Johannesburg - Porsche says the T in the nameplate of the new 911 Carrera T stands for Touring, which is a bit misleading.
Channeling the purism of the original 911 T of 1968, the Carrera T is anything but a luxurious continent crosser; it’s a pared-down, purpose-focused Sunday morning hooligan tool, with less weight, shorter gearing for explosive acceleration and rear-wheel drive only via a traditional mechanical limited-slip differential.
You can however, ask for rear-wheel steering.
It also has several standard features you won’t find on the ‘normal’ Carrera, including a sports chassis with adaptive suspension management and ride height lowered by 20mm, a weight-optimised Sport Chrono Package and a shortened gear lever with red shift pattern.
At 1425kg ready to go, it’s 20kg lighter than a standard Carrera with the same spec, thanks to thinner glass in the rear-side and rear windows, pull-loops in place of the usual interior door handles, less sound-absorption materials and no rear seats.
The drive mode selector switch is on the GT sports steering wheel, race car style, and the four-way electrically adjustable stand sports seats are trimmed in black with centre panels in Sport-Tex fabric and the 911 logo stitched into each head restraint; full bucket seats are an option.
A special, optional T interior accent package gives you flashes of red, yellow or silver on the seat belts, the 9112 logo on the head restraints, the door opening loops and the centre panels of the seats.
The Carrera T is distinguished by a special badging, a custom front spoiler, Sport Design side mirrors in metallic grey, 20 inch Carrera S wheels, slats in the rear lid grille and a standard-fit sports exhaust system with centrally positioned black twin tailpipes.
The twin-turbo three-litre flat six is as per the Carrera, with 272kW and 450Nm, on tap from 1750-5000rpm, but thanks to a power-to-weight ratio of 191kW per ton and shorter gear ratios, it’ll hit 100km/h off a standing start in 4.5 seconds (a tenth quicker than the ‘standard’ Carrera) 200km/h in 15.1 seconds.
Add the optional double-clutch transmission, says Porsche, and those numbers come down to 4.2 and 14.5 seconds respectively. Either way, top speed is quoted at ‘more than 290km/h’.
How Much?
The 911 Carrera T is available for order now with first deliveries in South Africa expected at the end of February 2018, starting at R1 536 000, which includes a three-year or 100 000km maintenance plan.