This is the Porsche 911 Carrera GTS, and it has the potential to be the best all-round 911 yet. An engine upgrade boosts power and torque; it uses the more seductive wide body from the four-wheel drive models; and features a whole host of other options for not much more cash than a standard Carrera S.

Yes, we know the GT3 and GT3 RS are more usable than ever thanks to PASM adaptive dampers, but Cup-type tyres mean they can be a handful in the wet, and the big wings are a bit OTT too. This 400bhp-plus 911 might be brilliant. Read on for CAR’s first drive of the new Porsche 911 Carrera GTS, in both coupe and cabriolet forms.

So just what is the Porsche 911 Carrera GTS?
It’s a Porsche 911 Carrera S, turned up a notch or two. Tweak number one is to the engine, and the GTS uses the Powerkit pack that’s an option on the Carrera S and standard on the Speedster and Sport Classic. A special intake manifold, with six rather than one single flap, switches between power and torque-optimised maps. Result? The output of the 3.8-litre flat six is up from 380bhp at 6500rpm to 402bhp at 7300rpm, and although the torque figure remains at 310lb ft, it’s produced 200rpm lower and plumps up the rest of the mid-range too.

The 62mph time drops a tenth on both the coupe and cabriolet, to 4.6 and 4.7 seconds respectively. And you can shave another 0.2 seconds if you opt for PDK, and a further two-tenths if you spec the Sport Chrono Plus pack with launch control. And the fuel consumption and emission figures remain unchanged, regardless of what body or gearbox you go for.

There is also the SportDesign nose with a little black spoiler, black sills from the GT2 RS, and the 44mm wider rear body from the Carrera 4 – the GTS is rear-drive – which hides a 32mm wider rear track. There are fatter rear tyres too, revised springs and anti-roll bars, plus black-painted 19in RS Spyder wheels, that would otherwise set you back £3329.

Other additions include Carrera GTS logos (in black or silver depending on your choice of paint), a black diffuser, and Alcantara trimming on the three-spoke steering wheel, handbrake and gearlever. The coupe doesn’t have any back seats either, but you can have the two tiny rear pews if you want as a no-cost option; it’s the lack of rear seats that helps make the coupe GTS 5kg lighter than the equivalent Carrera S. Porsche’s adaptive PASM suspension is thrown in too, along with a sports exhaust, and a bigger fuel tank (up from 67 to 90 litres) is a free option too.

The Powerkit is a £8241 option on a normal £74,606 Carrera S, so with the engine tweaks, the wider body, the exhaust, and the interior extras, the £76,758 that Porsche wants for the GTS seems like an absolute bargain. A GTS Cabriolet is £83,493, just £1359 more than a boggo Carrera S drop-top, and an even better deal.

How does the Power 911 Carrera GTS drive?
We tried two different versions of the GTS, a strange cabriolet combination of steel brakes, a manual gearbox and carbonfibre bucket seats, and a coupe with the optional ceramic brakes.

And the former disappointed. As with a Powerkit-equipped 911, the extra mid-range oomph means the more powerful engine is more linear and less exciting, without the crescendo of the standard 3.8-litre lump. And the differences in acceleration are fairly marginal when you’re in the heavier cabriolet. Even with the roof down you can’t really detect much difference when you switch between the exhaust’s two modes either: there’s maybe a bit of extra bass at low revs, and some more wail at high rpm, but it’s negligible.

The more I drove the cabriolet, the more I wondered if there really was any difference between it and a normal open-top Carrera S. How minute were the changes? Without a back-to-back, same day, same stretch of road comparison, I really couldn’t tell.

But the hardtop was mega. As soon as you climb aboard it feels better, with a roof enclosing you and focussing your mind, and the lack of back seats doing the same. After just the first corner you know the steering is better, more alive and analogue, with more feedback through the thin Alcantara rim – incidentally, the GTS is the first car that has the paddleshift-style steering wheel available for manual cars, and with narrower spokes it’s nicer to hold. And speaking of paddles, they are standard (instead of the awful buttons) if you opt for the £2472 PDK ‘box, but while every other control weighting in Porsche’s sports cars is perfect, these are curiously lacking any tactility.

You can’t say that about the brakes though. Both the steel and ceramic brakes are easy to modulate, but the latter are epically good and just don’t fade on long, fast downhill sections punctuated by tight corners. With the other savings you’re making, you may as well drop £5349 on them.

The coupe was just brilliant. With a stiffer body than the drop-top the nose bobbles around a little more, and it’s more alert and reactive to throttle changes, especially in corners – the softer, less rigid cabriolet has bit more flex to soak up the road. It's always best to leave the PASM system in Normal rather than Sport, but while the springs have been uprated, the damping has been left alone so there's still enough compliance. It’s wonderfully small and easy to place, lovely to drive at low speeds, even better when you go faster, keen to change direction, precise and so involving. And it just felt more interactive than the oh-so-slightly-staid Powerkit Carrera S I drove recently.

Verdict
Even if there was no difference at all between a Carrera S and a GTS, the thousands of pounds of extra kit would make it worth plumping for. That it’s a better car, or the coupe is at least (the cabriolet felt rather flat in comparison, and like a completely different car), makes it an absolute bargain. A GT3 is still a different beast, and I'd have one and stick on a set of regular tyres. But there's nothing wrong with the GTS. Get one, and hammer a decent discount out of your dealer as the new 911 is less than 12 months away.

The only real pity is that Porsche didn't take the GTS a step or two further, fit aluminium doors, cut out some other weight, and make this 911 even better. It's greater than the some of its parts, but you also know that almost all of those parts aren't unique to the GTS.

Source:
Porsche 911 Carrera GTS (2010) CAR review | Road Testing Reviews | Car Magazine Online



In a nut shell they did not like the cab but loved the Coupe ...!?

 

What is it?
It is, if Porsche’s new boss Matthias Muller has got his head around the product plan during his first six weeks on the job, the last of the 997-generation 911s before the next model arrives in the autumn of 2011.

In fact, other Porsche insiders suggest there may yet be one or two more editions to come but either way, this model, called Carrera GTS has the potential to be one of the sweetest 997s, period.

It takes the wider track and shell of the four-wheel-drive Carrera 4S but drives the rear wheels only. The 3.8-litre engine has the power kit installed, so it has six per cent more power than a Carrera S (now 402bhp), produced slightly further up the rev range (now 7300rpm). There’s a 4.6 per cent more torque, too (at 310lb ft), and its peak is available slightly earlier, at 4200rpm. The sports exhaust system comes as standard, incidentally.

The wider track (by 2mm at the front and 32mm at the rear) has allowed some suspension reprofiling, so you get stiffer springs and anti-roll bars. The 19in rear tyres are wider too, at 305/30. Porsche claims the GTS is “more neutral” than the Carrera S.
Cosmetically the car gets a GT3-esque, Alcantara-coated steering wheel; the material is used on the gearlever and handbrake. You lose the rear seats in the coupe, saving helping a GTS to weigh 5kg less than a Carrera S, although you can still have the rear accommodation as a no-cost option.

External styling features include a front splitter and side skirts, logos on the doors, black-painted, centre-hub wheel and similar-coloured exhaust pipes at the rear. You can also spec a 90-litre fuel tank as a no-cost option, as with the GT3.
For all this you’ll pay just under £77k in the UK, around £11k less than a GT3.

What’s it like?
Sublime. The first thing that strikes you is just how great the car is at being docile. Pock-marked, urban roads don’t seem to trouble its suspension set-up (we’d think long and hard before choosing the optional sports chassis with limited-slip diff), and the engine’s flexibility allows you to cruise with ease.

Show the GTS a bit of open road, though, and it has more than enough dynamic ability to put a smile on your face. The steering is wonderfully direct, with excellent initial bite and great feeling. And while the eventual trend is towards understeer, the chassis does feel like it wants you to lean on it through every corner. It’s perhaps not quite as light on its feet as a GT3 - but hey, it does weigh 25kg more.

The power kit makes its presence felt, but you’re more likely to feel it on a racetrack. That’s because while there is indeed a small increase in torque lower down the revs, as if the engine is breathing slightly more freely, the bigger gain comes beyond 6200rpm, when the motor feels like a completely different powerplant.

The air intake system suddenly opens an extra inlet to each cylinder, freeing up a few more horses and making a noise like a pure racing engine. Your only regret will be that it doesn’t sound like this at 4000rpm, because you need to be pushing on to hear it.
Our test car had Porsche’s carbon composite brakes fitted. An expensive option, they have terrific feel and they proved resistant to fade on even a long mountain descent. But we see little to worry about on the regular spec, which we tried in cabriolets on similar roads.

Should I buy one?
Absolutely. If you frequently want to get from A to B in appalling weather, by all means stick with a Turbo. If you’re a regular on the track day scene and want to take everything to extremes, you can still sign up for a GT3 RS.
But if you want an intoxicating blend of everyday usability, the throttle response of a naturally aspirated engine, communicative steering and enough performance to thrill you on any B-road, you shouldn’t look past the GTS. It is quite possibly all the 911 you’ll ever need.

Source:
http://www.autocar.co.uk/CarReviews/...ra-GTS/254247/

 

Another three reviews .... It must be said with the reviews thus far it appears the gts is a pretty awesome ... And this time in yellow and red

First Drive Review: 2011 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Coupe - VIDEO ENHANCED

http://www.carenthusiast.com/reviews...rst+drive.html

http://www.motorauthority.com/review...ts-first-drive

EDIT: DJ maybe you clean this post up as well?








and here is a link for the rest of the gallery

http://www.motorauthority.com/pictur...ry-1#100330085

 

Nice photos!

 

WIN with that aero kit

 

really though...hadnt even crossed my mind to spec one out like that...good idea

 

Black!