Late last year, Porsche launched the 992-generation 911 with just the Carrera S and Carrera 4S variants. Now, they have just released the standard Carrera, and it starts at $98,750, assuming you can resist the options list.
The Carrera uses the same 3 liter flat-6 engine as the Carrera S. However, the twin-turbochargers have smaller turbines, which results in the standard Carrera making “only” 379 hp and 331 lb ft of torque, compared to 443 hp and 390 lb ft in the Carrera S. But while it’s slower than the Carrera S, its still a very fast car, going from 0-60 mph in 3.8 seconds with the Sport Chrono package (4 seconds without), which is the same as the Porsche 911 GT3 from just 10 years ago. Its top speed is 182 mph, which should be adequate for your Autobahn commute.
Power is sent through an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission for now. Porsche have confirmed that the Carrera S will get a manual transmission later this year, but nothing has been confirmed for the standard Carrera. However, given how similar the two models are, it’s likely that the standard Carrera will get a manual option too.
The standard Carrera should offer handling identical to the Carrera S. Up front, the tyres are 235/40R19 and 295/35R20 at the rear, the same width as the Carrera S tyres. Suspension is unchanged, coming with Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) as standard, and it has the same wider bodywork as all current Porsche 911’s- no more narrow-body variants. It has the same brakes as the Carrera S, so it should offer identical braking performance too.
Were you hoping that the base Carrera would do away with the digital gauges used in the Carrera S? Sorry to disappoint. It still has four digital gauges with an analogue tachometer. Maybe they’ll make a Carrera T with analogue gauges later on, who knows.
But if you really want the latest 911 but want to spend as little as possible, this is your car. It’s probably worth waiting for the manual though.
