The Porsche 911 has been an icon in the sports car world since way back when it was introduced in 1963. Now more than half a century later, the company’s most recognizable offering hasn’t changed all that much on the outside, but continues to innovate pretty much everywhere else. To verify this claim, DARPAN took a new 2017 all-wheel drive Carrera 4S out for a spin to see why the model is still so good.
Visual updates between successive generations of Porsches are often so subtle, trying to point them out can almost be a game. Don’t worry, because I’ll walk you through the key differences of the latest 991 Series. Manufacturers today are going a little crazy coming up with various styles of LED daytime running lights – Porsche has opted for a simple four-point layout, forming a sort of square around the headlights. If the door handles somehow look sleeker, it’s because the recess covers have been deleted.
Horizontal louvers are so two years ago. Perhaps that’s why the slats on the rear decklid have been reorganized into vertical fashion. The taillights, also featuring a four-point design, now have a more 3-D look to them. In-between, a thin light bar has been added connecting the two sides and further creating the illusion of depth as well as accentuating the car’s width, which is 44 millimetres wider than rear-wheel drive Carreras.
Stepping inside the vehicle, a completely new infotainment system awaits. To put it lightly, the outgoing version was a confusing mess to operate. Now, though, users can operate the seven-inch multi-touch display with smartphone-like gestures and rely less on a sea of physical buttons as before. Tuning the radio is a breeze via a virtual numerical pad that pops up on screen.
If the optional Sport Chrono Package is equipped, the steering wheel gets a funky mode switch dial added below the right spoke, allowing drivers to easily alter performance dynamics. The choices, as usual, are Normal, Sport, Sport Plus, and Individual.
Now for the good stuff: the classic horizontally opposed six-cylinder engine in the 4S has received an overhaul and is equally efficient and powerful. Both horsepower and torque get a bump, up to 420 horsepower and 368 lb-ft, respectively. For some reason, when blasting down the highway it didn’t feel like 400-plus horsepower. What I did get a sense of was how solid the steering and overall platform is, and how directly connected I was to the road.
Our tester had the available centre dual exit sport exhaust system fitted, and needless to say sounded fabulous. Purists will be glad to hear there is no electronic wizardry applied to increase the noise through stereo speakers, for example. Rather, extra growl is unleashed by pressing the accompanying sport exhaust button installed underneath the shifter, effectively opening up baffles within the piping.
The 2017 Porsche Carrera AWD is proof that the 911 just gets better with time, but as expected, it comes as a price. Starting at $126,100 MSRP, after adding extras such as sport suspension ($1,020), the PDK transmission ($3,660), sunroof ($1,700), the total price came to $150,000 and change.
Highlights (as tested):
MSRP: $150,970
Motor: 3.0-litre six cylinder
Horsepower: 420 @ 6,500 rpm
Torque (lb-ft): 368 @ 1,700 rpm
Gearbox: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission
Layout: Rear engine, all-wheel drive
Fuel economy: 12.0 L/100 km mixed city/highway (manufacturer estimate)
