Carshop First Drives: Porsche 911 Carrera T

One never knows what an acceptable speed is on a launch, that is until one’s side view mirror is filled with a representative of said brand, goading you into some action. And goaded I was, happily.

Now, at the time I was in the PDK auto and in every sense of the word it was sublime. But I’m going to merely glance over it and focus instead of the seven speed manual, a car that turned me into the naughtiest imaginable version of myself after just the second dip of the throttle.

First however, let’s talk about the numbers, via a short history lesson.

It started in 1968

No really, it did – the original 911 T first won the 1968 Monte Carlo Rally. And just like that car, the Carrera T is rear wheel drive. The new car gets an extensive front aerodynamic treatment. It also gets Agate Grey aero mirrors and 20 inch wheels.

Carrera T logos abound, whilst at the rear can be found black centre minted tailpipes. You can have one in a variety of colours including jet black, lava orange, racing yellow, metallic blue, carrera white and silver. Fruity! The ethos here is simple, think Colin Chapman and his ethos of adding lightness, in this case 20kg worth.

There’s lightweight glass here less sound absorption all round. Hop aboard and you’re met with black 4-way electric seats embossed with 911 logos in black stitching and then there’s the leather-trimmed helm. From here you’ll have command of that flat six, a 3.0 fire breather spitting out 272kW and 450Nm via twin turbochargers.

This makes it good for a 4.5sec sprint to 100kph in the manual, admittedly the PDK does it quicker in 4.2 seconds but I just don’t care. For what it’s worth, both of them will eventually top out at 290kph but I won’t quite see that speed on this day.

About those bends

The PASM chassis has been lowered 20mm (and overall it is 20kg lighter) thanks to the Sport Chrono Package. Even the door handles of the base Carrera (on top of which no more power has been added) have been replaced with fabric tabs. 

Truly then, this is a distilled sports car although Porsche prefers the term unfiltered. And the price of entry? Well, at 1,536,000 the T is R100,000 dearer than the standard Carrera but my word, has its true demeanour been revealed. That price includes a 3 year / 100,000km Driveplan but you know what? We’ve covered enough of the sensibilities. Let’s go nuts.

We went absolutely nuts

Clutch in. Lean on the throttle. An army of frenzied bumble bees are detonated in the exhaust pipes beneath me. The 911 convulses with intent. I drop the clutch and flatten the pedal on the right. A brief chirrup erupts from the rubber as I unpeel the tyres, amidst a flurry of noise and smoke and we’re off!

And almost immediately I have to grab second and as I do a brief squirm from the back axle as the rear tyres find grip once again. I spin it in third and go north of the speed limit before I have time to summon fourth. The tarmac turns to spaghetti and I’m forced to hold onto third a bit longer, placing the car at the apex, toying with it on the exit and finding a rhythm for the next seven or so twisty kilometres. Rinse. Repeat.

The cycle is addictive yet I find the time to contemplate this very famous and very popular trend of removing things to add emotion. There are no RS badges here. No GT ones either in 3 or 3 formats. Just a humble T. And it’s this letter that has made all the difference.

Porsche 911 Carrera T Spec: