Final fling 402bhp 911 GTS gets 4WD

The current 997-model Porsche 911s may be singing – or should that be barking - their final swansong, in serenade of the next evolution of the iconic sportscar soon to be strutting it’s all-new curves at the Frankfurt Motor Show, this September. But hold on; there’s more.

Porsche know how to keep their fans happy with a cheeky encore or two, and so the curtain goes up on a coupe and cabriolet variant of the GTS; with added four-wheel drive. It's the Carrera 4 GTS. So, if you thought the sharp ‘n’ serious GT3 RS 4.0 racer was the last “one more”; think again.

This summer brings the four-driving GTS to the UK, complete with extra-wide bodywork and 3.8-litre, 402bhp “natural” engine, but no concrete guarantee that this actually will be the last 997 tweak.

We drove the rear-driving Carrera 2 GTS just the other day at the track launch of the new Michelin Pilot Super Sport high-performance tyre and can happily confirm that it’s a beautiful belter thanks indeed to the aforementioned J-Lo-shaming, widebody curves and punchy, big-bore boxer engine. We also tried out the optional carbon-ceramic brakes on that car which can only be described as anchor-incredible. There’s also a button to press that opens up the sports exhaust soundtrack to full rock ‘n’ roll levels. 

On the track, and shod with Michelin’s finest and stickiest, the Carrera 2 GTS was quick, composed and wonderfully dramatic. The response from the motor was precisely instant, the rear-engine-weighted braking and corner grip truly grin-making, and the interior a work of leather, carbon and aluminium art. The Carrera 4 GTS looks to add a little all-weather “practicality” to an already impressive package. 

402bhp and 309lb ft of torque are the important engine figures, while the critical road-readouts are 4.6secs to 62mph for the manual coupe; 4.8secs for the cabrio, with a further 0.2secs to be shaved with the optional PDK dual-clutch gearbox.

The manual gearbox in the C2 GTS we drove recently was a picture of accurate ease of use, while the PDK swapped cogs in blink, or less. Top speed for the new GTS will be slightly shy of 200mph. And even though it’s 20bhp more powerful than the standard C4S, the 4WD GTS matches its efficiency figures of 26.9mpg and 247g/km CO2. 

Visually you’ll be hard pushed to spot the GTS amongst the rest of its extended 911 family, but the eagle-eyed around will note the door decals and classic-911-looking, red strip between the rear lights. 

C4 GTS can be bought in July, priced at £83,145 for the coupe and £90,024 for the cabriolet. 




















By Daniel Anslow

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