6 Reasons For Buying The New Porsche 911 GTS

15 June 2017 Redazione News, Supercars Lounge, Tested

PORSCHE 911 GTS

6 REASONS FOR BUYING THE NEW 911 GTS

Words and Photos by Alessandro Marrone

It’s always the same story – a new 911 comes out and it is damn perfect at doing everything you ask it – no doubt it will go fast on road without disparaging an intense use on track, or satisfying the eye thanks to an iconic style that has become unmistakable and maintain its immaculate class, despite the venerable age of the lines, united in tribute to the millionth specimen ever produced right at the beginning of May. The Gran Turismo Sport, better known as GTS, is the declination that sits halfway between the standard 911 Carrera and the most extreme (and recently updated) GT3, the first step of the GT series born in Stuttgart. That’s why I am wondering how it is possible that Porsche can always improve a car that is so effective and apparently devoid of improvement margins. Yet it happens, model after model and even restyling after restyling.

After the major renovation of the 911 series 991, and the famous turbocharged turn for all 911 Carrera (so excluding GT3, GT3 RS and R), opinions split, but having driven the 4S Cabriolet we found that the soul so dear to every Porsche guy is still here, having enjoyed so much the new 3-liter 6-cylinder engine, more powerful, more efficient and perfectly on track with the times and the always improving competitors. I was anxiously waiting for the arrival of the GTS in order to see what I would have experienced when sitting at the wheel of the 911 that had always had that little extra, thanks to small but numerous and well-targeted improvements both in mechanics and aesthetics arguments. GTS means a lot, it has well-planted roots in the racing world (remember the 904 GTS?) and it’s the model that would act as a bridge between a Porsche for gentlemen drivers and the one for racing drivers – the 911.2 GTS is no less and comes in 5 different variants: Coupe or Cabrio, available with either rear wheel drive or four wheel drive – then we have the elegant Targa, only available with all-wheel-drive layout. The good thing is that in addition to the fast PDK, you can choose for a 7-manual ‘box – that’s why the most conservative people have raised their ears, and how could I possibly argue that.

We took part at the presentation dedicated to the Italian press and driven several hundred kilometers, from fast motorways where flooring my right foot, passing through a picturesque and challenging mountain path extracted directly from the Mille Miglia race, celebrated competition able to put to the ultimate test cars and their respective drivers. In order to be able to give a very early judgment and waiting to put our hands back, with more calm and with the attention that such a car deserves, I summarized our GTS experience in six key points. Will I ruin you the surprise? No, let’s tell the truth, you already knew it!
That’s why you want to buy one:

1. It’s powerful. Thanks to the redesign of the turbocharger and the increase in boost pressure, the power of the 3-liter 6-cylinder boxer reaches 450hp. The 550Nm of torque are available in a curve ranging from 2,150 to 5,000 rpm and let you have an immediate peak in performance, a linear and continuous acceleration. Losing your driving license has never been so easy.
   2. The ultimate spec. The 911 shape is timeless, but we know very well that speccing it in the right way has a crucial role for making it really extraordinary. The GTS includes, in addition to the sports exhaust system as standard, 20-inch center block black wheels, lower suspension and the possibility of embellishing a more muscular look thanks to carbon fiber and alcantara touches. Finally, I would opt for a dynamic color, such as the Yellow Racing or Red (which, however, cost nothing), or the Blu Miami or Red Carminio. If you want you can also create your own color on sample, this will cost you € 5,500, but will be even more exclusive.
   3. Choose it with a manual. The PDK is fast, accurate and intelligent. But since the performance of this GTS is tremendously close to those of a GT3, driving it with the manual gearbox is an experience not to be miss, especially if you take into account how to trash it on roads like those we drove during our test. And since there is a choice for the 7-speed with the third pedal, why not to grab it?!
   4. No kids. Limb a few pounds of weight and let the rear seats home, especially if you do not have children. The GTS wants to be the devil on your shoulder and the lack of seats behind the driver and his passenger will justify everything. For the series “Drive fast, nobody is waiting you at home”.
   5. In Comfort it drives like any 911, in Sport and Sport + becomes smoother, more responsive and especially more nervous and this is one of the aspects that surprised me most, because adding that handful of horses and Nm of torque, coupling everything with a chassis/suspension wedding of this caliber, brings the sports driving experience to a whole new level than before. The rear wheel drive one demands nothing but being thrown into some hairpin – this is where you will spend the best moments in your life.
   6. The price. € 130,000 are not coins, but we’re talking about “just” € 29,000 more than the entry level 911. Keep in mind that you have more power, more dynamic and a number of options already popped up on the configurator. Yep, you got it. Supercar performance and sports car usability usually go straight to the point.

The urge to drive is an appetite that you can’t satiate, it is that thought that keeps you awake the night before and pulls you down from bed at the early lights of dawn, in order to take advantage of every single minute, every single mile available. The narrow and insidious roads of the Mille Miglia were the ideal place to baptize this first contact and let me know that three simple letters are capable of perfecting something that was already so close to being impeccable. The missing link between the Carrera and the GT3 they say- they are not wrong, but the GTS is not perfectly in the middle, it tends to get closer to the GT3 thanks to the ferocity with which it catapults from one curve to the other, letting you brake a bit later and accelerate a bit earlier, forgetting that behind you, behind the rear axle, things have changed so much from a handful of years ago. It gains speed with ease, but you can juggle in city traffic too, as cruising along the shores of Lake Garda, the theater of our evening stop. If it was for me, I would have eaten a sandwich and a Red Bull without getting out of the seat, living that Porsche that shares with the world’s most demanding motorists in the world every single minute at my disposal. Those Porsche guys, those who are never happy, or who want to make you believe that, the same that in their heart live an immense joy when the left hand turns the key and gives life to the most iconic 6-cylinder ever. Turbo or not.