The French love to say, ‘vive la difference!’ Celebrating the difference is especially applicable to the new Porsche 911 GTS. Those three letters denote a hard-won period of Porsche’s history. They freely admit to drawing inspiration from the 904 GTS race car from the 1960s. According to Porsche, GTS means, ‘a carefully curated combination of performance, style and emotion’.
Engine
We’d prefer to call it the purest form of the 911 available. At 473bhp and 420lb ft (both slight increases over its predecessor) the GTS is not to be sneezed at. This little beauty will 0-62 mph in a breathtaking 3.3s. Given Porsche’s knack for overestimating times, we’re pretty confident that you could get even more out of the 3.0-liter flat six. We’re excited to see what the press do when they get their hands on it.
Suspension and Transmission
Yes. It’s a Porsche, so PDK is standard in its 8-speed guise, but a seven-speed stick is also available with a short shifter to keep the purists happy. Again, there is the option for all wheel drive (AWD) or the classic rear wheels only harking back to Porsche’s roots.
The addition of rear axle helper springs keeps the main springs under constant tension to improve the already lightning quick handling that Porsche is famous for. Massive new disk brakes have been borrowed from the 911 Turbo to ensure that you won’t have any difficulty stopping.
Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) is standard across the range of 911 GTS variants. The Coupe and Vert drop 10mm closer to the ground in what Porsche calls a sport chassis. This consists of stiffer springs, adaptive shock absorbers and anti-roll bars.
Exterior and Interior
As usual, Porsche only rewards the keen observer with clues as to the badge. Aside from this, black satin alloy wheels of 20’’ adorn the front and 21’’ in the rear. Subtle black highlights are worked throughout the body in what Porsche calls the Sport Design pack.
Inside the cabin there is a GT Sport steering wheel, Sport Chrono pack and electrically adjustable sport seats with ‘Race-Tex’ upholstery. ICE also gets an upgrade with the new generation of Porsche Communication Management.
Porsche has been on a serious weight loss mission, and the Porsche 911 GTS has also come under scrutiny. We’re excited for the ‘Lightweight Design Pack’ that is going to be offered later this year. Rumored to toss the back seats while installing CFRP buckets in the front and swapping the window glass for the lightweight version we saw on the upcoming 911 GT3. Rear axle steering compliments this package while additional body tweaks offer more downforce.
Positioned between the juggernaut Turbo and entry level Carrera, we believe the GTS is possibly the purest form of 911 currently available. Porsche have managed to recapture that timelessness their iconic design has come to represent. Prices for the entry level cabriolet start at $138,550 topping out with the turbo at $158,150.