2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S -- Road Test -- Road & Track...
(20 December 2012)
You want a gutsy performance? How about in Network, where Peter Finch’s character, a cynical disillusioned newsman, beaten down by the system, rallies his viewers to get up, go to the window and shout, “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!” Powerful, Oscar-winning stuff—eyes bulging, booming voice quavering with rage, a 9.0 on the Richter Scale of gut-wrenching pathos. YouTube it; you won’t be sorry.
And then there’s the Porsche 911. An equally gutsy actor in the automotive realm, the 911 came into the world as an anti-establishment punk of a sports car whose torsion-bar suspension, six horizontally opposed cylinders, rear engine location and tapered tail were far from the mainstream paradigm of high performance. Yet since its debut in September of 1964, the 911 has steadily, defiantly gotten better through each iteration, just when you thought that all room for improvement had been exhausted. You could say this Porsche has made its competitors mad as hell…but if the brilliance of the new car is any indication, they’ll have to continue taking it for decades to come.
Which brings us the Racing Yellow 911 Carrera S before you. The new 911 (dubbed 991 internally) is larger, but incrementally so, as overall length grows by 2.2 in. and wheelbase grows by 3.9 in. (now 96.5). Yet overhangs are trimmed, and most important, the rear axle moves aft roughly 3 in. relative to the engine (made possible by new 3-shaft transmissions whose output flanges are moved closer to the engine), resulting in a significant tweaking of the proportions, and a slightly less rear-heavy weight distribution. Add a wider front track—a full 2.0 in. wider for the Carrera S model we tested—and you end up with a significant challenge for the design team headed by Michael Mauer.
Head on, the new 911 has very wide-set headlights that are now a bit more 3-dimensional. Front fender peaks are a bit less prominent, and wedgy directionals now appear to float above the intakes for the twin coolant radiators. It’s that stretched rear three-quarter view that’s changed the most, with a slightly more voluminous form, thin taillight slivers capped with the protruding lip of a much wider retractable spoiler and ventilation slats that stick proud of the bodywork.
The biggest change inside is the high center console, inspired by the Carrera GT, adopted by the Panamera and now seen here in slimmed-down form. Purists may miss the more open feel of the 997’s lower console (and having the base of the windshield much closer to the dash), but there’s no arguing about ease of access to the nicely straightforward controls for chassis settings, ventilation, etc. Sport seats are great, with secure lateral hold without the 997’s upper-torso “pinch point,” and there’s more head room beneath the lovely Alcantara lining, despite a lower roofline, made possible by a tilt-and-slide sunroof panel that articulates outside the roof. Of course, the mandatory 5-circle gauge cluster remains (the second one from the right is a multi-configurable LCD display) as does the ignition socket to the left of the steering column. That last item, incidentally, now tilts and telescopes.
The new 3.8-liter direct-injected flat-6, however, can be clearly felt and heard in finest 911 tradition. Horsepower is now 400 at 7400 rpm—a 15-bhp bump over its predecessor—and torque is up 15 lb.-ft., to 325 at 5600 rpm, the gains enabled by a lofty 7600-rpm redline and freer breathing through lower-restriction intake and exhaust systems. The hot-wire airflow sensor gives way to a manifold pressure sensor, cleaning up the intake pathway; and multi-hole direct injectors optimize combustion efficiency. On S models, an exhaust flap opens at higher rpm, putting all four exhaust tips into play. Two transmissions are offered: Our test car’s 7-speed paddle-shift twin-clutch PDK, or in an industry first, a 7-speed manual. On the latter, a solenoid blocks an inadvertent 4-7 upshift, as 5th or 6th gear must be selected first. The linkage has a light and precise action, and the tall overdrive 7th ratio (0.71:1) allows for relaxed cruising: 80 mph equates to just 2200 rpm.
Although the load-bearing unibody of the new 991 is primarily high-strength steel, the trunklid, door skins, roof panel and fenders are of aluminum. The result is a body-in-white that’s 176 lb. lighter than the 997’s. And Porsche says that total weight of the 991 Carrera S with PDK (versus a comparably equipped 997) is about 88 lb. lighter, at 3120 lb.
On fast, flowing canyon roads around Santa Barbara and during performance testing at Camarillo airport, we were able to thoroughly evaluate Zuffenhausen’s latest. The Carrera S’ flat-6 is fabulously torquey, strong at 3000 rpm and absolutely ferocious from 5500 rpm to the lofty redline. And every trip around the tach is an aural treat—a sliding scale of tone and pitch, that classic 911 combination of resonance, tick and howl with the horn section of a manic orchestra thrown in at the upper reaches.
The PDK’s launch mode makes repeatable, violent standing-start passes as easy as flipping a light switch: Select the Sport Plus mode of our test car’s Sport Chrono Package, stand on the gas and brake simultaneously (while the engine winds up to a preset launch rpm), and abruptly lift off the brake. Bam! Perfect wheelspin, and you’re punted forward as if rear-ended by an 18-wheeler. We recorded a wicked 3.5-second blast to 60 mph and a quarter mile of 11.8 sec.—numbers that equal or better the performance of the 997-based GT3 RS 4.0! Braking? Multiply the acceleration violence by a factor of 1.5 or so; the monobloc aluminum calipers (6-piston front, 4-piston rear), cast-iron rotors and deft ABS logic make for phenomenally short distances and straight-line braking that can be done hands-free. As before, ceramic-composite brakes are available, an $8520 option.
Over the road, the wider front track, a new multilink rear suspension with redone kinematics and 20-in. wheels and Pirelli P Zero tires (245/35ZR-20 front, 295/30ZR-20 rear) provide tautly suspended, precise control. And with the PASM you can choose the level of ride comfort and suspension aggression, along with different mapping for the PDK’s lightning-fast shifts. New for the 991 is the optional PDCC active roll stabilization, lighter and more compact than the split anti-roll bar setup in the Panamera and Cayenne. Instead, each conventional anti-roll bar drop link is replaced by a small 2-way hydraulic actuator. Depending on your level of driving aggression and the mode selected, the system can effectively add spring rate to any wheel to mitigate roll.
The new 991 is hard to fault dynamically. You really have to make a gross driving error to get the chassis to break a sweat, and even then the stability nannies intervene in the gentlest, least intrusive way. Forget any past wicked tendencies toward lift-throttle oversteer; the 991 exhibits easily catchable, controlled breakaway, and circles our skidpad at an impressive 0.99g. The new electric-assist steering (another 911 first) is nicely direct and communicative, filtering out the most obnoxious bumps and nibbles but still letting you feel every crack and surface nuance. If there’s any doubt of the 991’s handling prowess and controllability, consider that its Nordschleife lap time of 7:40 is a full 14 sec. quicker than its predecessor’s.
Reinventing the 911 for a new generation is a difficult and often thankless task, especially for those in love with the previous iteration. But when it comes to improving on the seemingly unimprovable, the engineers at Zuffenhausen have a 7-0 career record.
Porsche 991 Carrera S -- Road and Track -- Video Link