Porsche 911 Carrera GTS (992.1) Fast Fleet test – living with the 194mph coupe

The first drive of the evo Fast Fleet Porsche 911 Carrera GTS is in grim conditions. There is no horizon: the sky blends into the ground in one continuous wall of murky grey. The wipers can only just keep up with the sleet-infused stair rods that are steadily hammering down.

Pulling away from a parking space at the journey’s start, the front tyres skate and judder. That’s a typical 911 trait; the steering geometry’s Akermann effect often makes the front wheels scud a little against the tarmac when you’re using a lot of lock at low speeds, but this time it’s also because the surface beneath the front rubber is stone cold and slimy. The data cluster on the digital instrument panel shows the engine’s oil temperature in single digits. I imagine it gummy and thick like treacle, and the transmission likewise: the manual gearbox is reluctant to slip into second gear so I skip straight to third.

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Not entirely perfect conditions for the first drive in a dream sports car. And yet this 911 immediately feels at ease; in its element in the elements. Good all-round vision helps you keep track of the car’s four corners, but you sense them just as strongly. You know exactly where you are with this car, as if you’ve been driving it all week rather than for a few minutes. This particular Carrera GTS is rear-wheel drive, but it has buckets of traction. And there’s so much easy, low-down torque it can pull high gears without bother. Oddly, this first taste of evo’s latest Fast Fleet addition is perhaps an even better showcase for the car than if it were in sunshine on clear roads.

This 992.1 GTS used the same 2981cc twin-turbo flat-six engine as other Carreras, albeit with more power and torque – 473bhp and 420lb ft respectively. The turbochargers are different from those in the base Carrera, and it runs higher boost pressure than the S and gains a different flywheel to handle the higher torque.

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Past GTS-spec 911s have been based on other Carrera models with choice picks from the options list fitted as standard. This generation takes some of its suspension componentry from the 911 Turbo (as per the fabled 996 Carrera 4S), albeit with additional helper springs at the rear. Its adaptive dampers are retuned for the GTS’s weight and weight distribution, and it sits 10mm lower than a standard Carrera. As I discovered during that first journey, you need to take extra care over speedbumps as it’s easy to scrape the nose, and I’ve quickly learned to drive over them diagonally as an extra precaution. (A front axle lift system is available as a £1965 option.)

The brakes too are from the Turbo, with six-piston calipers and 408mm discs at the front, four-piston/380mm at the rear. Carbon-ceramics, a £7269 option, aren’t fitted here. So far the regular cast-iron brakes feel more than up to the job.

From the outside, the GTS can be told apart from other Carreras by its darkened headlights and black trim, a theme that’s repeated in the interior. There’s lots of faux-suede ‘RaceTex’ trim in there, including on the nicely tactile-feeling steering wheel. This car also has colour-contrast stitching, seatbelts and embroidered headrests along with extra carbon trim as part of the pricey £3233 GTS Interior Package.

You get a choice of wheels, from either the Carrera S, Turbo S or 718 Spyder RS, all measuring 20 inches at the front and 21 at the rear. Our car has the Turbo S wheels finished in satin black.

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The 992.1 GTS could be had with manual or PDK transmissions, coupe, cabriolet or Targa bodies and rear- or all-wheel drive. Our car is in very evo form: a rear-drive, manual coupe. The manual gearbox is the same seven-speed unit available in the Carrera S, but with a slightly shorter stick for a snappier shift. Once warmed up (which doesn’t take long), it’s lovely, with a short throw and a strong, spring-loaded action and cleverly calibrated gates that make it difficult to wrong-slot.

This car’s all the more evo as it’s fitted with the Lightweight Package. Costing £6834, it deletes the rear seats along with some of the sound-insulation, fits thinner glass and a lightweight battery, and adds different, more aerodynamic underbody panelling. It also includes rear-wheel steering, which ironically adds a little weight, of course. Total weight saving is 25kg, taking the kerb weight below 1500kg. Some of that saving comes from the carbon-shell bucket seats, which would normally be a £4356 option on their own (and the rear-steer £1830). I find their fixed-back position slightly uncomfortably bolt-upright and they pin my shoulders in a little, but they look terrific and may prove great for track work; the 911 already has a bit of track time booked in its diary. If you don’t mind giving away a couple of kilos, you can get the Lightweight Package with regular electric sports seats in place of the buckets.

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With the aforementioned options plus Ice Grey metallic paint (£2207), a parking camera system (£533), Bose surround sound (£1152) and a number of other options besides, this car totals £139,333.

Older GTS models have felt like a Carrera S with a sweet dusting of options, rather than a 911 with a personality all of their own. Specced as it is, this car feels more like the latter. It’s going to be fascinating to get to know it properly, and find out if it could be a more affordable (and available) alternative to a GT3 – or if a Carrera S with a carefully chosen set of options would actually be a more useable alternative. Whatever happens, it’s aced its audition.

This story was first featured in evo issue 319.