeit one of the more expensive, for many a day.