Seven-ish years ago, Porsche stumbled on a nifty way of expanding the already-sprawling 911 range: take a basic Carrera, throw some bits away, cherry-pick some choice chassis kit, resurrect a name from the 911’s long history, profit. The result was the Porsche 911 Carrera T, and the two versions there’ve been since have been some of the very best of their respective generations.
Now, there’s a new one, based on the recently facelifted ‘992.2’ 911 Carrera, and we have no reason whatsoever to think it won’t repeat that. Basing it on the entry-level 911 means there’s no hybridisation here, as seen in the GTS and soon to be found in the Turbo. Instead, it uses the same 3.0-litre, 389bhp, 332lb ft twin-turbo flat-six as the Carrera.
Porsche 911 Carrera T 992.2 – rear
That car, though, is currently only available with a PDK gearbox. The T is manual and, for now, manual-only. It’s now a six-speed rather than the seven-speed used by the outgoing 911 T, and best of all, it has an utterly delightful walnut wood gear knob, likely a reference to both the Carrera GT and 917 racer. If you want people to think you’re a better driver than you really are, it also has a selectable auto-blip function.
The other big change for the 992.2 T is that, for the first time, it’s available as a Cabriolet as well as a coupe. The coupe will hit 62mph in 4.5 seconds and a 183mph top speed, while the Cabriolet drops those figures to 4.7 seconds and 182mph. That’s a significant 0.6-second drop on the regular 911 Carrera coupe’s acceleration, likely down to the different gearboxes.
Porsche 911 Carrera T 992.2 – interior
It’s certainly not a weight issue, because the T coupe sheds 42kg from the mass of the standard Carrera through the use of the lighter gearbox, thinner window glass, and reduced sound deadening. Option the lightest fixed-back bucket seats, and it weighs 1478kg.
Keeping up the T tradition of throwing in some desirable options as standard, the new one gets the Sport Chrono pack, rear-axle steering, adaptive PASM suspension and a sports exhaust as part of the package. It also gets the more aero-focused rear spoiler from the Carrera GTS. Oh, and don’t worry, you don’t have to have those stripes.
Porsche 911 Carrera T Cabriolet 992.2 – side
Available to order now, the new Carrera T coupe costs from £111,300, while the Cabriolet will set you back exactly £10,000 more. They’re increases of £11,500 over the basic Carrera coupe and Cabriolet, and will almost definitely be £11,500 well spent. Still want that new GT3?
