Porsche adds all-wheel-drive to the 911 line.
One thing you can expect from Porsche is to see a steady roll-out of new variants for key models like the flagship 911 Carrera introduced barely a year ago. And the latest version is making its formal debut at this year’s Paris Motor Show.
While the maker put the media spotlight on the unveiling of its Panamera Sport Turismo, it’s the new Porsche 911 Carrera 4 and 4S models that are drawing admiring glances from consumers as the show opens to the public.
Beyond the new badge, the visual differences are subtle but nonetheless significant, the all-wheel-drive version of the Porsche 911 featuring rear haunches that have been widened by nearly an inch. There’s also a new, illuminated crossbar element sandwiched between the taillamps. Meanwhile, the tires on both the Coupe and Convertible 911 4 models are about 10 millimeters wider than those on the two-wheel-drive edition.
The Porsche 911 Carrera 4 and 4S Coupes get a new sliding glass roof.
(Get a first look at the Porsche Sport Turismo wagon concept. Click Here.)
Meanwhile, the Coupe also get s a new sliding glass roof.
Inside, a new gauge has been added to the instrument cluster, this one intended to keep the driver apprised of how the Porsche Traction Management system is behaving at any given moment. Porsche is also making adaptive cruise control available for the first time on the 911 line.
As with the now year-old Carrera and Carrera S models, Porsche has completely redesigned the 4 and 4S and lightweighting was a key to that effort, the new four-wheel-drive models weighing in about 143 pounds lighter than the old version. That translates into about 15% better fuel economy as well as notably better off-the-line performance.
The “base” Carrera 4S will get you from 0 to 60 in just 4.3 seconds with the standard 7-speed manual gearbox. Opting for the track-tuned PDK double-clutch will shave another 0.3 seconds off your run.
The new Porsche 911 Carrera 4 starts at $91,030 in the U.S., the Carrera 4S at $117,530. (Add another $950 for destination charges.) Of course, you can run that number up significantly higher by adding such niceties as active cruise and the Sport Chrono package.