There’s A New Entry-Level Porsche 911… And It’s PDK-Only

Welcome to the latest milestone in the journey of the Porsche 911. The new entry-level Carrera has been revealed in all its (relatively) simplified glory, taking its place as the 911 range’s traditional base model.

It’s funny how often the best sports car in a range tends to be the cheapest and least ostentatious. We’ve felt that, for the last few 911 generations and for all the genuine thrill and speed offered by more expensive options, the best real-world 911 was the minimal-frills Carrera. That’s why we’re probably more excited than most about the simplest new 992.

Yours in either Coupe or Cabriolet body styles, it’s Porsche’s new, err, more affordable way to get into a new 911. The Coupe starts the bidding at £82,793, while the soft-top is a chunky £92,438.

It may be the range entry point but it’s not what you’d call docile. At the rear, tucked further forward than ever before, is a 3.0-litre, twin-turbo flat-six with 380bhp at 6500rpm; 15bhp more than the old model. There is, at least, a Porsche Wet Mode that’s new to the Carrera and which aims to stop you binning it in heavy rain, where there’s standing water that could catch a driver out with aquaplaning.

Performance is suitably brisk, partly because the new 992 is PDK-only; a real shame because the manual 991.2 Carrera was an absolute joy with a manual cog whisk. It takes 4.2 seconds for the Carrera Coupe to launch to 62mph, or 4.0 seconds with the familiar Sport Chrono pack. Top speed for both cars is 182mph.

We love the smaller 19- and 20-inch wheels and downsized 330mm brakes; in tandem with black calipers they give the Carrera a more understated look that sits well against the increasingly showy Carrera S. The taller tyre profile should add extra suppleness for rough roads, too.

Unladen the Coupe weighs 1505kg with the Cabriolet a reasonable 70kg more. The weight penalty costs the Cabriolet slightly in acceleration, leaving it 0.2 seconds behind on the way to 62mph and 0.9 behind by 124mph.

Porsche says the interior is almost identical to that of the Carrera S. There’s a renewed push towards digital displays; now only the (still central) rev counter remains analogue – and even that has been reduced to the outer rim of the dial itself; the middle occupied by a digital screen.

The order books are open now with UK deliveries planned for no earlier than September, to coincide with the start of the ‘69’ number plate period. As always there will be an extensive list of options and customisations that buyers can dip into. We suspect the six-figure Carrera will be easy to achieve…

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