Less is More

No other car has maintained its iconic design identity across generations quite like the Porsche 911. And this Carrera T version is that DNA in its purist form.

WORDS Steve Smith PHOTOS Supplied

“What’s your favourite car?” It’s a question some folks battle to answer. There are so many great cars, in so many different categories… It can be a bit paralysing.

I remain confi dently limber. My top three may vary a little, but the number-one spot is a constant. Currently, Volvo’s brilliant little electric EX30 is at three; Toyota’s new bulletproof-meets-luxe Land Cruiser Prado is at two; and at one, as it has always been, is the Porsche 911. It’s my Best Car In The World.

The 911 can be an everyday driver in which you pop out to the shop – and when that beautifully machined alloy dial on the steering is turned a few clicks clockwise, it can transform into an out-and-out performance coupé. And then there’s the sublime yet still reassuringly predictable handling… And the famed Porsche build quality that is, quite literally, the definition of German engineering… And, of course, that iconic silhouette. It may have stretched, widened and hunkered down over the generations, but the very first 1964 iteration remains a key strand in the 911 DNA.

So that’s the history lesson. Now, let’s turn to the 911 you see on these pages. There are two things to note:

The “T” is for…

The uninitiated may guess “turbo”, but the “T” in Porsche’s storied nomenclature stands for “Touring”, and can be traced back to 1968, when the first Porsche 911 T was launched. It was positioned as the lower-priced, lower-specced and lower-performance entry point into the world of 911 ownership – and in some aspects, things haven’t really changed. But that’s a good thing. It continues to sport the least-powerful engine in the range (a still-punchy 290kW), but it offers two counterpoints to make it a particularly compelling proposition. One: it’s 40kg lighter than the standard 911 Carrera, thanks to lightweight windows and reduced insulation. Two (and this is the really good bit): it comes with a 6-speed manual gearbox. Essentially, then, with its agile handling, emotive sound, rear-wheel drive and satisfyingly analogue gearbox, this is the modern 911 – for the purist.

The standard Carrera’s 8-speed auto transmission may whip through the gears more rapidly, but there’s something enormously satisfying in the manual change in the T variant, especially when the engine is operating at peak revs. It’s about control over power – a spark that flickers down your own strand of DNA, connecting you back to an ancestor who controlled the reigns of a galloping horse. My guy was probably late for work at the smithy.

It joins all the other sensory inputs flooding your brain with pleasure: the raspy exhaust note from the 3.0-litre 6-cylinder twin-turbo boxer engine; the beautifully weighted steering wheel transferring the road surface through your hands; the adaptive sports suspension that keeps the car planted and tracking through corners, with the tyres’ traction limits clearly communicated through the seat of your pants. And through the muscles in your neck, as the 911 leaps forward from 0 to 100km/h in just 4.5 seconds.

Purist signaling

Many visual features distinguish the Carrera T from other models in the 911 range, not least of them the stickers with the shift pattern logo on each of the triangular rear windows, which tell the world there’s actual manual shift ing going on inside. It also gets an aerodynamically optimised spoiler lip taken from the 911 Carrera GTS; and the inlays on the rear lid grille, the upper and lower trim of the exterior mirrors and the machine-polished light alloy wheels are painted in matching Vanadium Grey Metallic.

If you want to personalise your 911, there are Carrera T design packages for the exterior and the interior. As worn by this 911 Carrera T, you get contrasting Porsche Gentian Blue inlays in the rear lid, and matching coloured Carrera T decals on the front and rear lids and doors. Inside, the standard purist black interior also gets the Gentian Blue treatment with contrast stitching throughout the cabin.

So yes, for me, it’s the best car in the world. And if you appreciate design and engineering in its purist form, then this 911 T – the essence of the contemporary 911 – is the one for you. | porsche.com

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