Porsche is wasting no time in growing its new family of 911 sports cars – and now, hot on the heels of the GT3 and hybrid GTS, we have the new 992.2 Carrera T.
The 911 Carrera T has always been a favourite among driving enthusiasts, thanks to a back-to-basics approach that does without the rear seats and dual-clutch gearbox of other models, in a bid to save weight and boost driver engagement.
For the latest, 992.2-generation 911 Carrera T, Porsche has mostly stuck with the same recipe. There’s no hybrid tech here – for now that is exclusive to the quicker, pricier 911 GTS – and instead there’s a focus on weight-reduction and chassis tuning.
Porsche says the T is up to 42 kg lighter than the standard 911 Carrera, thanks to lightweight windows, reduced insulation and a six-speed manual gearbox – the latter being the only transmission option for the T, and featuring a shortened gear lever and a wooden gear knob that harks back to that of Porsche’s Carrera GT supercar of the mid-2000s.
It’s an open-pore walnut laminated knob, in case you’re curious, which we certainly were.
The T can be equipped with Porsche’s lightweight full fixed-back bucket seats, and in that trim it weighs a claimed 1,478 kg – just a couple of kilos up on the previous-gen T.
For the first time in its history, Porsche is offering the 911 Carrera T as a convertible as well as a coupe.
As before, the new 911 Carrera T is powered by a 3.0-litre six-cylinder, twin-turbocharged engine. It produces 394 PS (388 hp), up slightly on its predecessor, and 450 Nm of torque. Porsche claims a 0-62 mph time of 4.5 seconds (the same as its predecessor; 4.7 for the convertible) and a top speed of 183 mph (182 for the convertible). The car has a bigger, more powerful braking system than the previous-gen T, with 350 mm discs on every corner and six-piston callipers at the front.
A sports exhaust system is fitted as standard, along with an auto-blip function that, when enabled by the driver, revs the engine between gear changes for more seamless downshifts. Handy for when you've left your best driving shoes at home.
Porsche also includes the Sport Chrono Package and Track Precision App as standard with the Carrera T, and for the first time rear-wheel steering (which used to be an option) is also fitted as standard, and there’s a more direct steering ratio on the front axle too.
Adaptive sports suspension with a 10mm drop in ride height is also fitted to the T as standard, in a bid to increase agility, and the T benefits from a unique setup to its steering, aerodynamic balance and anti-roll bars, which Porache says are tuned for neutral handling.
Outside, the new Carrera T gets the same subtle changes as the rest of the 911 lineup, including the removal of the separate lower light units at the front. Inside, standard equipment includes a heated leather GT sports steering wheel with a rotating dial for switching between drive modes, while a suede-like Race-Tex wheel is available as an option.
This being Porsche, there is of course a range of optional interior and exterior design packages. These are offered in the classic Porsche colour of Gentian Blue, with black contrasting.
Available to order today, the new Porsche 911 Carrera T is priced from £111,300, while the Carrera T Cabriolet starts at £121,300.
