It seems so long ago now that the 991 911 went on sale – it’s not actually, it is less than a year but just seems much longer – it is easy to overlook the fact that the four-wheel drive version on the latest incarnation of the 911 has been missing for a while now. After the usual frenzy of ‘leaked’ and ‘exclusive’ images on the Internet Porsche has finally officially released details of the Carrera 4 and 4S in both Coupe and Cabriolet versions.
Porsche claim that the AWD chassis gives the best of all worlds with better traction, roadholding and chassis dynamics and there is no reason to doubt that of course. Historically the choice between whether to go for a C2 or C4 has been based on personal preferences. Do you like a bit of wiggle in the tail or are you more concerned with achieving grip whatever the driving conditions? Some might say that the former is preferred because of the additional driver involvement but there is a market especially these days for four-driven wheels as opposed to just two. Porsche gives you that choice with the 911.
The C4 and 4S have the traditional wider rear wheel arches and in the 991 they are 22mm wider than the C2. The rear tyres are 10mm wider too. Take a look at the rear of the car and you will see that some tweaking has taken place with the appearance of a ‘signature red light band’ according to the company. Not sure what this adds in terms of appeal but hey ho.
Much of the specification of the C4 variants match the C2 so engines and respective performance figures remain unchanged i.e. more than adequate and likely to satisfy the most demanding of drivers.
Inside the new car there is an ‘all-wheel-drive indicator’ in the instrument cluster which lets you know how much torque is being sliced and diced between the front and rear axles. Useful? Probably not since the eyes are more likely to be swapping between focusing on revs, speed and the road ahead (and behind) – anything else is an unnecessary distraction.
Porsche is also introducing Adaptive Cruise Control across all models in the range and when combined with the PDK transmission customers will get the ACC plus Porsche Active Safe (PAS) which helps to prevent front-end collisions.
A new sliding glass sunroof has been added to the options list and if customers order the Sport Chrono Pack with the manual gearbox they can expect a tad more responsiveness because in Sport Plus mode the system automatically double-declutched during down-shifts. Nice.
The new Carrera 4 and 4S models will be shown for the fist time at the forthcoming Paris Motor Show and will go on sale in the UK December this year. Prices will start at £77924 for the Coupe and the Cabriolet from £86583.
For further details of the new 911 Carrera 4 and 4S or any other Porsche model give The Car Spy a call on 01732 760699 or email sales@thecarspy.net
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