What's all this about?
The one thing we never thought the 992 eighth-generation Porsche 911 needed was more power and pace. But as the pre-facelift cars change into the post-facelift versions, taking us from 992.1 to 992.2 in the process, most variants of the long-serving sports-car icon are getting more horses. This includes the latest 992.2 to break cover, the Carrera S.
OK, what are we talking about in this department?
Attempting to bridge the gap between the 394hp regular Carrera and the now-brutal 541hp Carrera GTS T-Hybrid, the 3.0-litre flat-six in the back of the S has been treated to a new pair of turbochargers and a revision to its charge-air cooling system. Torque hasn't changed, so buyers will have 530Nm of the stuff to play with (and that's plenty), but the horsepower has climbed from the 450hp of the 992.1 S to a pre-facelift GTS-rivalling 480hp now. That means, if the S is equipped with the optional Sport Chrono package, it'll hit 62mph from rest in just 3.3 seconds (3.5 seconds without it) and head on to a top speed of 191mph. All the 911 you could ever need? Probably.
This is mental. Just how fast are the other models higher up the range nowadays?
Well, all of the Carrera family - the base model, its driver-focused T spin-off, the S and the GTS T-Hybrid - seem to have moved perilously close to the sort of performance territory previously bossed by the legendary GT3. And, lest we forget, we already know that the 992.2 GT3 and Touring aren't getting any more power as part of the update, so a 3.3s-to-62mph Carrera S seems like overkill. If you're the Fun Police, that is.
Has anything else changed with the 992.2 Carrera S?
Yes. We'll kick off with a negative, because - among the 992.1 family - the S was one of the few 911 models you could get with a manual gearbox. No more, it would seem; the only transmission mentioned is the eight-speed PDK dual-clutcher, so that's a shame, although both the Carrera T and GT3 can still satisfy three-pedal enthusiasts if you so require.
Anyway, moving on from this minor grumble (because the PDK is a belting gearbox, all things considered), the exterior styling reflects the potency of the Carrera S and takes some influences from the 992.1 Turbo models. It also has mismatched 20-inch front, 21-inch rear alloy wheels, Matrix LED headlights, a sports exhaust system with silver tailpipes, the same brake system as seen on the GTS T-Hybrid (408mm front and 380mm discs, gripped by red-finished callipers), and the Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus (PTV Plus) electronically controlled rear diff. This last item isn't even an option on the base Carrera, so it's one reason to opt for the S instead.
Inside, the S gains the same fully digital, 12.6-inch Curved Display instrument cluster and the new round start-stop button next to the steering wheel that has been adopted in other 992.2s, while it comes with black leather upholstery as standard. It will be available in both Coupe and Cabriolet bodies, but not as the Targa, and in the hard-topped format the S will not come with rear seats from the factory, unless you tick a no-cost option box. This is the same on the other Carrera models in the 992.2 line, whereas the Carrera S Cabriolet comes with its, ahem, four seats as standard, without buyers having to ask for such a thing.
Options for the Carrera S will include the Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake (PCCB) system, the Sports upgrade (10mm-lower ride height, rear-wheel steering) of the standard-fit Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) set-up, an extended leather interior package, contrast stitching in Porsche's Crayon grey colour, an upgrade to the exterior illumination in the form of HD-Matrix LED and a front-axle lift system, among more. Oh, and on the subject of that PASM Sports suspension, Porsche says the damper hydraulics have been optimised from the old Carrera S 992.1's calibration, while both the steering and the front-axle kinematics have been retuned to match the increased dynamic capabilities of the S. Noice.
Have we got any prices on the new Carrera S as yet?
We have indeed. The 992.2 911 Carrera S Coupe will cost from £119,800, while the Cabriolet is precisely £10,000 more expensive again. Both models are available to order from Porsche Centres across the UK right now, and the return of the revised Carrera S means we've got most of the latest 911 range in place. In a few weeks' time, we'll be driving the updated GT3 and its Touring relation, and then we're just waiting to see what happens to the Turbo, the monster Turbo S, and then the extreme GT3 RS as they morph into 992.2s. And that's saying nothing of special models we've already seen, such as the Dakar. Exciting times to be a 911 fan.
Matt Robinson - 8 Jan 2025