1994 Porsche 911 Reviews

The 992 series of the iconic Porsche 911 is off to a hot start, can the entry-level Carrera Coupe keep it on pace?

You're never going to mistake it for anything but a Porsche 911, but this eighth-generation version of one of the world's most iconic sports car is all-new, and all-brilliant.

Launch pricing, before on-road costs, for the Porsche 911 Cabriolet starts at $286,500 for the rear-wheel drive Carrera S, stepping up to $302,600 for the all-wheel drive Carrera 4S versionAnd aside from the new 911’s comprehensive safety and performance packages the standard features list is an impressive roll-call.It kicks off with partial leather trim, complete with chequered flag style cloth inserts over heated 14-way electrically-adjustable sports seats (with memory package), a leather-trimmed sports steering wheel, dual-zone climate control air conditioning, ‘Porsche Communication Management’ (audio, navigation, communication and assistance systems), 12-speaker Bose Surround Sound-audio (including digital radio), Apple CarPlay (no Android Auto), keyless entry and start, rain-sensing wipers, LED auto headlights, the characteristic ‘4-point’ LED daytime running lights plus LED tail-lights, the ‘Carrera S’ alloy wheels, active cruise control, the 10.9-inch multimedia screen, and twin 7.0-inch digital instrument screens.The 911’s rear-mounted, all-alloy 3.0-litre, twin-turbo flat six-cylinder engine now features high-pressure piezo injectors and bigger turbos for more power (+22kW) and torque (+30Nm), with outputs reading 331kW (444 horsepower) at 6500rpm and 530Nm from 2300-5000rpm.Although the new 911 hasn’t been given a safety rating by ANCAP or Euro NCAP, you could argue its exceptional dynamic ability represents one giant, five-star safety feature.With the optional Sport Chrono package the roughly 1.5-tonne C4S will accelerate from 0-100kmh in just 3.4sec. Even in its ‘slowest’ non-Chrono CS form that number only drops by three tenths.In designing a modern sports car, who’d hang the engine over the back wheels? This layout just shouldn’t work in the way it does, but Porsche has continued to evolve and hone the 911 to an incredibly fine point. It’s a simply superb sports car experience.

Launch pricing, before on-road costs, for the Porsche 911 Carrera 4S  starts at $281,800 for the Coupe, stepping up to $302,600 for the Cabriolet version.And aside from the new 911’s comprehensive safety and performance packages the standard features list is an impressive roll-call.It kicks off with partial leather trim, complete with chequered flag style cloth inserts over heated 14-way electrically-adjustable sports seats (with memory package), a leather-trimmed sports steering wheel, dual-zone climate control air conditioning, ‘Porsche Communication Management’ (audio, navigation, communication and assistance systems), 12-speaker Bose Surround Sound-audio (including digital radio), Apple CarPlay (no Android Auto), keyless entry and start, rain-sensing wipers, LED auto headlights, the characteristic ‘4-point’ LED daytime running lights plus LED tail-lights, the ‘Carrera S’ alloy wheels, active cruise control, the 10.9-inch multimedia screen, and twin 7.0-inch digital instrument screens.The 911’s rear-mounted, all-alloy 3.0-litre, twin-turbo flat six-cylinder engine now features high-pressure piezo injectors and bigger turbos for more power (+22kW) and torque (+30Nm), with outputs reading 331kW (444 horsepower) at 6500rpm and 530Nm from 2300-5000rpm.Although the new 911 hasn’t been given a safety rating by ANCAP or Euro NCAP, you could argue its exceptional dynamic ability represents one giant, five-star safety feature.With the optional Sport Chrono package the roughly 1.5-tonne C4S will accelerate from 0-100kmh in just 3.4sec. Even without it that number only drops by two tenths.In designing a modern sports car, who’d hang the engine over the back wheels? This layout just shouldn’t work in the way it does, but Porsche has continued to evolve and hone the 911 to an incredibly fine point. It’s a simply superb sports car experience.

The Porsche 911 Carrera S will turn heads. It did when I drove it, wherever I drove it. That's just the sort of car the new 911 is. But in 992 guise, is the new model more than just a pretty face? I spent a bit over eight hours in one to find out. Poor, poor me.

The 911 Carrera T sheds weight and sharpens its focus, but keeps the entry Carrera's drivetrain. Is it worth the extra $17,500?

The latest 911 to come to market is the best of the bunch. The GTS, a more powerful, more pretty version of the Carrera S that hits the 911 sweet spot like a perfectly played tennis forehand.

Ewan Kennedy road tests and reviews the 2016 Porsche 911 Carrera S with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

Ewan Kennedy reviews the 996, 997 and 991 Porsche 911 between 1998 and 2016 as a used buy.

There is a button in the latest Porsche 911 that changes the world.It has the ability to transform the sports car flagship from an easygoing cruiser into a certified rocket ship.Porsche dubs it the Sport Response button. It comes with the $4790 Sport Chrono pack and it’s positioned just below the right-side spoke on the steering wheel.Touch it lightly at 80km/h in sixth gear and it whacks the transmission back to third, primes the turbo engine for maximum boost with 500Nm, changes all the settings to maximum response, and allows instant access to warp speed.In the racing world it would be called a Push-to-Pass button and it does the same job on the road. Woo-hoo.911 TurboIt’s the highlight of my time with the 2016 version of the 911, which somehow gets better every time I drive it.This year, the 911 update is all about a change to turbocharged engines for the Carrera and Carrera S, with some minor cosmetic and equipment updates including bigger brakes and tyres. The same sort of turbo transformation is taking place with the smaller Boxster and Cayman.We’re talking about turbo with a small t and not the capital T of the 911 Turbo. The latter is still one of Porsche’s halo cars, whereas the new turbo models are about certifying the 911 for the current generation of emission and economy legislation.So they are quick but not stupidly fast. They are costly — the Carrera S for The Tick test runs at $295,820 and the base price is $252,800.Porsche has been heavily into turbocharging of its flat-six engines since the racing days in the 1970s, so it’s a relatively easy job for the roadgoing 911.There are plenty of plus points, most notably the torque rush and the access to 309kW of peak power, more than good enough for a 270km/h top speed in the rest of the world and, in Australia, a 0-100km/h sprint of 3.9 seconds.The 911 turbo is also easier to drive, gets impressively good economy (it’s rated officially at 7.7L/100km) provided you stay well clear of the Sport Response button — and provides the sort of easygoing driving which means it’s more than just a Sunday fun car.To get the nasty stuff away first, the 911 is very costly and quite noisy. The list of options is long and expensive and, although the car can be fine on some surfaces, running on concrete freeways and coarse secondary bitumen can create awful road noise.It’s also very hard to pick the new car from the old one. That’s always been part of the 911 program and something that’s easy for fans to accept, but if I was buying a 911 I would want everyone else to know I had the new one.Drive time with a 911 is always like a catch-up with an old friend, perhaps with a new hairdo. The gurgling turbo exhaust, which sounds to me more like a diesel truck than a sports car, is a giveaway on the 2016 update but I’m not really seeing the changes to the lamps or the tweaking in the cabin.The Mode selector alters the car’s performance settings and I can’t resist using the Sport Response button. Rear-seat space is good for my gangly seven-year-old and the car pampers the driver with quality switchgear and classy leather trim.The first impression from the new turbo engine is impressive, with zero lag between my right foot and the engine room. There is a solid surge from idle and the double-clutch gearbox shifts quickly and smoothly.I love the chassis feel, which combines a creamy ride with incredible cornering grip, and I am also a fan of the latest electric steering.The 911 does what I want, when I want, and its limits are far beyond the speeds and grip I can muster on public roads.Basically, it’s now a grand tourer — although some people might question the low-set seats and access to the back — with an incredible turn of force-fed pace.It will even run with the fuel readout showing 6.0L/100km and sit calmly in seventh-gear with minimal revs.So one of the world’s great cars just got even better. And, better still, it’s not just a racetrack special like the 911 GT3.Some people question the change to small-t turbo engines at Porsche but the move is a 21st-century answer to a bunch of 21st-century questions and requirements.