Jetgala - MAR-MAY 2023

77 M any motoring enthusiasts will tell you that there is no marque quite like a Porsche.That’s because the winning combination of design, beauty, performance, luxury, and craftsmanship makes the German carmaker’s vehicles very desirable, even collectable. Still, in terms of image, for many car lovers, there really is only one Porsche… the widely recognizable and iconic 911. Much of the 911’s charisma is that Porsche has sought to constantly improve the model in only subtle ways, without dramatic, in-your-face revisions. In fact, the original concept for the 911 dates all the way back to the early 1960s.Today, the car’s legendary shape is still unmistakable, but it also makes it difficult for the untrained eye to tell each version apart, thanks to the restrained adjustments and improvements. In this review we’ll be taking a look at the new 911 CarreraT.The letter “T” stands for touring and describes models that offer a purist driving experience with exceptionally sporty equipment all with a lighter curb weight. The Porsche 911 CarreraT we tested came with a standard seven-speed manual gearbox.An eight-speed Porsche automatic PDK is also available as an option. Transmissions aside, with Porsche manual transmissions, the rear seats are left out due to the weight of the seats and size of the clutch housing. Not such a big loss as the ordinary, standard rear seats would have trouble fitting a large Leprechaun, let alone a child. Basically, 911 seats were delegated to stowing golf clubs and not much else. The CarreraT features the Porsche Active Suspension Management system (PASM), which acts like two chassis in one:A sporty, yet comfortable, chassis for long journeys and an exceptionally active chassis for the racetrack.The normal setting provides a more comfortable basic configuration of the dampers, and switches to a sportier mode if the vehicle is driven more dynamically.This increases comfort levels, particularly long motorway journeys, as the PASM absorbs bumps in the road surface significantly better than a standard passive chassis. In contrast, the sport setting activates harder damper characteristics that support a highly agile driving style.The reduced car body movements make it easier to achieve fast lap times on the racetrack. P O R S C H E 9 1 1 T by Robe r t S t edman