Manual-only purist Porsche Carrera T incoming
BY COBEY BARTELS | 1st Nov 2024
PORSCHE has updated its 911 Carrera T (which stands for ‘touring’) model to the 992.2-generation, due Down Under in mid-2025 and now exclusively available as a six-speed manual in either coupe form (from $306,800 before on-road costs) or soft-top guise (for an additional $23,300).
The official announcement clearly pitches the incoming Carrera T as a ‘purist’ option, with various mentions that it is manual only, meaning prospective owners wanting a PDK dual-clutch auto are forced to step down into a regular Carrera or up into a Carrera GTS – the latter costing around $70K more.
On the topic of the gearbox, Porsche has opted for six cogs this time around, doing away with the seven-speed manual used in the previous Carrera T. Drive is still sent to the rear wheels only, keeping the weight down and fun-factor up.
Buyers wanting a lightened, sharpened purist machine – with a third pedal – will be pleased to hear that Porsche has squeezed 7kW more from the turbocharged 3.0-litre flat-six engine, which now produces 290kW/450Nm.
According to the folks in Zuffenhausen, they were also able to pull 30kg out of the standard Carrera, with reduced interior insulation and other sacrificial measures undoubtedly taken.
Despite the diet, Porsche did add specially-tuned rear-axle steering for the first time which, when combined with a more direct steering ratio, is said to make the Carrera T “particularly agile”.
It will also get auto-blip as standard, somewhat compensating for the manual-only experience, and the Sport Chrono Package is included, which adds a stopwatch and Track Precision App.
The Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) system has been lowered by 10mm, with a unique tune to make the Carrera T “even better, and even more agile” on the road.
Porsche says it also tweaked the anti-roll bars, front and rear, to achieve neutral handling.
The Carrera T coupe accelerates to 100km/h in a claimed 4.5 seconds – matching the outgoing model’s figure – while the Cabriolet takes a smidge longer at 4.7 seconds.
Both claim a top speed just shy of 300km/h, the Coupe capable of 295km/h and the Cabriolet 293km/h.
To handle the bump in performance, Porsche has equipped the Carrera T with bigger brakes, now featuring 350mm rotors all-round with six-piston fixed callipers up the front.
Visual updates over the base Carrera include model-specific decals, grey badges and inlays, polished alloy wheels and a spoiler lip borrowed from the higher-grade Carrera GTS.
Australian-delivered 911 Carrera T models will get additional standard fare including a tyre fit set, ‘Up the Dreams’ colour range, rear ParkAssist with surround view, lane-change assist, keyless access, DAB+ digital radio reception and Bose surround sound system.
