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Driving Report Porsche 911 GTS (2024)

The difference

There are still a few things to be discussed about the current Porsche 911 (992.2). It has become bigger, but above all, more expensive: in Switzerland, the simplest form now costs 144,900 francs. But somehow that doesn’t matter. If you really want a 911, you’ll buy one – and it’s completely understandable. The Porsche is simply a very good car, and in terms of its features, it is the epitome of the sports car. Although many are now driving around it, hardly anyone is interested in that. At the latest when it comes to reselling, the Porsche is guaranteed to be ahead again. Whether the same will apply to the new GTS remains to be seen – it has a lot of very delicate technology built into it. And how well it ages is not yet known; lately, the 911s are said to have not always made the best impression in terms of quality, one hears whispers in the relevant forums.

It was still fresh this autumn morning, lots of leaves on the ground, the streets wet and narrow, but no traffic on this special stage of the Vorderpfalz Rally. It’s a wonderful route, but not really suitable for working out the possible advantages of the first hybridised 911. Although: the way it comes out of the bends is quite something. Very smooth torque curve, in the sense of: there is always more than enough power. It was a bit of a tightrope walk there, very, very slippery, and yes, even with a non-electrified 992, you don’t really have to complain about a lack of propulsion, but I felt that the hybrid’s sovereignty is a bit greater, the power delivery more immediate, the coordination with the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission even more perfect. On the way back, on the wide country road, I turned it off, and there is more to it. I didn’t feel the 50 kilograms of additional weight that Porsche states, not even in the corners, but that could also be because the Stuttgart-based company has once again improved the suspension of the newly launched 992.2, with adapted spring rates, improved dampers, wider tyres, but above all roll stabilisation and rear-axle steering, which is now standard. The whole lot seems more agile as a result, and the steering is a dream of precision anyway (for me personally it’s a little too stiff, but that’s a matter of taste, of course). Braking is now taken care of by the brakes from the Turbo S, which are awesome, literally, the rear discs have a diameter of 410 millimetres.

But let’s take a closer look at the T-Hybrid system, which is centred around a newly developed 3.6-litre flat-six engine. The bore has been increased to 97 millimetres and the stroke to 81 millimetres. Without the help of an electric motor, the petrol engine produces 485 hp and 570 Nm of torque. The engine also features the classic VarioCam camshaft adjustment and a valve control with roller cam followers, so that the ideal mixture of petrol and air (lambda = 1) can be maintained over the entire map. But it is the electrification that makes this technology so exciting: for one thing, the T-Hybrid system features a newly developed electric exhaust-gas turbocharger. An integrated electric motor, located between the compressor and turbine wheel, immediately brings the turbocharger up to speed and can immediately build up the charging pressure. At the same time, it serves as a generator and can produce up to 11 kW (15 hp) of electrical power. There is now only one (electric) turbocharger, which also works without a wastegate. A second electric motor is located as a permanently excited synchronous machine in the new eight-speed dual-clutch transmission (PDK), supporting the boxer engine from idle speed with an output of up to 40 kW and with a drive torque of up to 150 Nm. Porsche couples the two electric motors to a high-voltage battery, which is said to be roughly equivalent to a conventional 12-volt starter battery. It stores up to 1.9 kWh of energy (gross) and operates at a voltage of 400 volts; this allows the air conditioning compressor to be driven electrically, eliminating the need for a belt drive. The new 3.6-litre Boxer is very compact, which in turn creates space above the unit for pulse inverters and DC converters. The system output is then 541 hp and 610 Nm, which is 61 hp and 40 Nm more than the previous 911 GTS. It then takes just 3 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h and reaches a maximum speed of 312 km/h. This means that it is dangerously close to the Turbo. But the Turbo will also soon be getting a refresh.

What is surprising, however, is that there has been no improvement in fuel consumption. Even with hybridisation, the GTS consumes 10.5 litres/100 km according to WLTP, the same as its predecessor. If you then ask yourself what all the technical effort was for, there is only one answer: Euro 7. The Stuttgart-based company has used electricity to make its eternal legend fit for many more years. You can turn up your nose at the idea of electricity, but if the 911 stays with us even longer thanks to the battery, then that is a step in the right direction. And for Porsche, it will certainly be worth it: a GTS costs 196,600 francs without options, and 206,900 francs with all-wheel drive. That’s pretty rough. But no, the 992.2 hasn’t become more beautiful, especially not as a GTS. It has plastic gills at the front, because it needs more air, and that’s really not an optical improvement. And traditionalists will not be particularly pleased that the rev counter now has to be analogue. But the community will get used to that too, there is something to complain about with every innovation – and then the sales figures go up anyway. And so do the prices. And the people of Stuttgart are as happy as clams again, because there is probably no other car with a higher margin for the manufacturer.

We drove a Porsche at a German Car of the Year event, where it was the winner in its class. Otherwise, we’re not allowed to drive Porsches anymore, well, not current models. Oh well. We do have a few older models in our archive.

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