PORSCHE 911 [992] CABRIOLET SPECIAL EDITION

Porsche's 911 Carrera T could be your perfect entry-level 911. Jonathan Crouch takes a look at the improved version.

Ten Second Review

You might wonder whether the sprawling Porsche 911 range really needs yet another derivative, but this improved 911 Carrera T turns out to offer everything you need from this model line and nothing you don't. Its lightweight approach is more focused, there's the novelty of manual-only transmission and you can now also have it in Cabriolet form. You don't even necessarily need a big lottery win to own one. What's not to like?

Background

Porsche hopes it's developed a 911 for almost every kind of customer, but it seems like there's always room for one more. And nice to see that in the case of the 911 Carrera T we look at here, it's been inserted into the slightly more affordable end of the range. It is, we're promised, a 911 for the purists. 'T' stands for 'Touring', which doesn't properly clue you into the more focused variant this is, with lightweight engineering, a manual gearbox and some key dynamic features you can't have on the entry-level 911 Carrera model this car is based on. It draws on a bit of 911 history too, though the original 911T sold from 1968-1973 wasn't reprised until 2017 when Porsche introduced a Carrera T version of this current model's 991-series predecessor. This 992-series model eventually arrived in early 2023, then was updated in Autumn 2024 to create the car we're going to look at here.

Driving Experience

The changes over the original version of this 992-series 911T model that we tried back in 2023 are quickly covered. It has the slightly uprated 394PS version of Porsche's flat six 3.0-litre rear-mounted engine fitted to the latest 992.2-era 911 Carrera. And gains a quicker steering rack, while four-wheel steering (previously optional) is now standard. You can't now have a PDK auto gearbox on a 911T, but you can now have a Cabriolet roof. And there's now even more of a weight saving over that usual auto-only Carrera model - a small but significant 40kgs (previously 35kgs) - which comes courtesy of thinner glass, a lighter battery and the deletion of the rear seats. There are now six, rather than seven, ratios from the manual stick shift but the gear spacing is still perfectly judged. Second gear runs to over 75mph and third will take you comfortably into three figures. If you're interested, 62mph from rest occupies just 4.5s - the same as before (though top speed has risen fractionally to 183mph). Another extra area of driver interaction over an ordinary Carrera is noise: the thinner glass, reduced soundproofing, less cluttered cabin and the standard sports exhaust simply mean you hear more of it. Which would normally be bad, but for an enthusiast, with a sonorous turbo flat six slung out back, can only be good. It doesn't get too tiresome on the commute (and nor does the stick shift), but even if it did, you'd forgive much for the way the car attacks each corner like a shark turning towards a meal. That light 1,478kg kerb weight helps here, as does the industry-leading level of immersive steering feel and the torque vectoring system. Obviously, the all-wheel steering system helps too and as you'd want, Porsche also includes its PASM adaptive sports suspension, lowered here by 10mm. As usual in a 911, there are 'Normal', 'Sport', 'Sport+' and 'Individual' drive modes accessible via a button on the steering wheel, plus a 'Wet' setting that primes the car for slippery surfaces. You'll probably be in 'Sport' most the time, which will see the sports suspension stay in its normal setting. You can stiffen it up either by using a dashboard button or by switching to the more focused 'Sport+' mode. But you don't have to in order to really enjoy what this 911 has to offer. It's an inherently complete sports car. And arguably, in the 911 Carrera T, that experience is as complete as it gets.

Design and Build

You'd really need to know your 911s to recognise this one for what it is. Or at least you would do if it weren't for the badge work, which you might choose to do without. For those 911 enthusiasts prepared to sweat the details, we'll point out the 10mm-lower ride height and the lightweight Carrera S wheels (as usual with top 911s in this model line 20-inches in size at the front and 21-inches at the back). At the rear of the car, if you don't have badgework to guide you, it's possible to recognise a 'T' by its novel shift-pattern rear window stickers - plus there's a rear spoiler from the GTS. Step inside and the main 'T' feature is the walnut-trimmed short-throw manual gearstick. Other than that, the main thing you'll probably notice is that there are still no rear seats, which goes with the whole lightweight vibe. Otherwise, there's not much to set this cabin apart from the standard Carrera's. The four-way adjustable electric 'Sport Seat Plus' package is standard and the leather chairs grip you into place, though feel a little hard on longer trips. You can upgrade to 18-way adjustable sports seats - or lightweight bucket chairs. An owner of the earlier version of this 992-era 911T might note the major change made to the traditionally driver-focused cockpit; this model now has a fully digital instrument cluster, though the rev counter remains the central feature in the 12.6-inch curved driver's display, customisable with up to seven layouts; including a 'Classic' display inspired by the traditional five-tube Porsche dial design with a central tachometer. There's also now a start button rather than a twisting dial. As before, infotainment is still taken care of by a 10.9-inch Porsche Communications Management central screen. But this monitor now offers more customisation options for drive modes and driver assistance systems, plus there are lots of new connectivity features, including video streaming. As before, under the bonnet, there's 132-litres of storage space.

Market and Model

It seems a long time ago that the original version of this 992-series 911 was launched as an £83,000 car back in 2019. This 911 Carrera T arrived in 2022 with a price tag of £107,500 and in this improved form, Porsche wants £115,400 for the Coupe version of it. There's also now a 911 Carrera T Cabriolet, which costs £10,000 more (£125,400). As a potential customer, you can at least console yourself that most of the key things you'd want are included in that price - like a sports exhaust, torque vectoring and PASM lowered suspension. In addition, there's the brand's 'Sport Chrono Package' including the usual dash top-mounted stopwatch, a mode switch, the 'Porsche Track Precision' app and a tyre temperature display. Of course, you may well wish to add some further features by choosing from the optional design packages for the exterior and the interior. These come in the classic Porsche colour Gentian Blue to create a striking colour contrast. On the exterior of the car, the inlays in the rear lid, the Carrera T decals on the front and rear lids and doors, the MT stickers and the light alloy wheels with a gloss-lathed front face come in this colour. The upper shells of the exterior mirrors are in Black. Contrast stitching in Gentian Blue, instead of the standard black stitching, enhances the interior and the seats also come with Gentian Blue contrast stripes. The same colour also adorns the seat belts, the trim of the centre console and the door panels, as well as the contrast inlays and the stitched 911 logos on the headrests.

Cost of Ownership

As you'd expect, the efficiency figures of a 911 Carrera T aren't all that much different from those of an ordinary 911 Carrera. The Carrera T manual model is WLTP-rated at up to 27.1mpg on the combined cycle and up to 237g/km of CO2. That's a little worse than the original version of this model managed (27.4mpg and 233g/km). For comparison, the ordinary Carrera records bests of 28mpg and 230g/km. What else? Well like all 911s, the Carrera T is covered by the brand's usual three-year unlimited mileage warranty package. And this 911 also has 12 years of corrosion cover and a three year paint guarantee. Residual value percentages are uber-high - think in the late fifties after three years of ownership - or better. Bear in mind that depreciation will take a hit if you load your car up with too many unnecessary pricey extras. There's a wider dealer network than many rivals can offer and you'll only need to visit your local Porsche centre every two years or every 20,000 miles, whichever comes first. There's no option to buy into a pre-paid servicing package at point of purchase, but the brand does provide a fixed price servicing approach that makes sure you'll know in advance exactly what work will be carried out and what it will cost.

Summary

Be honest. You really don't need any more 911 than this. At first glance, this 911 Carrera T model's weight savings and equipment upgrades might sound fairly insignificant, but the result is a car that feels light on its feet and that bit more engaging than the standard Carrera version. Yes, there's a price increase over the base Carrera, but you'd probably have had to pay much of that anyway for some of the near-essential dynamic extras this 'T' model includes as standard. If you want manual transmission in a 911, you'll have to have this Carrera T, a car that feels deliciously old school with the Zuffenhausen brand's latest 6-speed stick shift. Are there issues? Well, you might need to adjust to the manual's spaced-out gear ratios. And the fact that this so-called 'affordable' 911 has a six-figure price tag. But these things apart, this model is difficult to fault. And a near-perfect expression of a near-perfect sports car.