Review and test Porsche 911 GTS (992)

Since the introduction of the first Porsche 911 GTS, now twelve years ago, the model has been one of the favorite versions of the 911. No wonder, because where the GTS may have started as a clever marketing ploy (see what the most chosen/favorite options from your customers, aim for a Carrera, add some black accents and a little power and you’re done), it produced models that were really a lot tastier than their more common siblings. Not only with the 911, but also with the Cayenne and Macan, the GTS was and is the version where everything seems to come together, the version you want. The fact that they made a GTS version of the 718 Cayman, but then with a wildly shredding 4.0-liter engine that consumed just about everything that came close to it, made the name a bit confusing again, but good.

The recipe for this Porsche 911 GTS (992) has remained virtually the same. It is therefore basically a Carrera 2 or 4, in Coupé, Cabrio or Targa form, with an eight-speed PDK automatic transmission or a manual seven-speed gearbox. All that by choice, although you can only get the Targa as a four-wheel drive. Every GTS has black elements on the outside, such as the lip of the front spoiler, the wheels, the grille on the rear of the hood, the exhausts and the lettering. The standard LED headlights and taillights are fitted with smoked glass. A GTS therefore looks a bit more grim and aggressive in any case.

The inside of the Porsche 911 GTS (992)

Inside you’ll find sport seats covered in an Alcantara-esque fabric (they call it Race-Tex) and the door handles, armrests and gear knob are also covered in that stuff, as is the steering wheel – works well for those sweaty hands you’re sure to get when you do what it was made for with the Porsche 911 GTS (992). By the way, if you opt for a manual gearbox, then its poker is slightly shorter than normal, to be able to switch extra smoothly. Whether that one centimeter, because that’s all it is, will make the difference – it’s probably more about the idea. A Sport Chrono package is of course also included, just like a sports exhaust and a little less insulation.

Under the skin, according to Porsche, a lot has been borrowed from the 911 Turbo. The GTS chassis is derived from his and therefore equipped with auxiliary springs that always keep the ‘main springs’ under some pressure, and thus help to keep the wheels on the ground better during rough work. The brakes are also from the Turbo, although you can still upgrade to carbon-ceramic copies. The center-lock wheels, 20 inches at the front and 21 inches at the rear, also come from the upper-911.

The Porsche 911 GTS (992) also gets the Lightweight package

In addition, the GTS is always equipped with Porsche’s Active Suspension Management (PASM), so that you can adjust the chassis to your specific wishes. A bit wondrous is the Lightweight Package. As the name suggests, this consists of a number of weight-saving features, such as changing the carbon fiber reinforced plastic bucket seats and removing the rear seat. Still saves 25 pounds. The strange thing is that you then, and only then (cannot be ordered separately), get access to a co-steering rear axle, which in our opinion has nothing to do with lightweight situations, but can contribute significantly to an even better handling. Well, Porsche’s roads aren’t always so comprehensible…

The engine is the well-known 3.0-liter six-cylinder boxer with two turbos. With 480 hp, it delivers 30 hp more than the regular Carrera S and the old GTS. The torque also increases slightly, with 20 Nm added, it now comes to 570 Nm. Incidentally, no too complicated tricks are used for this – it does not go much further than slightly increasing the turbo pressure and a handful of microscopic adjustments in the engine management.

So, what does it all come down to?

Well, on the perfect happy medium between the Carrera S and the Turbo, if you ask us. And that is, as is almost tradition with the GTS’s, a bull’s eye. The difference with the Turbo is of course the biggest; despite the generously borrowed technology, it is the unapproachable beast in the 911 range with its 580 hp (if you don’t count specials like the GT3). On the other hand: it also costs about 65,000 euros extra and then you have to ask yourself whether you really need that almost 600 hp.

The difference with the Carrera S is smaller, but certainly big enough. The Porsche 911 GTS (992) costs 21,000 euros more, but is brighter, sharper and sportier in all respects. These differences are particularly noticeable on a track: he steers even sharper, bites into the bend even more firmly and comes out with even more confidence. In addition, it looks better and sounds a lot better – especially in the higher revs, towards the border area, a sharp sound is released, which also makes a Carrera a bit worried.

Or is it simply because you can hear the sound better? Either way, it’s a reward every time that sends shivers down your spine. So you can get the Porsche 911 GTS (992) with an exemplary manual gearbox, but the stunning PDK automatic transmission makes it superfluous in this car too. We know, it’s almost like cursing in church, but with an automatic transmission that shifts so insanely well, quickly and at exactly the right moments, we were happy to just focus on the racing lines – we never had the gears ourselves anyway better done.

On normal roads

On normal roads, it delivers virtually no comfort compared to the Carrera S; having to take it easy is sometimes a challenge with stronger 911s, if only because they want to, but with the GTS it is a piece of cake. With all the systems at their most relaxed setting, it’s like, er… a normal car. Put it all in Sport or Sport+, though, and all hell can run its course again. The versatility and dynamics that characterize most 911s are thus spread out over an even wider bandwidth in the GTS, with an emphasis on the sporty characteristics.

Is the Porsche 911 GTS (992) an all-rounder again?

Yes – if it hadn’t been such an incredibly cliche, we would have put that word as a headline above this story. Whatever you do with him, you’re guaranteed to have top-class fun, and most likely have every kilometer with him.