Porsche 911 GTS review

There are tons of different types of 911.
We don't complain because we use that as an excuse to drive it again.
Today we're driving the 911 Carrera GTS.
'What the beep is that?' You might ask.
It's positioned between the Carrera S and the GT3.
The GT3 is a hard core sports car...
...for people with a wallet as huge as their mid-life crisis.
That's also why they want to take it to the track.
And we're all very jealous of that.
This car's got a similar engine to the Carrera S, but it's got 23 hp extra.
That makes a total of 408 hp.
But that's not even the best thing about this car.
The best thing is that its looks and equipment are spot on.
There's a lot of suede in the interior.
The alcantara steering wheel feels great.
And even though it's rear-wheel drive...
...they've given it the wide hips of the Carrera 4.
The rear is a lot wider...
...and so are the tires.
That means you've got loads of grip in the back, really great.
On top of that, it's got nice Centerlock wheels like the RS Spyder.
It all looks very good, they've really thought it through.
I suppose we can learn something from their marketing.
When I got behind the wheel, I had to get used to it again.
I've driven quite a lot of 911s last year...
...not all on camera tough, haha.
I've also driven it on the Nuerburgring so I thought we became friends.
I thought I got the hang of it.
But when I took off in this one today it intimidated me once more.
That's because of this car's setup.
I don't have to explain it, but I will anyway.
The Porsche 911's engine is completely in the wrong place.
It's situated behind the rear axle, where you'd normally find the trunk.
Which means there's a lot of weight in the back.
That's great if you want to accelerate in a straight line.
The balance will shift to the rear and you can take off like a bullet.
But when taking corners you get a sort of pendulum effect.
You always feel that there's still some weight trailing behind.
On top of that, the front is very light. Something you notice when braking.
The ABS has to kick in quite quickly.
In principal, the setup is completely wrong for getting a car that handles well.
But this is Porsche, they've been at it for quite a while.
They really know how to get the balance right.
But after this lecture on the history of the 911...
...that you might not have wanted at all...
...I'll talk some more about this Carrera GTS.
408 hp from its 3.8 liter, 6-cylinder boxer engine.
That together with the PDK gearbox...
...and the Sports Chrono Package, a stopwatch and launch control...
...will take it to 62 in 4.1 seconds.
That's very quick.
Its top speed is 189 mph. You might think all those numbers are great...
...but there are also some other great things.
Like this button with a picture of two exhausts on it.
And it does exactly what you expect of it.
It engages the sports exhaust like it says in the manual.
And that makes the sound coming from that boxer engine even better.
It just sounds great.
After all that praise, I'm obligated to complain a little.
It has race seats, and I just don't fin in them.
Of course I could lose some weight...
...but there's just not much space. On long drives that's not very comfortable.
And, even worse, on the side of this car there are stickers...
...to protect the paint. But it just looks yellow on a white car.
But I guess you can just yank them off.
All this costs 146,500 euro.
That's about 10 grand more than a Carrera S with PDK.
But I think it's well worth the extra money...
...you get extra power, it looks cooler.
What else do you want?
There's one catch though.
The 997, this model of 911, has been on sale for quite a while now.
And there are some rumors about a successor.
Maybe it'll be here quicker than you think.