Behind the wheels of a Porsche

By Shropshire Life on July 21st 2011

“In the beginning, I looked around and couldn’t quite find the car I dreamed of, so I decided to build one myself”. Not my words, but those of Ferry Porsche who, in 1948, hand-built his first car in Gmund, Austria. The rest, as they say, is history.

Since then Porsche has become synonymous with two things; engineering excellence, and the 911, one of the most recognisable cars ever to hit the streets. The latest version is this, the 911 Carrera GTS.

Like all 911s, it’s available as both a Coupe and a Cabriolet. The GTS uses the broader hipped body from the Carrera 4 and couples it with a Powerkit upgraded 3.8 litre version of Porsche’s legendary flat six-boxer engine, plus a switchable sports exhaust system. As a result power is raised to 402bhp, while torque remains unchanged but becomes available lower down in the rev range. To help cope with the extra urge Porsche have fitted beautiful 19” centre mount rims, 305 section rear tyres, plus revised springs and anti-roll bars. The exterior benefits from new side skirts and Sport-Design front apron plus of course the all-important Carrera GTS logos on the doors that hark back to the legendary Carrera RS of the early 70s.

Inside there’s ever-so comfortable hard-backed sports seats and a near-perfect fat-rimmed steering wheel. Choose a GTS and all those extras come for only £2,152 more. At £76,758 for the coupe or £85,249 for the soft-top the GTS suddenly begins to makes sense.

It’s on the road though, where the GTS makes the most sense. The steering is beautifully weighted and it communicates in the way only a rear engined car’s can. The stiffer suspension and extra grip from those steam-roller wide rear tyres inspires confidence; traction out of corners is superb, and the combination of balance and solidity makes you feel that this is a car that rewards the driver whilst retaining its poise.

There’s a familiar Germanic firmness to the ride but it’s never crashy and even in the Cabriolet I spent time with, road and wind noise are kept to a minimum. However should you want to make the GTS scream, you only need to flex your right ankle. 0-60mph is covered in a whisker over 4 seconds, overtaking is effortless, and they say it’ll do 190!

Despite its super-car qualifying performance though, the GTS never feels intimidating. Its compact dimensions, slim pillars and almost conventional driving position– and it’s even got a decent sized boot – mean, in traffic, it feels as easy to drive as a Golf.

The snappily titled Porsche DoppelKupplung is the optional automatic gearbox that employs not one clutch but two. As the ratios are selected all you’ll feel is a change in engine revs as road or traffic conditions change. If you’re in a hurry, all you’ll feel is relentless acceleration. Call me old fashioned, but I’d prefer a manual, and even though I appreciate the Cabriolet I’ll take a Coupe please, maybe, in dark green or blue, or possibly white. Hmmmm - for some of us, frustratingly, the Porsche dream continues.

Thank you to Porsche Centre Chester for the loan of the 911 Carrera GTS featured here. ■

Are you experienced? If your budget doesn’t quite stretch to buying your own, then a YouDrive Course at The Porsche Driving Experience alongside Silverstone’s world famous Hangar Straight is an alternative. PorscheYouDrive £165

Behind the wheels of a Porsche

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