911 TO A T (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Porsche's 911 Carrera T could be your perfect entry-level 911. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 64

You might wonder whether the sprawling Porsche 911 range really needs yet another derivative, but this 911 Carrera T turns out to offer everything you need from this model line and nothing you don't. Its lightweight approach is more focused, it sounds better and there's a manual gearbox option. You don't even necessarily need a lottery win to own one. What's not to like?

Backgroundword count: 149

Porsche hopes it's developed a 911 for almost every kind of customer, but it seems like there's always room for one more. And nice to see that in the case of the 911 Carrera T we look at here, it's been inserted into the slightly more affordable end of the range. It is, we're promised, a 911 for the purists. 'T' stands for 'Touring', which doesn't properly clue you into the more focused variant this is, with lightweight engineering, a manual gearbox option and some key dynamic features you can't have on the entry-level 911 Carrera model this car is based on. It draws on a bit of 911 history too, though the original 911T sold from 1968-1973 wasn't reprised until 2017 when Porsche introduced a Carrera T version of this current model's 991-series predecessor. This 992-series model eventually arrived in early 2023. And we're going to test it.

Driving Experienceword count: 541

It's always nice to have a surfeit of power in a 911, but it really isn't the defining part of this Porsche's driving experience. Which is why experts and model line enthusiasts alike have long maintained that the purest expression of 911 motoring is the most affordable one. Or, to be more accurate, the most affordable one with a few option boxes ticked. Most potential customers are going to want the variant in question, the straightforward 385PS rear-driven Carrera coupe, with extra features like lowered PASM adaptive sports suspension, the rorty Porsche Sports Exhaust, Porsche Torque Vectoring for extra cornering traction and the brand's Sport Chrono package with its drive mode controller. So what if you could choose a 911 base variant ready-kitted-out like that, a car also benefiting from performance-enhancing weight savings and the manual gearbox option that these days, an ordinary 911 Carrera can't have? That in essence, is what the 911 Carrera T is. The weight saving over the usual Carrera is small but significant - 35kgs - which comes courtesy of thinner glass, a lighter battery and the deletion of the rear seats. That figure assumes you choose the manual gearbox version we're trying here, as most 911 Carrera T customers will, a 7-speeder with a nicely weighted short-throw shifter. You can still option in the usual double-clutch PDK paddleshift auto if you want to, but doing so removes a layer of driver interaction that a typical 911 Carrera T owner would miss. With seven ratios, you might expect the gear spacing to be short; actually the reverse is true. Second gear runs to over 75mph and third will take you comfortably into three figures. If you're interested, 62mph from rest occupies just 4.5s with the manual: it's a second faster if you decide you simply must have the auto. Another extra area of driver interaction over an ordinary Carrera is noise: the thinner glass, reduced soundproofing, less cluttered cabin and sports exhaust simply mean you hear more of it. Which would normally be bad, but for an enthusiast, with a sonorous turbo flat six slung out back, can only be good. It doesn't get too tiresome on the commute (and nor does the stick shift), but even if it did, you'd forgive much for the way the car attacks each corner like a shark turning towards a meal. That light 1,385kg kerb weight helps here, as does the industry-leading level of immersive steering feel and the torque vectoring system. If you really need more, all-wheel steering is an option, but we'd advise you to keep it simple. As usual in a 911, there are 'Normal', 'Sport', 'Sport+' and 'Individual' drive modes accessible via a button on the steering wheel, plus a 'Wet' setting that primes the car for slippery surfaces. You'll probably be in 'Sport' most the time, which will see the sports suspension stay in its normal setting. You can stiffen it up either by using a dashboard button or by switching to the more focused 'Sport+' mode. But you don't have to in order to really enjoy what this 911 has to offer. It's an inherently complete sports car. And arguably, in the 911 Carrera T, that experience is as complete as it gets.

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