The changes are infinitesimal, but this year’s 911 Carrera shows that less really can translate to more…
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Porsche 911 Carrera Coupé Fast Facts
- Price: R2 577 000
- 0-100 km/h: 3.70 seconds
- Top speed: 294 km/h
- Power: 290 kW
- Torque: 450 N.m
- CAR fuel index: 12.7 L/100km
- CO2: 241 g/km
You don’t mess with Coca-Cola. This was the lesson that the maker of what’s arguably the most popular beverage in the world learned in the 1985 when it decided to reformulate Coke into ‘New Coke’. At the time, Coke’s market share was stagnating, while sweeter-tasting rivals such as Pepsi were making inroads. After a series of blind taste tests that saw the sweeter reformulation gain favour over the original, the company decided to launch the new product with a hefty marketing drive behind it. The result wasn’t what Coca-Cola expected. Initial successes were quickly undermined by a widespread consumer backlash that saw both customers and employees at Coca-Cola baying for the original’s return – not because there was anything wrong with the new formula, but because of the power of nostalgia. People’s attachment to Coke was more than just a biochemical attachment to sweet, carbonated water; it was emotional, and the product plugged into powerful and comforting memories – something even the most hard-nosed sales executives knew better than to mess with. ‘New Coke’ was seen as both one of the biggest marketing blunders in the company’s history and a massive success in revitalising interest in the company’s core product.
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So, what does this have to do with the latest Porsche 911? Well, there are some parallels to be drawn with Coke’s misadventure in messing with its key product. Over the years, Porsche’s fortunes have waxed and waned but the 911 has remained the purist constant in the company’s portfolio.
Some have argued that Porsche and the 911 have had a ‘New Coke’ moments, though. The 944 and 924 may have fitted that bill, but they were necessary to improving the company’s fortunes at the time and try out a new front-engined formula. They also provided the financial bedrock upon which the iconic likes of the 959 and 930 would be built; both models that revitalised a then-stagnant 911 nameplate. Many air-cooled purists saw the 996, with its portly-for-a-Porsche frame, runny-looking headlamps and adoption of a water-cooled engine, as a sort of ‘New Coke’, but its comfort and packaging implanted some genuine GT DNA into the 911’s genes.
The point is that regardless of new developments and market trends, the 911’s winning formula of an aerodynamically curvaceous shell of compact dimensions, a boxer engine slung out over the rear axle, and every element – from the steering to the chassis, and everything from bumper to tailpipe – being finely honed over time to provide a focused and deeply exhilarating driving experience has remained largely sacrosanct.
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Simply put, Porsche was never going to do a ‘New Coke’ with any 911, and that goes some way to explaining the 991.2 Carrera Coupé we’re testing. The changes for the 2025 model year certainly aren’t some great reformulation. Externally, there’s slightly tauter bodywork, a more straked LED signature in the LED matrix headlamps, and a more sculpted tail with a transparent strip incorporating parking and rear foglamps lending it some visual width being the most prominent changes. It’s a similar story in the cabin, where the addition of a fully digital 12.5-inch binnacle in place of the digi-analogue tacho combination, a push-button starter replacing the rotary switch, and the weight-saving deletion of rear seats (the no-cost option of folding rear pews was ticked in our test unit) are the headlining changes. Under the skin, the 3.0-litre flat-six now adopts the intercooler and turbos from the previous Turbo and GTS, respectively. This raises the power from 283 to 290 kW, while torque remains unchanged at 450 N.m, which is channelled to the rear axle via an 8-speed PDK transmission featuring a revised division of ratios that increases responsiveness between first and sixth gears.
Our testing saw the Sports Chrono-equipped test unit breast the 100 km/h mark in just 3.70 seconds; bang on Porsche’s claim, while the increments between in-gear acceleration measurements were hair’s-breadth-thin, with the important overtaking points of 60-80 km/h and 120-140 km/h taking 0.78 and 1.45 seconds, respectively.
These are impressive figures, but unlike many performance cars out there, the Carrera doesn’t lean heavily on numbers and superfluous technology to deliver what many consider to be one of the purest and most satisfying driving experiences out there. At this stage, those who’ve driven Porsches will give a knowing nod, while detractors will be rolling their eyes skyward and muttering about some form of bias from the reviewers. But it’s true. By modern performance car standards, the outputs aren’t tarmac-rippling, yet – channelled as they are through an almost video-game quickfire transmission and chassis know-how that’s been honed and massaged over 60 years of producing incredible race and road cars – they propel the entry-level Carrera at an eye-widening clip in a remarkably controlled, yet incredibly involving, manner.
As a GT, the Carrera is impressive. In its default setting, the PASM active suspension does a great job of treading the line between alert and compliant, the cabin – although snug – is simple but beautifully appointed and only lets in a hint of flat-six rasp and induction whoosh when pressing on, and the seats hold even larger-framed folks just right. Encounter a spot of slower moving traffic or a quick set of sweeps that call out for a more spirited approach, and you can simply press the red sport button in the middle of the Sport Chrono-associated dial mounted on the steering wheel. This places the engine, transmission and suspension into full-attack mode for 20 seconds, before returning you to whichever of the dialled-in four presets you were previously in. Point it at a set of tight corners and you’ll be hard-pressed to find rivals that connect with the driver in the same way.
While it has the potential to bite is foolishly manhandled, the Carrera’s huge reserves of mechanical grip and a steering/chassis combination that clearly communicates the car’s attitude means it’s not some pendulum-tailed widow maker. Swift directional changes seemingly see the Carrera pivot about its own axis before instantly settling into the straits, bereft of disconcerting lateral shimmy. This forms the basis of an impressive economy of performance; where more powerful, less balanced sportscars are leaking kilowatts to scrabbling for grip or fighting with their operator, this finely balanced setup allows you to make the very most of every bit of the outputs on offer and savour the manner in which they flow through both the car’s mechanics and the overall driving experience.
When we sampled the hybrid-equipped GTS in our September 2024 issue, we walked away deeply impressed at how this new technology seamlessly added to the 911’s driveability while future-proofing its established virtues. But in the back of our minds, we were wondering just how the ‘lesser’ models would fare with their subtler mechanical upgrades. The simple answer is that the Carrera is just as impressive in its own right, providing a seamless blend of open-road composure and tight-turn connectivity with its pilot that few cars can match…and it’s ‘only’ the gatekeeper to the new 911 range.
Find the full feature in the January issue of CAR Magazine.
