The ’T’ stands for Touring, by the way.
Here’s one for the 911 buyer who hasn’t looked to the Zuffenhausen outfit for anything but driving pleasure, to which weight typically gets in the way. With each iteration of Porsche’s iconic sports car comes a larger vehicle that’s also typically heavier as we demand more comfort, practicality, safety, and convenience equipment.
The 911 Carrera T flies in the face of that sense of entitlement, replacing it with the unadulterated talents of the facelifted 991-generation car - a new pared-back variant that comes into the fore with less weight, less kit, and a surer foot on handling. Oh, and it comes with a close ratio, short throw six-speed manual transmission as standard. Praise be.
Over the standard Carrera, its suspension has been lowered by 20mm and includes the PASM sports chassis and a weight-optimised Sport Chrono package as standard. As an option, buyers can choose to add in Porsche’s new rear-axle steering system that was previously only available in the GT3, GT3 RS, and Turbo.
Apart from the rear-steer, we’d also recommend refitting the excellent PCM infotainment system back as well, which can be done as a no cost tick. The rear seats, too, have been axed in favour of additional weight savings, but unless you have a burning need to ferry people in your 911, it’s better left omitted.
The weight shedding has carried on elsewhere too, including the interior where the rear window has been replaced by thinner glass, nylon pulls take the place of solid door pulls, and much less noise insulation material applied during assembly. The result is an unladen weight of 1,425kg, which is some 20kg less than a standard 911 Carrera with comparable equipment.
Inside, the puristic theme runs through the cabin as well. Electrically adjustable Sport Seats remain, though here its partly upholstered in Sport-Tex fabric while the headrests feature a stitched 911 logo in black, though full buckets can be added as an option. Porsche’s new leather-wrapped GT sports steering wheel is supplied as standard, and there’s now a shortened gear lever with red shift pattern.
Thanks to its lighter weight and reduction in sound insulation, the 272kW and 450Nm delivered by the twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre flat-six surely feels pokier than it would normally. Power-to-weight has now risen to 3.85kg/hp, and thanks to a shorter rear axle ratio and mechanical locking differential, the Carrara T arrives at 100km/h in 4.5 seconds - 0.1s quicker than the standard 911 Carrera. The optional PDK dual-clutch, however, will reduce that sprint to 4.2 seconds. Keep going and Porsche says that 200km/h will swish past in 15.1 seconds (or 14.5 seconds) and on to a top speed over 290km/h.
To differentiate the T from other 911s, Porsche has obviously added made the appropriate exterior badge alterations, but have also installed a new front lip that improves front end bite. There’s also the 20-inch wheels painted in Titan Grey, side decals, Sport Design exterior mirrors in Agate Grey Metallic, and dual black-painted centre tailpipes. Colour options include Lava Orange, Guards Red, Racing Yellow (pictured), Miami Blue, GT Silver Metallic, Carrera White Metallic, Jet Black Metallic, Black, and White.
Pre-orders have opened for the new Carrera T in Europe, with deliveries expected to start in January 2018, costing 107,553 Euros.
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