Porsche 911 Carrera review: is this still the only sports car you need?

For 40 years, the entry-level Porsche 911 has been called ‘Carrera’. Back in 1984, a 911 3.2 Carrera developed 231hp, accelerated to 62mph in 5.6 seconds and cost £31,950

The Porsche 911 Carrera has been the entry-level model in the 911 range for four decades. Back in 1984, a 911 3.2 Carrera had 231hp, could accelerate to 62mph in 5.6 seconds and cost £31,950. For comparison, the new 911 Carrera driven here serves up 394hp, blasts to 62mph in 3.9 seconds and has a list price of £99,800.

According to the Bank of England inflation calculator, the basic 911 has actually become cheaper: £31,950 in 1984 equates to £101,712 in 2024. It’s also anything but ‘basic’. Standard equipment includes Matrix LED headlights, PASM adaptive suspension, two-zone climate control, heated front seats, Apple CarPlay and a rear-view camera. Forty years ago, you had to pay extra for a passenger door mirror.

The latest Carrera – the ‘992.2’ in Porsche-speak – is a mid-life update for the current generation of 911. When we drove the 992.1 in 2020, we declared it ‘the only sports car you need’. Is that still the case today?

Batteries not included

Grabbing the headlines at the 992.2 launch last summer was the 911 Carrera GTS T-Hybrid. The first electrified Porsche 911 (but certainly not the last), its flat-six engine is bolstered by a 1.9kWh battery and 54hp electric motor, producing a combined total of 541hp.

With no hybrid hardware, the standard 992 Carrera arrived with less of a fanfare. Like most 911s through the decades, it’s a gradual evolution rather than a radical rethink. Bolting on turbochargers from the outgoing GTS and intercoolers from the 911 Turbo adds a token 9hp, while torque is an identical 332lb ft – albeit developed 50rpm lower in the rev range.

Equally, while the GTS T-Hybrid offers a choice of rear- or four-wheel drive, the Carrera isn’t available with front driveshafts. Or a manual gearbox. If you want a stick shift, be prepared to spend upwards of £111,300 on the lighter, sharper 911 Carrera T.

Additional updates for the 992.2 include new front and rear bumpers, retuned dampers, larger brake discs, a fully digital dashboard and a conventional start button (replacing the twist toggle of old). Such changes hardly sound transformative, but maybe if it ain’t broke…

Take it as red

While you can, theoretically, buy a new 911 Carrera for less than six figures, Porsche GB’s press car, pictured here, weighs in at £124,058. The pricier options include a sports exhaust (£2,249), 18-way electric seats (£2,825), lightweight window glass (£1,151) and a Burmester surround-sound audio system (£3,974).

Still, it looks fabulous in the classic combination of GT Silver paintwork with Bordeaux red leather. If I was using the 911 configurator for real – rather than whiling away time when I should be writing this review – this is near-as-dammit the spec I’d choose.

One more point of note: this car has rear seats, which are now a no-cost option. While claustrophobic for adults, they’re a real boon for anyone with small children, making the 911 usable when other, less versatile sports cars would have to stay at home.

Driving the Porsche 911 Carrera

Settle into the low-slung seat (still the same ‘tombstone’ shape as inside a classic 3.2 Carrera) and the 911 feels snug and tactile. Quality is several notches above a Boxster or Cayman, with glossy plastics, knurled aluminium switches and several cows worth of soft hide.

My view ahead is framed by those famous front wings, while the 911’s fulsome haunches loom large in the door mirrors. I expected to lament the loss of an analogue rev counter, but the new 12.6-inch curved display looks equally crisp and clear, with a digital tacho still front-and-centre. You can even configure it like a racing car, with the redline at 12 o’clock.

Prod the new start button (yep, it definitely works) and the 3.0-litre twin-turbo