Porsche 911 Turbo Carrera: The End of The Naturally Aspirated Fun. Or is it?

As a Porsche purist, I like my Carrera 911 naturally aspirated. Now I kinda lost love for it because Stuttgart decided to stick it a turbocharger. I am very, very disappointed. So, with the new 991.2 Carrera getting a turbocharger, what’s going to happen to the Turbo/Turbo S? Well, I’m not going to ruin the surprise. Anyway, just before I write this review, I get the chance to drive one, and am I still disappointed? Well, the 3.0 liter flat 6 now gets an annoying turbocharger, that’s what bugs the heck out of me. But overall, is it disappointing? I dare to say, it isn’t

The end of The Naturally Aspirated Fun. Or is it?

The smaller turbocharged engine is pissing me off big time but it does give it some better fuel economy and efficiency which makes it more civilized and Porsche always wanted to make the 911 a civilized supercar that you can drive pretty much every day. I have some good news for the other purists out there on CT, because the GT models are still naturally aspirated (GTS, GT3, RS. Well, at least for now and I hope it stays NA for good). How more civilized is it? The more amazing naturally aspirated 991 Carrera does not come standard with the active rear axle steering (optional) while the irritating turbo Carrera come standard with it which is good news. How is it a good news? Well, on a tight roads of a town or a city, you want the car to be very nimble, and at low speeds, the rear axle turns to the opposite direction of the front axle to make some tight corners. At high speeds, the rear axle turns to the same direction as the front axle to make it more stable. It really makes a significant difference. Oh, good news, Porsche still cares about us, car enthusiast by giving us a manual transmission option which is GOOD NEWS!

So, the new Carrera has an irritating turbocharger now which is something that I can’t get over with. However, is it better? In my opinion, HELL NO. Statistically however, HELL YEAH!

The old 991.1 Carrera S got 400 hp from a 3.8 liter. The new turbocharged bugger? It gets 420 hp. That’s about 10 hp per turbochargers. How cool is that?

So, the 991.2 marks the end for the fun of the naturally aspirated engines? Yes and not only that, the 991.2 also features some minor styling changes such as a new front and rear fascia.

There are a lot of improvements on the interior as well. Well, not the design, but more into the technologies. The most significant one is the PCM system. The new PCM can be operated similar to a smartphone, by multi-touch gestures on the seven-inch display, while also recognizing handwritten user inputs. Mobile phones and smartphones can now also be connected via Wi-Fi. A new option adds Apple CarPlay connectivity for iPhones. Google Earth and Google Streetview, both integrated for the first time in the 911. Anything else? The steering wheel has also been revised and when the 911 Carrera is equipped with the optional Sport Chrono Package, it received a mode switch. Derived from the hybrid map switch of the 2014 Porsche 918 Spyder , it consists of a rotary dial with four position for the driving modes, including Normal, Sport, Sport Plus, and Individual.

The new Individual mode allows drivers to configure their own setup of the chassis, the PDK’s shifting strategy (if the car is equipped with the PDK option which is something that the car I drove didn’t have), the exhaust system, and the start/stop system. Models ordered with the PDK transmission feature a Sport Response button that sets the drivetrain for maximum acceleration.

Everything else remains the same, which is good news given the 991 is packed with Porsche’s finest materials and a wide range of upholstery colors. Of course, buyers looking for a customized cockpit can take it to Porsche Exclusive for loads of special trims and colors.

Besides the rear-axle steering, the lowered ride height, and the wider rear wheels, the new 911 Carrera also features a reconfigured Porsche Active Suspension Management system that helps improve driver control during fast cornering, new shock absorbers for enhanced comfort, and tires that offer reduced rolling resistance and better grip. There’s also an optional electro-hydraulic lift system with lifting cylinders integrated into the front axle struts. These allow the front axle to be increased by 1.57 inches within five seconds at the push of a button, enabling the sports car to handle steep driveways or those pesky speed bumps.

So, the 991.2 Carrera is not really a disappointment. It’s an improvement statistically. Statistically. I really hope that the GT models stay NA (Carrera GTS, GT3, GT3 RS). Another thing that I am really looking forward to is a 991 GT2 and GT2 RS which is something that I really hope will go into production.

What do you think about the new turbocharged Carrera? Vote now