We like
Instant and relentless thrust, body control and composure, polarising Cartagena Yellow paintwork

Room for improvement
Performance can overwhelm even in all-wheel-drive configuration, carbon bucket seats 2025 sacrifice comfort for theatre, low-speed crabbing, unintuitive indicators

Overview

 

The 911 GTS has traditionally occupied a sweet spot in Porsche's range – more focused than a Carrera S, not as wild as a Turbo.

 

Now, as the first hybrid 911, the new Carrera GTS either redefines your definition of sweet spot or moves it elsewhere in the line-up.

 

With 398kW and 610Nm from its so-called ‘T-Hybrid’ powertrain – combining a new 3.6-litre flat-six with an electric turbocharger and motor-assisted PDK transmission – this $446,500 as-tested sportscar delivers the kind of mind-bending thrust that feels closer to Turbo territory than tweaked-up Carrera S.

 

Our test car arrived in jaw-dropping Cartagena Yellow Metallic with $1900 worth of stripes and decals and the $10,200 worth of Aerokit Carbon package (including a big rear wing).

 

Add a cool $11,250 for GT3-style carbon bucket front seats (resulting in rear-seat delete) in a Race-Tex-and-leather cabin, and we’re still less than halfway in dollar terms to listing the more than $61,000 in options and this particular vehicle.

 

All in all, it represented a particularly focused interpretation of the GTS formula.

Still, we were not quite prepared for the level of transformation that has taken place in what is a mid-life refresh for the GTS version of Porsche’s 992-generation 911.

 

Drive impressions

 

Yes it’s subjective but forget your misgivings or how it looks in photos – the Cartagena Yellow paint job is a masterstroke. What might appear flat or garish on your screen reveals itself in reality as sophisticated and ever-changing.

 

This pearlescent finish shifts from gold to green to amber depending on the light, never quite looking the same twice. Even after a week with the car, I found myself stopping to admire how it caught the afternoon sun. Or the midday sun. Or the morning sun. Or moonlight.

 

Porsche’s press fleet team had also continued the Cartagena Yellow colour scheme onto interior trim for this Carrera 4 GTS – a rare no-cost option.

 

But the now all-digital dash and accompanying fingerprint-prone piano black type finishes have diluted a little of the 992’s specialness. It’s the opposite of what premium European brands need when Chinese cars are amping up in terms of showroom appeal. The indicator stalk’s mushy action and the audible ticker’s inability to overcome road noise was another source of consternation.

 

Firing up the GTS engine, it’s immediately obvious that something’s different. There’s no spooling starter motor; it just bursts to life, settling into a deeper and more guttural idle than before.

 

On the move, that newly baritone soundtrack is punctuated by an occasional hiss from the electrified turbocharger's blow-off valve (there’s no wastegate or second turbo in this hybrid implementation).

 

There’s more of a burble than the expected flat-six rasp but at higher revs it starts to sound more recognisably 911. It’s a bit louder in this car because of the lack of back seats and GTS-spec reduced sound insulation. Maybe the $2220 titanium tailpipes contribute as well.

 

Around town, the Carrera 4 GTS is as tractable as any 911 this side of an S/T. Yes, the optional carbon buckets are unyielding with limited adjustment (unless you get the toolkit out) and the suspension taut, but not to the point of feeling cumbersome or intimidating.

 

The electric assistance fills in low-rev, low-speed gaps beautifully, making stop-start traffic painless and even occasionally coasting with the engine off (but never moving on electricity alone).

 

Fuel consumption stayed reasonable – settling into the low twelves during suburban running – but that’s not the main reason for this electrification exercise.

 

The all-wheel-drive system does exhibit some low-speed crabbing, particularly noticeable when manoeuvring with the nose lifted.

 

Speaking of which, that $4950 front axle lift system earned its keep repeatedly during our test, automatically raising the nose at remembered locations. In a car this low, it's essential rather than optional. Rather like the $1190 Porsche cheekily asks for adaptive cruise control with adaptive lane-keep assist.

 

Where the GTS truly comes alive is on flowing country roads. The way it squats and fires out of corners is as addictive as with any 911, the round-town firmness dissolving into sublime body control that yields exceptional stability over patchy surfaces, the car breathing with the road rather than fighting it and only occasionally following a camber.

 

So far, so GTS.

 

Push a little harder, though, and some serious mental recalibration is required. If you’re trading up from a 992.1 GTS into one of these, just be careful OK?

 

On paper, the hybrid’s 398kW and 610Nm represent a meaningful uptick over the previous GTS (353kW and 570Nm) but the way it is delivered takes some getting used to when pressing on.

 

First, the science bit: An electric motor sandwiched between the turbocharger’s compressor and turbine delivers both instant boost pressure and can generate up to 11kW of energy to replenish a 1.9kWh, 400-volt lithium battery that feeds the 40kW/150Nm traction motor inside the eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission – without which the petrol engine would make 357kW and 570Nm (almost identical numbers to its predecessor).

 

The result? The kind of manic, instantaneous thrust you might expect from one of the more unhinged battery electric vehicles but set to the soundtrack of a flat-six soaring through its rev range in an almost unbroken barrage between each rapid-fire upchange from the transmission.

 

Despite this being the all-wheel drive variant, the 315-section rear Michelins were readily and unexpectedly overwhelmed under a heavy throttle. Porsche said its new all-wheel-drive system was rear-biased – and meant it.

 

One corner exit, executed in the same way we had in a 992.1 – and rear-drive – GTS, ended up with the yellow beast dramatically sideways and stability systems stepping in to gather it all up before the next bend.

 

There's no waiting for boost, no lag, just an immediate and relentless surge that compresses time and distance, especially in-gear. As we said, be careful OK?

 

No doubt, this newfound character demands respect. The sheer performance – especially the way it is delivered – will occasionally overwhelm both tyres and driver.

 

The T-Hybrid system is a technical tour de force, adding performance without as much weight as conventional electrification while going further than half-hearted ‘mild hybrid’ setups.

 

It's so well integrated that you'd never know it was there if not for the instant thrust and the slightly disingenuous use of similar hybrid graphics found on the instrument panels of plug-in Porsches.

 

For those lamenting the end of naturally aspirated 911s, or fearing electrification would dilute the driving experience, this GTS provides a compelling counter argument.

 

Again, Porsche has used technology to enhance rather than sanitise, creating a 911 that feels cutting-edge without diluting the character.

 

At $446,500 before options, it's a significant investment. But for those who can afford it and have the skill to exploit its massive capability, this GTS is a new line in the sand for 911 kind.

 

But like that Cartagena Yellow paint, it’ll be an acquired taste for some.

 

Is it still the sweet spot? That depends on what happens with the Turbo but given the Carrera S inherits the 992.1’s engine outputs you might consider pocketing the difference – or, more likely, spend it on options.