2011 Porsche 911 Reviews

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

THE all-new Porsche 911 is everything you expect, then more. Actually, it can also be less if you just want to doze along the freeway in seventh - yes, seventh - gear in the latest manual transmission with the engine turning at just 2000 revs.But it's still a sports car to dream about, to tussle and tease along a twisty road, and one of the rare cars to make a memorable entry at your favourite haunt.The new 911 - Porsche people will call it the 991 - is only the third totally new model since the badge hit the road in 1963, and the German sports car maker has gone all-out to ensure it's a landmark.Spending? No-one will say, but it's unlikely there was any change from $800 million.It's just as fast as always, but bigger, more refined, and with the quirkiness of previous generations either removed entirely or damped down almost to Camry levels. And there is lots of efficiency, headlined by better fuel economy and a smaller 3.4-litre engine in the Carrera starter.PRICINGThe first of the new 911s will reach Australia in March, priced from $229,900 for the Carrera or $263,100 for a Carrera S with the larger 3.8-litre engine. The new coupes will be followed quickly by the cabrio - look for pictures on Carsguide next week - and eventually the hero cars including the GT3 track monster and the Turbo in 2013.TECHNOLOGYFor now, work on the 911 is concentrated on a new and lighter body, a cabin with noticeably more space and a dashboard that's been morphed from from the Panamera, with everything from a wider front track and a stretched wheelbase to controversial electric power steering.Engine outputs are 257 kiloWatts/390 Newton-metres for the 3.4 and 294/440 for the 3.8, which means sprint times as quick as 4.3 seconds to 100km/h and a top speed of 304km/h in the S.Fuel consumption can be as little as 8.2 litres/100km and all new 911s have a stop-start system as standard, headlining a suit of efficiency improvements.There is also the seven-speed manual - with an extra leg on the usual H pattern - that shares its casing and basic mechanicals with the quick-shifting PDK twin-clutch manumatic.Other details run from standard wheel sizes up from 19 and 10 inches, with all sorts of options including sports seats, sound systems, leather choices and special luggage. And there is a new hero colour - a creamy brown - called cognac.But it's still a 911, from the body shape to the feedback at the wheel.DRIVINGThe first and most-obvious improvement for anyone who has driven any previous 911 is the elimination of the pitchy, jouncy ride that has always had the front wheels pattering and drumming to any changes in road surface. The improvement is partly in the front suspension, partly in a steering system that eliminates unwanted distractions.The car is also noticeably quieter and there is more room for both of the people in the front. The back? It's not something to test, unless you're younger than five.The performance is as strong as the recent 911s, perhaps a touch better but it's hard to know in the real world, and it still has the mid-range punch and throaty exhaust note that makes the car special.Braking is great, the ride is good, and the new dashboard is simpler to use, although the electronic park brake is hidden below the dash.For me, the multi-adjustable electric seats in the Carrera S are set too high, and the fake-ceramic steering wheel looks a bit cheap. And it's easy to get lost in the new seven-speed manual gearbox, which is also sprung towards the 3-4 plane and means you have to concentrate to go from seven to five.The PDK gearbox is great and my choice now Porsche has paddles, and the sound systems punch.My complaints are mostly very minor stuff and that's no surprise on any 911, and especially not on a ground-up rework.The Porsche people have done everything they can to ensure the car is headed for greatness.They even laid more than two kilometres of smooth new bitumen road at a California airfield to ensure the car would make the best possible impression on the world's motoring press ...VERDICTHow good is the new 911? Very, very good. How good? Ok, I want one.RATING

My son was disappointed that it wasn't turbo or supercharged. But it was this very thing that attracted me to the car. Force-fed engines have their place but there's nothing like the sound and feel of a free revving naturally aspirated power plant.TECHNOLOGYThe 3.8-litre flat pack in the Porsche Carrera produces 300kW of power at a lofty 7300 revs and whips the car into action like the throrougbred it is. The dash from 0-100km/h takes 4.6 seconds and the car has a top speed of 306km/h — not that it matters much on our crappy bloody roads. So what if the Turbo's quicker off the mark?The GTS comes with a six-speed manual transmission as standard or you can tick the box for the 7-speed PDK auto, which adds 4km/h to the top speed and reduces the time it takes to get to 100km/h from 4.6 to 4.2 seconds.VALUEIt's also costs 100,000 more, not that I could afford either car anyway. Priced from $270,000 the new 911 Carrera GTS wears its badge well, with pumped out rear guards, black 19 inch alloys and fiery red brake calipers.The quad exhaust outlets could he described as overkill, but what the hell — go big or go home? The GTS sits midway between the Carrera S and race bred GT3 with 17 more kilowatts than the S but 20 less than the GT3.DESIGNIt's splitting hairs really because there's nothing unexciting about the way this car looks, sounds or performs. The GTS combines the wider body of the all-wheel drive Carrera 4 with its wider track together with a classic rear engined, rear-wheel drive arrangement.It's a classic Porsche in every sense of the term, wtih guards that hide massive 305/30 series Bridgestone Potenzas designed to keep the bum pinned down.Other features which set this car apart include the SportDesign front apron edged in black, special sideskirts, also in black, and the GTS logo on the doors and rear lid — in black or silver depending on the body colour (our car was white). The area between the two tailpipes at the rear is also finished in black.The interior of the car is trimed in suede-like Alcantara and getting in and out can be challenging which explains why they sell so many Cayennes.DRIVINGSlower it may be, but we'll take the manual every day thank you, because we like to drive and after all — isn't this what this car's supposed to be all about?After punting around for a couple of days trying to stay away from the highway patrol we discovered the little button that adds a louder, more urgent note to the exhaust. That's the button you'll want to hit before going anywhere — too bad it won't stay on all the time.The suspension is switchable and ranges between firm and very firm which can be irritating at times, especially on our beloved back roads — them's the breaks. The only thing we didn't like about the GTS was having to give it back (and all the wankers in Fords and Holdens that want to race you).PORSCHE 911 GTSPrice: $270,100 (coupe), $288,700 (cabriolet)Engine: 3.8-litre inline six; 300kW/420NmTransmission: 6-speed manual; 7-speed twin clutch autoThirst: 10.2L litres/100km (estimate) 

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.VALUEThe 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.TECHNOLOGYThe 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.DESIGNGo 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.SAFETYAlong 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.DRIVINGA 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.VERDICTHard 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.

The iconic shape of Porsche's 911 is unmistakable even though it has been evolving since the first prototype, hand built by Ferdinand Porsche, back in 1948.

It has been on the workshop bench for more than a quarter of a century, now finally Porsche is ready to share its Porsche-Doppelkupplungsgetriebe gearbox with its legion of daily drivers.