2011 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS

Press release

With a power output of 408 hp, outstanding vehicle dynamics and emphatically sporty equipment, the new 911 Carrera GTS ascends to the pinnacle of the Carrera model series. 23 hp more than the 911 Carrera S enable the new GTS – available as Coupé and Cabriolet – with 3.8-litre engine to close the gap up to the 911 GT3 with 435 hp. This additional sportiness goes hand in hand with the economic advantage: thanks to Porsche Intelligent Performance, the new top sports car consumes no more fuel than the Carrera S in the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC), and is also priced very attractively due to its extensive standard equipment. The new Porsche 911 Carrera GTS will celebrate its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show in early October.

Unique within the Carrera family, the 911 Carrera GTS combines the 44 millimetre wider Carrera 4 body of the AWD models including a wider track with a classic rear-wheel drive. And there are many more details which distinguish appearance and technology of a GTS from other Carrera models. For instance, the GTS runs on 19-inch centre-mount RS Spyder wheels, painted in black, with high-gloss finish rim flanges and 305/30 ZR 19 tyres on the rear axle.

Other optical features include the SportDesign front apron with spoiler edge, painted in black, special sideskirts, also in black, and the Carrera GTS logotype on doors and rear lid, in black or silver depending on the body colour. The area between the two tailpipes in the rear is finished in black. In combination with the standard interior colour "black Alcantara", the centre sections of the driver and passenger sport seats are covered with black Alcantara. In the sporty interior, dominated by the colour black, this high-quality material is also used wherever driver and passenger come into direct contact with the vehicle, like on the rim of the new three-spoke SportDesign steering wheel and on the gear and handbrake levers.

Special attention was paid to charge exchange in the 3.8-litre flat engine delivering 408 hp: In a special resonance intake manifold, six vacuum-controlled tuning flaps switch between power- and torque-optimized geometry whereas in a Carrera S power unit there is only one tuning flap. Thus, maximum torque of unchanged 420 Nm is already available at 4,200 rpm, 200 rpm earlier compared with the Carrera S. Add to that a sports exhaust system with two dual tailpipes. Their outer shells are painted in black and their inner tubes are polished on the outside and nano-coated.

As a standard, the Carrera GTS has a six-speed manual transmission, and upon request, a seven-speed Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) is available. In comparison with the Carrera S, top speed of the model with manual transmission rises by four km/h to 306 km/h. In general, acceleration from zero to 100 km/h improves by 0.1 seconds, and is 4.2 seconds for a GTS Coupé with PDK and a Sport Chrono Package Plus in Sport Plus mode. Fuel consumption of a Carrera GTS with PDK in the NEDC is 10.2 litres/100 km (27.69 mpg imp), CO2 emissions are 240 g/km.

In Germany, the 911 Carrera GTS Coupé including country-specific equipment and 19 per cent VAT will be offered at a price of Euro 104,935, the Cabriolet at Euro 115,050. Both models will be on sale in Germany from December 2010.

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Exterior and Interior

The new Carrera GTS will be launched onto the market as Coupé and Cabriolet. The convertible top of the open-topped 911 can be opened and closed fully automatically in just 20 seconds at the push of a button up to a speed of 50 km/h (32 mph). The colour of the convertible top can be freely selected; its rear window is manufactured from glass and can be heated. A wind deflector is fitted as standard; an aluminium hard top is available as special equipment.

The detailed aerodynamic work can be seen on the spoiler edges on the front apron and the sideskirt trims. These optimise the air flow beneath the vehicle and lateral flow around the vehicle. This guarantees stable and safe handling without negative influences on consumption even at very high speeds. The drag coefficient (cd) of the GTS Coupé with manual transmission is 0.30; with PDK, it increases to 0.31 due to the increased cooling required by the PDK. The convertible always has a cd value of 0.31.

With the wide body of the 911 Carrera 4 models, the GTS also takes over the increased fuel tank capacity of 67 litres. To increase boundless driving pleasure, a 90-litre tank is optionally available for the 911 Carrera GTS – a first for the 911 Carrera model series – at no extra cost (except USA).

When viewed from the side, one of the optical highlights of the 911 Carrera GTS is particularly shown to its best advantage: in combination with the black painted rim spider and rim base and the rim flange with high-gloss finish, the 19-inch centre-mount RS Spyder wheels lend a special stylistic touch. These were previously fitted only on the 911 Turbo models, and remain reserved for the GTS amongst the 911 Carrera models. Their design is derived from Porsche’s extremely successful RS Spyder racing car.

The consistent use of contrasting elements in black in the lower part of the body ensures a visually low centre of gravity: The black design of the front spoiler edge, sideskirts and the rear underbody apron gives rise to a low light edge. The discrete logotypes on the doors, in black or silver depending on the body colour, provide a clear indication that this is a 911 Carrera GTS.

The rear view of the 911 Carrera GTS is even more powerful and sporty than that of the 911 Carrera S: The wider quarter panels and wider wheels on the rear axle characterise the view of the rear. The black area between the tailpipes emphasises the width of the body and gives it an even sportier appearance, just like a diffuser. The black colour theme is continued in the new surface design of the standard sports exhaust system: The outer shell of the tailpipes is painted in black, the inner tubes are polished on the outside and nano-coated, and the inner sides are painted in black as well. Also designed in black – or silver in the case of certain body colours: the Carrera GTS logotype on the rear lid.

The consistent sportiness of the 911 Carrera GTS is also expressed in the interior. At the front, the standard sports seats ensure perfect lateral support whilst offering very good long-distance suitability at the same time.

To further improve the power-to-weight ratio, the rear seats are omitted in the Coupé. Despite its wide body and wide rear wheels, the 911 Carrera GTS therefore weighs five kilograms less than the 911 Carrera S. The rear seat system is optionally available at no extra cost.

The dominant material in the interior is black Alcantara. The centre sections of the sports seats, the steering wheel rim, the gear and handbrake levers, the door handles plus the cover and the extension of the door storage compartments are covered in this high-quality material, which is lighter than leather. The dial faces of the instrument cluster and the Alcantara roofliner are also designed in sporty black. The standard stainless steel door entry guards additionally bear the Carrera GTS model designation in black.

The new three-spoke SportDesign steering wheel is making its debut in the Carrera GTS. The three-spoke SportDesign steering wheel with shift paddles, which was only previously available in combination with the PDK, combines a sporty, attractive optical appearance with perfect ergonomics: The surface of the steering-wheel rim is not interrupted by the spokes, and therefore offers even better ease of operation, particularly in the case of rapid steering wheel movements at the handling limits. In vehicles with the optional Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe, the steering wheel which is fitted is the variant with shift paddles, and additionally contains the "Sport", "Sport Plus" and "Launch Control" driving mode displays in combination with the optional Sport Chrono Package Plus.

As in all 911 vehicles, the Porsche Communication Management (PCM) system acts as the central information and communication system in the Carrera GTS. It is combined as standard with the Sound Package Plus, an analogue sound system with nine speakers and a total output of 235 watts.

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The Engine

The power unit in the new 911 Carrera GTS has its roots in the 3.8-litre six-cylinder engine fitted in the Carrera S. It therefore offers power-increasing and fuel-saving technologies such as direct petrol injection and VarioCam Plus with camshaft adjustment and variable valve stroke on the intake side.

Via extensive re-engineering of the intake tract, this was the basis used to create the Carrera GTS engine, with its power being increased by 23 hp to 408 hp. At 107.4 hp, the flat engine’s specific output therefore significantly exceeds the magical mark of 100 hp per litre of displacement. Optimised according to Porsche’s sporty high engine speed concept, the engine outputs its maximum power at 7,300 rpm, just prior to the maximum engine speed of 7,500 rpm. In comparison, the engine fitted in the Carrera S outputs its rated power of 385 hp at 6,500 rpm.

The new intake system not only improves the peak output, but also elasticity and power development thanks to a more voluminous torque curve in the lower and medium engine speed range. 320 Nm are available at just 1,500 rpm, a gain of over six per cent. The six-cylinder engine outputs its unchanged rated torque of 420 Nm in the wide engine speed range between 4,200 rpm and 5,600 rpm, whilst the Carrera S engine attains this value at 4,400 rpm. In practice, this enables the driver to call up more power in the medium engine speed range and to drive without changing gears so frequently.

The Carrera GTS therefore offers even more superior driving in comparison with the 911 Carrera S. This results in a 4 km/h (2 mph) increase in top speed to 306 km/h (190 mph) in vehicles with manual transmission. In combination with the Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe and the Sport Chrono Package Plus, the 911 Carrera GTS achieves a top value of 4.2 seconds when sprinting from zero to 100 km/h (62 mph), and is therefore one tenth of a second faster. Typical of Porsche Intelligent Performance: this increase in power is achieved by means of efficient optimisation, and ensures that the consumption and CO2 emission values of the 911 Carrera S are maintained in the NEDC. The 911 Carrera GTS is thus able to top both the performance and the efficiency of the 911 Carrera S.

New, variable intake system and sports exhaust system

The special, variable resonance intake system is extensively responsible for the increase in power and the improved torque. Six vacuum-controlled changeover flaps are used to switch between power- and torque-optimised geometry.

An optimal resonance charge for cylinder charging is therefore generated in the relevant engine speed ranges, thus ensuring increased torque and extra power. Improved cylinder charging is additionally supported via machined intake ports with flow-enhancing geometry in the cylinder heads.

The standard sports exhaust system ensures an emphatically sporty engine sound. It lends the 911 Carrera GTS an unmistakable sound and provides the rear end with a distinctive character thanks to the autonomous, black surface design of the tailpipes.

Wide track for even more grip

As the sporty top model amongst the Carrera sports cars, the new 911 Carrera GTS offers particularly dynamic suspension with an increased track width and large dimension tyres.

At the front, the GTS therefore boasts a track which has been extended by two millimetres to 1,488 millimetres. In a puristic sports car with rear-wheel drive, the rear axle is crucial as regards lateral dynamics and traction. The drive axle’s track width has therefore been increased by 32 millimetres to 1,548 millimetres, with larger-dimension stabilisers.

In-line with this, the tyres are also designed for superior vehicle dynamics. Tyres with the dimensions 235/35 ZR 19 are fitted at the front, with 305/30 ZR 19 tyres at the rear instead of the 295/30 ZR 19 dimension tyres fitted on the Carrera S. The tyres are mounted as standard on the unique centre-mount RS Spyder wheels. To date, this technology with reduced rotating masses which originates from motor racing is only used by manufacturers in individual, exclusive special models and super sports cars. To match the dimensions of the tyres, the wheels on the front axle are 8.5 inches wide and those on the rear axle eleven inches wide. Alternatively and at no extra cost, 19-inch Carrera sports wheels with the same dimensions are available.

Active suspension also in sports version

The Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) system is fitted as standard and ensures that the characteristics of each individual active shock absorber are optimally adapted under all vehicle dynamics conditions. Variable damping additionally allows the driver to choose between two suspension modes: "PASM Normal" or "PASM Sport". The "Normal" setting offers a more comfortable basic shock absorber set-up, switching to a more sporty mode in the case of a dynamic driving style. In the "Sport" setting, however, harder shock absorber characteristic curves are always implemented to support a very agile driving style.

As an optional variant of the active suspension, Porsche offers the PASM sports suspension for the Carrera GTS Coupé. This suspension version is oriented towards particularly sporty drivers. In comparison with the series version, the active PASM sports suspension offers a tauter suspension setting; the suspension is also lowered by 20 millimetres. The active sports suspension is offered together with the mechanically locking differential.

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The competition

The most powerful 911 Carrera ever, the GTS targets models like Audi R8 or Maserati GranTurismo. All models are priced at more than $100k, so you’ll have to take under consideration what every maker is offering for the money when you’ll make your choice.

Audi R8

Of course in here we are talking about the 4,2 V8 FSI version. The V8 engine delivers 420 HP and 317 lbs-ft of torque. The car sprints from 0 to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds and is capable of a top speed of 187 mph. For 2011 the R8 is priced at $116,100, but for a few extra thousand dollars you will also get leather package, Alcantara or carbon fiber. The convertible version is priced at $127,700.

Maserati GranTurismo

The Maserati GranTurismo is a creation of Pininfarina’s magnificent design talent - it is a modern, four-seat, two-door coupé that continues the Maserati tradition of combining performance and style. It is powered by a 4,2 liter V8 engine that delivers an impressive 407 HP. It sprints from 0 to 60 mph in 5,1 seconds and is capable to hit a top speed of 177 mph.

The coupe version is priced at $118,000, while the convertible goes up to $135,800.

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The Price

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