Porsche Goes Back to Basics With New 911 Carrera T

ZUFFENHAUSEN, Germany – Porsche dips into the special parts bin created for the highly regarded 911 R and more recently unveiled 911 GT3 Touring in developing the latest in a long line of 911 models, the new 911 Carrera T (for Touring).

Conceived as a back-to-basics model based upon the standard 911 Carrera, the 911 Carrera T revives the purist’s approach brought to earlier 911 models, including its 1968 namesake the 911 T, with a stripped-out interior and the adoption of performance-enhancing features not usually made available on the 911 Carrera in a bid to ramp up its dynamic properties and provide a more visceral driving experience.

Available to order now and priced at $102,100 ahead of North American deliveries starting in March, the new 911 Carrera T differs from its standard sibling through several subtle exterior styling changes, including an altered front bumper with a more prominent splitter element, gray metallic exterior mirror housings, 20-in. alloy wheels, reworked slats within the engine lid and centrally mounted tailpipes painted black.

Buyers can choose between nine exterior colors, including Black, Lava Orange, Guards Red, Racing Yellow, White and Miami Blue, as well as metallic Carrara White, Jet Black and GT Silver.

Inside are a leather-bound GT sports steering wheel, decorative trim on the dashboard, lightweight four-way electronically adjustable seats with so-called Sport-Tex fabric upholstery, 911 logos on the head restraints and a shortened gear lever when specified with the standard manual transmission.

Among the weight-saving initiatives brought to the new 911 model are door panels featuring nylon opening loops, lightweight glass for the rear and rear side windows, a wholesale reduction in sound-deadening material within the body structure and removal of the rear seats. There’s also a delete option on the Porsche Communication Management system.

Despite the focus on weight saving, Porsche provides the 911 Carrera T with features not available with the 911 Carrera, including a standard PASM sport suspension, which lowers its ride height 0.8 in. (20 mm). Rear-wheel steering is optional on the new model.

The result is a curb weight of 3,142 lbs. (1,426 kg), or some 11 lbs. (5 kg) less than the standard 911 Carrera, according to Porsche.

The 911 Carrera T is powered by the same turbocharged 3.0L horizontally opposed 6-cyl. gasoline engine as the standard 911 Carrera. It develops 370 hp at 6,500 rpm, endowing Zuffenhausen’s new back-to-basics model with a power-to-weight ratio of 8.5 lbs. (3.9 kg) per hp.

Torque swells to a peak of 332 lb.-ft. (450 Nm) between 1,750 and 5,000 rpm.

Continuing the purism theme, drive is channeled through a standard 7-speed manual transmission imbued with shorter ratios than the unit used by the 911 Carrera as well as a mechanical locking differential for the rear wheels. A 7-speed PDK DCT featuring a launch-control mode will be offered from the start of sales.

Porsche claims a 0-62 mph (100 km/h) time of 4.5 seconds, which is 0.1 second inside the time of the 911 Carrera in standard manual guise. It also says the 911 Carrera T reaches 124 mph (200 km/h) from standstill in 15.1 seconds.

When fitted with the optional DCT, the 0-62 mph and 0-124 mph times improve to 4.2 seconds and 14.5 seconds, respectively.

Porsche claims both gearboxes provide the latest in a long line of 911 models with a theoretical top speed over 180 mph (290 km/h).