Porsche 911 GTS 2018 Review

Magic moment

It is somewhere between Griffins Bend and Forrest’s Elbow, Mount Panorama, when the penny finally drops regarding Porsche’s 911 Carrera 4 GTS: this is the Swiss army knife of sports cars.

While hardly news to most 911 aficionados, the premonition arrives with an exclamation point on this particular Friday afternoon. Having slummed it in Sydney traffic, fended off summer storms and oversized bugs en route to Bathurst earlier in the day, the 911’s raspy, turbocharged engine is now dancing balletically along the tacho, making deft use of the accompanying PDK transmission’s seven ratios.

Few cars drive ‘The Mountain’ this impressively, especially road cars with numberplates.

We’re at Australia’s spiritual home of motorsport with 29 other drivers (all owners, but not this little black duck) taking part in the Porsche Track Experience program.

With tutelage from motoring.com.au’s very own Luke Youlden, Porsche’s chief instructor, the program comprises three hour-long sessions on The Mountain between practice and qualifying sessions at this month’s 12 Hour endurance event.

With the more superior 911 GT3 car in front (driven by an instructor) and four well-heeled owners punting their pride and joy machines in tow – anything from a mint 993 through to the venerable latest-generation GT3 RS – the GTS is in an ideal environment to be pushed (and let’s face it, compared) against some of Porsche’s hottest machines.

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Nuts and bolts

The GTS is the latest regular member of the 911 stable, priced from $282,700 (plus on-road costs).

It gets the same 3.0-litre flat-six as the Carrera S, but with bigger turbochargers to increase boost to 1.25 bar. The resulting 331kW/550Nm represents a 22kW/50Nm increase over the donor car, and is matched by changes to gearbox mapping and stability control systems.

The GTS is available in coupe and convertible shapes, coupled with rear-drive or all-wheel drive, manual or PDK automatic gearboxes. Our silver number is a GTS coupe sending drive to all four wheels via a seven-speed PDK – a $327,490 (plus on-road costs) offering.

Along with more power, the GTS gets a 44mm broader rear track and pumped out guards, wider 20-inch centre lock wheels, and Porsche’s PASM adjustable sports chassis.

Torque Vectoring Control, a new sports exhaust and Porsche’s Sport Chrono Plus performance suite are all standard fitment, while items including rear-wheel steering can be added on from the options menu.

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Lapping The Mountain

Having driven the 911 three hours from Sydney to Bathurst, your correspondent is already well versed on the details of the cabin, its user-friendly (for a supercar) storage and comfort options and some of the ageing features, including the turn-key start, button-laden centre fascia and excessive road noise.

In all, the 911 is a nice place to be, though, with premium materials, a thoughtful seating position and a user-friendly premise to the nav and infotainment system.

Ride compliance is strong given the car’s sporty pretensions and the GTS chews up the slur of inner-city traffic, suburban speeds and country highways thanks to the combination of its 3.0-litre flat-six and seven-speed PDK, which are well suited to any task, particularly when you make use of the different driving modes on offer.

Moreover, the car’s everyday amenity is supported by incredible real-world fuel use of approximately 8.2L/100km in a mix of conditions – an extraordinary feat given the power on tap and below the claimed 8.7L/100km figure.

With the fuel tank measuring two-thirds full as we amble into Bathurst’s pit lane, there is little thought given to whether the Porsche will make the distance of the 20 minute session. Perhaps we underestimate the speed and changes in elevation that Bathurst has to offer…

Proceedings start at measured and conservative, the lead driver carefully pointing out the important braking markers, apex points and appropriate places to pick up the throttle. This is all very critical at Bathurst, which clearly doesn’t suffer fools.

Before long, the pace has picked up, and the 911 is revelling in the conditions. Switching the car to Sports Plus mode at this point ensures we can elicit the most performance from the engine, gearbox, steering and dampers.

In this setting, the first noticeable trait is the pure tractability on offer from the engine. Happily, peak torque now arrives at a lowly 2150rpm, while peak power now arrives at 6500rpm – translating to effortless forward progress out of tighter corners, most noticeably ‘The Cutting’.

Once into middling revs, the engine really comes to life, making use of its second turbocharger to enable progressive but swift acceleration. Of course, the PDK transmission plays a lead role here, with swift, perfectly timed changes – or in the hands of the driver, interaction via the steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters.

The soundtrack tends more toward shrieking howl than bassy baritone, and slinking down the Esses, using a combination of engine braking and physical braking, it almost sounds as though the engine is possessed, such is the high-pitch of its wail. The turbocharged GTS is removed from the naturally-aspirated 911s of old, but in isolation, the spine-tingling soundtrack still rocks the senses.

The engine’s tractability is supported by enormous grip from the all-wheel drive system. At no point does the GTS feel flustered or overcome by the circuit; on one instance, throttling too early out of the heart-in-your-mouth ‘Dipper’, the 911 simply squats and goes. Other like-minded vehicles would squirm or get taily; not this machine.

Organic, articulate steering and superb body control are some of the other highlights captured in the 911 as the laps continue to tally. At no point does it fade or become prone to the tough conditions, irrespective of regular road tyres and steel brakes.

In all, the GTS has seemingly no troubles keeping pace with the car’s around it. This is most apparent out of Hell Corner and Forrest’s Elbow, where the grip of the all-wheel drive system seemingly allows it to make up for any power deficit to the more powerful 911 GT3.

Then, after one final high speed fling down Conrod Straight, a reading approaching 250km/h, a call comes over the radio that our session is over.

It is all just as well; the 911’s fuel tank is almost bone dry and its driver still heavily processing what has just happened.

“Drive over to the bowser and we’ll fill it up for you,” instructs Youlden from pit lane. “Then after that you’re free to go.”

We do so, pulling out onto Panroma Avenue and onwards to our accommodation. The 911 has been switched back to docile Comfort mode, ditto its driver.

The GTS is a Swiss army knife in every sense.

2018 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS pricing and specifications:
Price: $327,490 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder twin-turbo petrol
Output: 331kW/550Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch
Fuel: 8.7L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 196g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: N/A