This is a car that never chases inside straights, always has its taxes done by early February and would have bought Apple in 2002 for $7 a share.
It’s a car that knows it’s a better driver than whoever is behind its leather-wrapped SportDesign steering wheel (a $490 option).
Though it carries the storied 911 name, now nearly a half-century old, this newly voluptuous 2012 model is its own true thing; a brawny 21st-century sports car whose mechanical substance is inseparable from the electronics that run through it. Yes, the flat 6 engine is in the back, but except for that and a few superficial sops to tradition, it’s a brash leap beyond any previous 911.
First, it’s larger. At 176.8 inches long, the new 911 (inside Porsche, its code name is 991) is a couple of inches longer than a 2012 Chevrolet Corvette and more than a foot longer than the air-cooled original 911. It’s also an inch longer on a 3.9-inch longer wheelbase, and a bit wider, than the 997-series 911 it is systematically replacing. Other versions — including the Turbo, all-wheel-drive and a hybrid — will follow, all part of Porsche’s strategy to suck every last dime out of Jerry Seinfeld’s bank account.
The new 911 isn’t a big car, and the perfectly stitched interior is still an intimate space, but it’s nowhere near small.
Despite those provocatively swollen dimensions, the 2012 Carrera S tops out at a sort-of-svelte 3,075 pounds — about 100 pounds less than the comparable previous-generation model. Credit for the modest weight goes to the new composite body structure, which uses steel and aluminum where each metal’s virtues can be exploited. So the barely stressed door skins, hood, deck lid, roof and floor are made of lightweight aluminum; steel is used in the rear fenders, center tunnel, cross-member and nose.
To this robust structure is bolted a suspension system consisting of MacPherson struts up front and a multilink system made of aluminum forgings in the back. The suspension’s links are so elegantly sculptured that owners will want to put the car up on jack stands at the end of each day and remove the huge 20-inch wheels just to stare.
The lesser 911 Carrera coupe ($83,050) gets a 3.4-liter version of Porsche’s now familiar water-cooled flat 6. Now with direct injection and an aggressive 12.5:1 compression ratio, it’s rated by Porsche at 350 horsepower. It comes bolted to either a new 7-speed version of the dual-clutch Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) paddle-shifting automated transmission or the standard 7-speed manual that’s essentially a PDK shorn of one clutch and its auto-shifting functions.
The Carrera S coupe that I tested (base price: $97,350) comes with a 3.8-liter version of the same engine rated at a full 400 horsepower. With technologies like variable lift and timing acting on its 24 valves, a dry-sump lubrication system and a lightweight reciprocating assembly the engine produces almost instant responsiveness up to the red line of 7,800 r.p.m., the upper limit of where the engine can safely operate. During hard acceleration the motor produces the sort of seamless torque that squeezes the driver into the seat as if the safety belt were a boa constrictor.
The test car had the optional $4,080 PDK transmission, as will most new 911s, and it feels at home in the car. Left to shift itself during commutes, it performs confidently. If you operate it like a manual — either with the flappy paddles behind the steering wheel or the floor-mounted shifter — it’s dazzling. The shifts aren’t merely quick, they’re immediate, positive and gratifying. The PDK is so good that you can almost forgive Porsche for the half-baked automatics, like Tiptronic, that it once foisted on customers.
The 911 driver has leeway in gear selection, but there are limits to the car’s patience with incompetents. The drivetrain computer will not allow the engine to operate beyond its red line.
Along with the PDK comes Porsche’s launch-control system for those occasions when the trip home from the owner’s Midtown law firm coincides with Grudge Night at Raceway Park.
Once you’ve pushed the Sport Plus button to set the engine for maximum output, turned off the Porsche Stability Management system and put the Porsche Active Suspension Management control in sport mode, the Carrera S is ready to party. With the PDK set in gear and the car held back with the brakes, the driver mashes the throttle to the carpet and the engine begins to violently bounce against its rev limiter. It sounds as if the flat 6 is about to shatter, but Porsche swears that everything is hunky bordering on dory. Release the brakes and the car shoots forward with ballistic ferocity. There’s no tire chirp or smoke, only thrust.
Thrust enough, according to InsideLine.com, for the same Racing Yellow car that I drove to reach 60 m.p.h. in just 3.9 seconds and devour the quarter-mile in 12 seconds at 116.5 m.p.h. That’s astonishing acceleration from a car with a naturally aspirated engine. And any primate with long enough legs could accomplish the same feat — and do it over and over with absolute consistency.
Even so, during my time with the car, its fuel consumption averaged just a hair shy of 20 m.p.g. The driving included a bit of freeway cruising, but I spent more time indulging myself on the back roads of Santa Barbara County.
The test car was equipped with Dynamic Chassis Control, a $3,160 option that combines with the standard suspension management system to continuously plant the tires (245/35R20 in front and 295/30R20 in the rear) into the pavement. The dynamic chassis anticipates cornering forces and compensates for them using hydraulic cylinders. Meanwhile the active suspension is constantly making electronic adjustments to the damping of the shock absorbers. As a result, the Carrera S corners almost utterly flat and sticks to the tarmac with brilliant tenacity.
On a circular skidpad it will orbit like John Glenn, easily surpassing the 1g force of gravity that denotes sports car superawesomeness.
While the new 911’s electrically assisted power steering isn’t quite as sweet as Porsche’s previous hydraulic systems, it still sets a new standard for its species in sensitivity and responsiveness.
Computers mediate nearly all of the new 911’s driving experience. But Porsche has devised algorithms that always keep the driver feeling involved and excited. Maybe it doesn’t matter whether what the driver feels is a genuine mechanical sensation or an electronic simulation. This is a car that delivers unparalleled immediacy in its reflexes while retaining a supple ride for everyday use. The big tires can roar a bit on some surfaces, but there’s never been a better all-round sports car.
The only stupid thing about this new 911 is the price of the options. The test car was heavily loaded for service in Porsche’s press fleet, but that only slightly mitigates the shock of its $126,750 sticker. Come on, $1,120 for a Sirius/XM and HD radio tuner? And $2,950 for the Sport Exhaust System? They both sound good, but that’s $4,070 that could be applied to the insurance premiums.
The first Porsche 911 of 1965 was clean and slim-hipped; a delicate, chic, 130-horsepower sports car on narrow 15-inch steel wheels. It was Audrey Hepburn in Givenchy and ballet flats. Timelessness was its greatest virtue. And that may be where this new Porsche fares worst.
The 2012 911 Carrera S is brazen, an athletic machine on 20-inch alloys. It’s Brooklyn Decker in a Hervé Léger bandage dress and Louboutin heels. That’s impressive, but it may not be so timeless.
