Daily Slideshow: The Carrera T Is The Back to Basics 911

1. It's Number 23

Can you name all 23 flavors of 911 currently available? Starting with the most affordable model, the 911 Carrera, you're already in some enviable territory, with a 370 horsepower and 331 lb-ft of torque twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter flat-six turning in 4-second-ish 0-60 mph times. All that for $92,000. Next comes the newest member of the 911 family, the Carrera T (the "T" is for Touring), that according to Porsche is, " ... reinvigorating the concept of the puristic 911 T model from 1968 with the new 2018 911." Let's take a look at where that new vigor lies...

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2. It's Light

Nothing reinvigorates a sports car like a little weight loss, and the Carrera T is now the lightest Carrera Porsche sells—with a curb weight of 3142 pounds it's 11 pounds lighter than the base Carrera. The newest 911 pulls this off by substituting thinner glass in the back and rear side windows, using less sound insulation à la the 911 GTS models, and replacing the inside door handles with fabric door-opener loops. In Europe, the Carrera T can even be ordered without an entertainment system.

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3. It’s Spry

While lighter weight might be enough to attract some buyers, Porsche sweetened the pot by giving the Carrera T shorter gearing—lowering the final-drive ratio from the manual Carrera's 3.44:1 to 3.59:1 in the T. Porsche claims the lower curb weight and shorter gears shave a modest one-tenth of a second off the manual Carrera's 0-60 time, though times for the optional PDK transmission-equipped Carrera T remain the same as in the base Carrera. For those buyers looking for an extra couple miles per hour at the top end, you'll be interested to know that the manual version hits 182 mph vs. the PDK's 180 mph. Also included as standard on the T are mechanically locking rear diff. and a 0.4-inch lower sport suspension, the only other base model 911 with those options as standard is the Carrera S. 

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4. It’s Attractive

The Carrera T is easily identified from the outside via side stripes bearing its name and comes with Titanium Grey 20-inch Carrera S wheels as standard, in addition to a tasteful and classic T after Carrera on the rear fascia. The Carrera T also gets its own interior trim package, including a GT Sport steering wheel, a Carrera T-only shortened gear lever with red embossed shift pattern, black dash and doors, and available contrasting accents in Racing Yellow, Guards Red or GT Silver. The seats are 4-way electrically adjustable Sport Seats Plus, with seat centers in Sport-Tex, and the headrests feature an embroidered "911" logo. When the optional carbon fiber Full Bucket Seats (previously only available on GT3 and GT2 RS models) are ordered, the rear seats are deleted—saving even more weight.

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5. It’s Tempting

As we noted the base Carrera comes in at $92,000, while the previous next-in-line 911, the Carrera S starts at $106,000. The new Carrera T slides in nicely between the two at $103,150, though options push that total up in a hurry—those carbon fiber seats (and accompanying rear-seat delete) retail for a cool $5200. At the $100,000 price point, the T is going up against the likes of BMW 6 Series, Audi 8, Mercedes-Benz AMG GT and Nissan GT-R models, but none of those options come close to the history embodied in a Carrera. All things considered, a lighter 911 with added features coming in second from the bottom of the price range looks to be an attractive option for buyers who want a pure 911 Porsche experience.

>>Join the conversation about the stripped down Carrera T right here in the Rennlist Forum!

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