YOU DON’T HAVE TO SPEND $180,300 on a GT3 or $250,200 on a Turbo S Cabriolet to become the proud owner of a new 911 — you can spend tens of thousands of dollars less and still enjoy the sights and sounds, and endless exhilarating drives of Porsche’s most recognizable and celebrated sports car.
The base 911 Carrera is priced starting at $115,000. For this, you still get all the classic goodness — those trademark round headlamps peeking out from raised front fenders, the sleek iconic fly line, muscular rear hips, five-gauge instrument cluster albeit now with screens and modern conveniences, a throaty flat-six tucked into the tail, 19- and 20-inch alloy wheels with performance rubber, very strong brakes and remarkable handling dynamics.
You have to settle for only 379 horsepower, wait very patiently for acceleration to 100 KPH in three to four seconds, and do what you can with a top track speed that is a snail-like 293 KPH.
You have to settle for only 379 horsepower, wait very patiently for acceleration to 100 KPH in three to four seconds, and do what you can with a top track speed that is a snail-like 293 KPH. We jest, of course, as these are staggering numbers for a base model, which begs the question — is there really such a thing as a “base” 911? Or, for that matter, any “base” Porsche? Porsche Centre Oakville invited Provinz to take out a new 911 Carrera and find out for ourselves.
Climbing behind the leather-wrapped steering wheel of any Porsche — no matter the model, no matter the trim — is a special pleasure. One cannot help but bristle with excitement for the fun that is about to come. It’s important to follow procedure:
- Twist the left key only to the first position so that the ignition is on.
- Activate “Sport” or “Sport Plus” to make sure the vehicle knows your intention, that you would like to play, even before you ask it to play. This puts the engine and transmission into a heightened state and, if so equipped, alerts the Porsche Active Suspension Management but, more importantly, the sports exhaust.
- Power down both windows, open the sunroof (unless it’s storming), to allow the imminent engine rumble to fill the cabin. This sets the tone for your drive, man and machine will soon speak the same language.
- Twist the key fully, ignite that flat-six.
- The aural delight is further intensified if you are in a small garage. The low outdoor canopy at Porsche Centre Oakville served the purpose fine.
And so, while this jolted the 911 to life, we knew right away our test car was not exhaling through the sports exhaust system. Many club members, including yours truly, will tell you that this is one of the, if not the top, best features of their Porsche. Avoid disappointment, order it from the factory this way, or ask your Porsche Centre to install the sonorous wonder afterwards. Another must-have in our eyes is the Sport Chrono Package, which gives you the Sport Plus mode, launch control and other enhancements.
Once on our way, we placed the eight-speed PDK transmission into manual mode so we could flick the steering-wheel paddles. While the dual-clutch transmission is indeed super smart, the 911 screams into the upper rev band when in automatic and Sport Plus, as well it gears down very early, again to keep things at high RPM and in a highly responsive state. This frenetic noise can quickly become tiresome when driving around town and running errands, or even when cruising the back roads. It is more welcome during aggressive driving on the track but we can tell you from experience that, even there, it’s a bit too much. The sweet spot is either Sport Plus and manual mode (so you can decide when you want the wailing RPMs and accompanying instantly available torque), or Sport and automatic. When neither Sport Plus nor Sport is selected, the 911 does feel noticeably more sedate. Your author always drives in Sport Plus. On a long highway trip, I’ll individually turn off the sports exhaust.
Porsche has fine-tuned, many would say perfected, the 911’s handling dynamics over nearly six decades. Older 911s had to be tamed, like a brawny unruly bull trying to buck its unwelcome rider. Punch the gas pedal, awaken the beast, grab the steering wheel with both hands, hope for the very best. And there were far fewer nannies to rescue you from the guard rail and weeds. Today’s 911 is tame while also being far more, supremely capable. It was nearly impossible to unglue from the asphalt our test car’s 20- and 21-inch performance rubber, with big fat 315-millimetre width in the back. The base 2021 911 Carrera is unflappable and navigates switchbacks with aplomb. Body roll is imperceptible, the standard sport seats keep you in position and ready to tackle the next corner. To truly find the limits, as in any modern Porsche two-door, you have to hit the track.
Porsche Stability Management (PSM) does exactly what its name suggests. In Sport and Sport Plus the threshold for its engagement is higher — PSM will still help save your bacon but allows you to dance a bit, sway those big hips a bit. The bum can come loose but just for a few moments.
The big rubber is wrapped around gorgeous optional Carrera S wheels painted in Satin Platinum. These are the top wheel sizes for the 992 911, the “smallest” are 19-inch front, 20-inch rear, which, quite honestly are sufficient. But Porsche has a habit of making its most spectacular-looking wheels also the largest, and also the most expensive. Our Carrera S wheels cost $2,050 extra but one can splurge on even more special footwear such as RS Spyder Design ($4,260 extra), Carrera Exclusive Design ($4,360) or 911 Turbo ($4,560) styles.
Part of Porsche’s strategy, which has been the case since its very first 356, is to keep weight in check. The lighter you are, the less power you need to go fast, and the fewer handling helpers you need to transition through the twisties. The 911 Carrera weighs just 3,318 pounds. This is an exemplary number. Despite being larger, more complex and more advanced than the 997 of 15 years ago, the 992 is less than 100 pounds heavier. For comparison, a Turbo S is 300 pounds heavier than a base 911, a GT3 is 200 pounds lighter.
For $115,000, the base 911 Carrera, with no options, comes nicely equipped and more than capable right out of the box, plus allows you entry into an exclusive club. No, not Upper Canada Region, but the Upper Echelon of Sports Car Greatness, to which only owners of the 911 belong.
If it were our 911, the must-have options include the Sport Chrono Package for heightened performance ($3,180), and the Sports Exhaust System for the accompanying glorious soundtrack, worth every one of its 3,370 dollars.
Next considerations, for more comfort, more safety at night, and more debt, we’d also select the 18-way Adaptive Sport Seats Plus ($4,370) and LED-Matrix Design Headlights including Porsche Dynamic Light System Plus ($3,730).
Truth be told, we would go even more crazy on some other options to personalize our dream base 911 Carrera. Interest rates are low.
But, alas, there is one reason many of us may never park a base 911 Carrera in our garage. And it’s a big one for driving enthusiasts: no manual transmission available. So you must step up to the Carrera S and spend an additional $18,100, for a starting price of $133,100, to bring onboard Porsche’s slick-shifting seven-speed manual stick, a no-charge option. </>
Photography by Christopher Hebert
Well written.