Porsche has dropped the 411 on the latest special edition of its 911 before its debut in Paris. After such recent winners as the 911 Sport Classic (with its delicious Fuchs rims and duck-tail spoiler) and the GT2 RS (with its 620 horsepower), Stuttgart's new froggy is called the Carrera GTS and gets a 23-horsepower boost over the basic S but is just as efficient.
Available as both a coupe and convertible, the 408-horse / 310 lb-ft GTS is like a top-range naturally-aspirated model for everyday use; after all, the 435-horse GT3 isn't really a car for child-rearing families.
The car's power bump is the result of "a special resonance intake manifold [in which] six vacuum-controlled tuning flaps switch between power- and torque-optimized geometry, whereas in a Carrera S power unit there is only one tuning flap." Sounds like hocus pocus to me.
Underneath the wider Carrera 4 body is a "classic" rear-wheel drive setup. The extra 44-mm allows the car to have fat tire-wearing, center-locking, grip-providing RS Spyder 19's on a wider track. Porsche says they're painted black, but chances are good they'll cater to your every need if the checkbook's open (green, anybody?).
Body add-ons include a SportDesign front apron and the car's lower body trim painted black. The GTS logos on the doors and tail are going to be silver or black depending on the color of the car, but do yourself a favor and get the rear badge-delete option. The door logos are more than enough.
The interior, meanwhile, gets sprayed down in Alcantara and leather with steering assistance in the form of a chubby SportDesign three-spoke wheel. After all, it's important to be comfortable and collected when you're hitting the limiter in 6th at 190 mph (306 km/h).
Top speed not your bag? Just plain interested in merging and doing the touted 19 city / 27 highway? If optioned with the with PDK and a Sport Chrono Package Plus (which has to be in the Sport Plus setting), a hardtop GTS Coupe will hit 100km/h (62mph) from standstill in 4.2 seconds and then you can just cruise in the right-hand lane.
Once it hits Germany in December, the GTS Coupe will retail for €104,935 (the Cab starts at €115,050), both after a 19% VAT. When it arrives Stateside next spring, prices will be $103,100 for the Coupe and $112,900 for the convertible.
By Phil Alex
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