Yahoo Finance The 911 GTS Is Porsche’s Race-Inspired Daily Driver With a Lot of Standard Features That Elevate Performance
The Takeaway: The 911 GTS is Porsche’s race-inspired daily driver with a lot of standard features that elevate performance over the standard 911 S without sacrificing much drivability
Porsche’s Sport Exhaust is louder, deeper and more pleasing when it roars.
The interior features a new 10.9-inch HD infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.
Available with Porsche’s PDK 8-speed dual-clutch transmission or 7-speed manual.
RWD or all-wheel drive versions available in coupe, cabriolet and targa body styles (targa is awd only).
SPECS
Base Price: $136,700 (coupe) to $156,800 (Targa 4 GTS)
Zero to 60: 3.2 seconds (PDK transmission)
Top speed: 193 mph
Engine: 3.0-liter twin-turbo 6-cylinder Boxer
Transmission: 7-speed manual or 8-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic
Horsepower: 473
Torque: 420 lb.-ft.
Porsche, in preparing to unveil the 2022 911 GTS, produced pages of data meant to convey that this new model is a faster, better handling, and overall racier version of the beloved 911—a model that rests nicely between the brand’s Carrera S model and the track-focused GT3.
But humming along Highway 75 just north of Atlanta, Georgia, where Porsche’s North American headquarters are located, I encountered a strong signal that the changes Porsche made to the GTS exterior made this car’s intent immediately clear to anyone who saw it—no pouring over PDFs needed. This particular data point came from a young man driving a silver Audi R8 who pulled alongside me, revved his engine, swerved within his lane a few times, braked, gunned it, and then shook his fist out his window—a V10-powered pre-fight chest thumping performed by someone looking to race.
Given that I had been driving this GTS for a total of about 7 minutes at the time, and was on a congested, unfamiliar highway, I kept my Carmine red test vehicle safely at 70 mph and watched Audiboy disappear up the road. The next 120 miles of my test drive would prove what I suspected then, that the Porsche I was driving may have been outgunned on a highway drag race, but would have more than held its own on the twisting roads ahead, where its steering accuracy, stability and braking excelled.
What's New in 22
Porsche developed the 2022 GTS to appeal to 911 buyers who valued performance over comfort, but without sacrificing too much every-day drivability. It’s louder, more powerful, lighter, and better handling than the 911 S model. Yet it gets along on highways and city roads better than the GT3. As Luke Vandezande, Porsche’s spokesperson for the 911 range said, it includes many of the performance options 911 buyers want, in a complete package.
There are five GTS models based around a similar 6-cylinder, 3.0-liter, twin-turbo Boxer engine. You can get it in a coupe, convertible, or targa body style, with RWD or all-wheel-drive options (the targa because it’s mostly popular in cooler climates, only comes with all-wheel drive).
The 2022 911 GTS uses the same braking system as the 911 Turbo with 408mm rotors in front and 308mm rear rotors. Upfront, the calipers have six pistons; the rear calipers use four. The coupe and cabriolet models get Porsche’s PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management) that is 10mm lower than the 911 S model. Those models come with helper springs on the rear axle that are similar to those used on the Turbo models that keep tension on the main spring during sharp compression for better traction and control. The wheels measure 21 inches in the rear and 20 inches in the front.
The front fascia is sleeker and more aerodynamic than the standard 911, with more body-matching paint and satin-black accents. Porsche gives the headlines a black outline that matches the tinted taillights. Even more noticeable than the bodywork changes is the Sport Exhaust System that comes standard on the GTS. Compared to the Carrera S, it has a different rear muffler and larger diameter tailpipe. It’s louder, and resonates deeper. You feel it thrum through your body and, apparently, if you push hard enough on the accelerator the exhaust note sounds like a battle cry to anyone with a fast car within earshot.
911 GTS Interior Upgrades
Inside, GTS models get several upgrades and unique touches. Many of the dials and controls are finished in brushed aluminum and Porsche gives you a GT Sport steering wheel with a neat little dial (they call it Mode Switch) that lets you toggle through drive modes. Another change that will appeal to anyone who likes a sportier ride: Porsche shortened the shift lever by 10mm on manual models. Like most new 911s, the GTS gets a 10.9-inch HD infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.
Porsche covered the seat centers, steering wheel trim, arm rests and shift knob with its Race-Tex, a sorta soft and grippy suede-like fabric that’s very similar to the Alcantara material used in many other vehicles. The seats are befitting a race-inspired car, with just four ways of adjustability and minimal padding. On my two-plus hour test drive they felt supportive and comfortable enough.
Compared to the 911 S, Porsche actually removed sound deadening materials from 12 areas across the vehicle, so you can better hear the Sport Exhaust. The GTS also comes with the brand’s Sport Chrono package which adds an analog and digital chronograph to the dash, two additional drive modes (Sport Plus and Individual), a tire-temperature display, and for models with the PDK transmission, Launch Control, and a Sport Response button the steering-wheel-mounted Mode switch that drops you into the lowest possible gear and gives you a surge of power for 20 seconds, kind of like Launch Control when you’re already driving.
GTS Options You Probably Want
In addition to all the standard features above, Porsche makes several options available that may seem pretty desirable or even essential depending on how you plan to drive the car. At the top of the list is Porsche’s carbon ceramic brake, which, for $9,870, adds larger rotors, improves heat resistance, and shaves off a lot of unsprung weight.
Porsche’s Dynamic Chassis Control, a $3,170 option, is an active roll stabilization system that reduces lateral movement during cornering. Adding rear-axle steering, another option, adds $2,090 to the price. If you’re worried about scraping the front bumper on driveway aprons and steep speed bumps, you can toss in a GPS-enabled front-axle lift. And if those four-way seats don’t do it for you, Porsche has more comfortable 14-way and 18-way seats available.
And if you want to eke out every lb.-foot. of performance out of your GTS, go with the lightweight package, which is available for the first time on a GTS model. If you do, Porsche will remove sound deadening materials from six more spots on the the vehicle, yank out the rear seats and floor mats, replaces the front seats with carbon fiber versions, reprograms the rear spoiler to raise 6-degrees steeper than the Carrera S, and adds to fins behind the front wheels to improve downforce and toss in rear-wheel steering. Altogether the package saves about 55 pounds. It seems odd to pay more for less, but we do weird things in our search for speed.
Powertrain and Performance
The Boxer engine in the GTS is tuned to eke out a little more power and torque than the standard Carrera S, giving it a slightly faster top speed and 0-60 time. The 3.0-liter, six-cylinder, Boxer engine produces 473 horsepower and 420 lb.-ft. of torque, jumps of 30 horsepower and 30 lb.-ft. of torque over the S. Boost pressure also jumps from 16 psi to 18.6.
There’s a flat power curve with the engine, delivering max torque from 2,300 rpm to 5,000 rpm, so you don’t feel any lag from the turbos--acceleration is quick and direct at almost any speed in any gear.
The GTS comes with either an 8-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission, or a 7 speed manual. I drove the 7-speed and appreciated the short, tight throws and rapid gear changes. Porsche’s auto-blip feature is impressive for those times you’d rather not rev match on your own. But with this model, Porsche also made it easy to toggle off if you’d rather use your heel and toe to orchestrate the three pedals.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the 911 S--it’s one of the best sports cars you can buy. But if you’re a driving enthusiast who wants just a little bit more of a racy experience that you can feel in the acceleration, sharper handling, and exhaust notes, but don’t want to spend $200k-plus for a Turbo or GTS model, the GTS offers a very compelling middle ground that’s sure to please the drive and entice may other drivers to go wheel to wheel with you.
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