The Porsche 911 Carrera T is designed to make you think of old 911s. Its name references the 911 T of 1968-1973, a basic model designed to lower the barrier of entry for Porsche's then-new rear-engine six-cylinder sports car. There are gray painted mirrors, a modern reinterpretation of the single chromed mirror you used to get on a 911, while cloth seats and fabric door pulls also recall days gone by. Old 911s are simple machines鈥攕mall, lightweight and unburdened by technology, almost to a fault. That's why people love them so much. They offer a joyous, pared-back experience that's increasingly hard to find elsewhere. It's a very charming car, which became obvious in 500 miles of driving around Los Angeles and a trip to Palm Springs and Joshua Tree National Park. The T never offers raw, visceral thrills, but it's an absolute pleasure on a twisty road and even manages to engage everywhere else. But truly understanding the Carrera T requires context. August Achleitner, chief engineer for the 911 since 2001, told me. Of all the 鈥渂ig changes,鈥?the most impactful was that the 911 actually got bigger.
It gained 2.2 inches of length, while the wheelbase increased by 3.9 inches. These changes effectively moved the rear axle back three inches, which made the 911 a little less rear-engined than before. This was done to increase stability and comfort, and in concert with a two inch wider front track, produce a more neutral handling balance. Old 911s are defined by tricky handling characteristics you expect with a small rear-engine car; the 991 isn't too tricky at all. For a lot of people, though, the 991 never felt quite right. Objectively, it handled better than ever, but the appeal of the 911 has never been fully rational. After all, it's a car that developed a cult following precisely because of its faults. Recall that in the 1980s, Porsche tried to phase out the primitive, tricky-to-drive 911 with the sensible front-engine 944 and 928. It didn't work, mainly because people kept buying 911s, faults be damned. By making the 911 bigger and improving the handling, the 991 got further away from what made the 911 so beloved in the first place. Other decisions Porsche made during the 991's lifetime didn't win favor with purists either.
For starters, there was the use of electric power steering, which boosted efficiency but made the 911's steering wheel a lot less chatty than the hydraulic power assistance employed before. Another defining characteristic of the 911, seemingly lost to modernity. Then Porsche dumped manual transmissions in the GT3 and GT3 RS, causing a purist's revolt. And in 2015, the lovely naturally aspirated flat-sixes in the 911 Carrera range were dropped for a 3.0-liter twin-turbo motor. It seemed the 911 was losing its magic. Enthusiasts turned to old 911s, driving up the prices of air-cooled models and older GT3s and GT3 RSes significantly over the 991's life. But to Porsche's credit, the right people were paying attention. 鈥淚 say these guy are all a little bit crazy, but they're all crazy in the same way,鈥?Achleitner told me. One of 鈥渢hose guys鈥?is Andreas Preuninger, the man responsible for GT3s. He created the 911 R in 2016. It was the lightest 991 yet, and it combined the 4.0-liter, 500-hp flat-six from the GT3 RS with a six-speed manual gearbox.
Preuninger was clever when it came to the chassis setup of the R, too. He decided to prioritize fun on the road over lap times on track, and it worked. The R is an absolute gem, offering old-school thrills with modern performance and capability. It's probably the 991 at its finest. People at the top of Porsche didn鈥檛 think there would be much of a market for the R, so they capped production at 991 units, offering most to those who bought the 918 Spyder. 500,000 on the second-hand market. The message was received in the boardrooms of Stuttgart. One year after the R made its debut, Porsche reintroduced the manual for the GT3, and just a few months after that, brought out a Touring Package for that car, which was basically a 911 R by another name. Achleitner told me in 2017 that the Touring Package was Porsche鈥檚 response to R prices skyrocketing. If you were hoping the Carrera T would be a 911 R on a budget, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it isn't. It does carry some of the R's spirit, however.