Tested: 2022 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Manual Embraces Its Niche
From the July/August 2022 issue of Car and Driver.
Tucked away in a lab are Porsche scientists capable of splitting hairs beyond a nanometer. Or so we think. How else could a team develop so many variants of a single car? If the 911 Carrera S isn’t enough but the GT3 is out of reach, split the difference with the new 911 Carrera GTS.
The $138,050 Carrera GTS follows the usual formula: Standard equipment includes the sporty options on the Carrera S, such as a 0.4-inch-lower sport suspension, a louder exhaust, and the Sport Chrono package’s dynamic engine mounts, Sport Plus mode, and launch control. To separate itself from the lesser model, the GTS also receives helper springs on the rear axle, the Turbo’s brake system, and the Turbo S’s center-lock wheels.
Michael SimariCar and Driver
HIGHS: Nearly as quick as the automatic, fantastic to drive.
The twin-turbo 3.0-liter flat-six is tuned up with more boost to produce 473 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque, 30 more of each than the Carrera S offers. Though an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic is standard, a seven-speed manual is a no-cost option. Here in the GTS it’s treated to a shift lever that’s 0.4 inch shorter than the one in the Carrera S.
The automatic’s brilliant launch programming is entertaining yet so easy, even Ralph Nader could rip consistent sub-three-second 60-mph sprints. But there’s a certain gratification in executing the perfect hole shot with a DIY gearbox.
Michael SimariCar and Driver
Perform a flawless slip of the clutch in the stick-shift GTS and it rockets off the line with the same ferocity as the dual-clutch version. In both cars, 30 mph arrives in 1.2 seconds. Nail the one-two shift and 60 mph takes 3.2 seconds, 0.4 second behind the autobox, just a bit longer than the time it takes to shift. That puts this Porsche in a tie with the fire-breathing 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and the 2017 Dodge Viper ACR for the quickest manual-equipped cars we’ve tested (both of those get to 60 mph without a shift to second). The GTS manual demolishes the quarter-mile in 11.3 seconds at 126 mph, narrowly trailing the automatic.
Michael SimariCar and Driver
LOWS: Brutally stiff ride, the quickest has yet to arrive.
As with all 992s, the GTS is stupid easy to drive fast. Those not versed in the art of heel-and-toe shifting will benefit from rev matching, which can be disabled through the infotainment system. We defy you to find a better electronically assisted steering system. There’s uncanny feedback at the limit, and with optional rear-axle steering increasing stability, the 3401-pound GTS pulls 1.06 g’s around the skidpad. Ride quality will depend on location. In Michigan, with the dampers in their softest setting, the stiffer springs were judged brutal.
Michael SimariCar and Driver
The GTS is a sports car first, but it’s also a marvel of efficiency. It returned 32 mpg in our 75-mph highway fuel-economy test. With the optional 23.7-gallon fuel tank, 750 miles on a fill-up is possible.
The GTS can be ordered with a Lightweight package (carbon-fiber seats, lightweight glass, less sound deadening, rear-seat delete) to shave a claimed 55 pounds; spec the carbon-ceramic brakes and a seven-speed manual, keep the standard fuel tank, and the GTS could be 100 pounds lighter. Or just wait for the 2023 911 Sport Classic, with its 543 horsepower, to arrive as the king of the manuals. We’ll test both. For science.
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