Stuttgart, Germany. It’s an old South African joke that GT stands for Ge-Tune, one that goes all the way back to the first-generation Ford Cortina GT of the 1960s. Well, in the case of the latest Porsche 911 GTS, that is literally true.
The three-litre flat six in the new GTS, announced today and due in South Africa in the second quarter of 2017, has been tweaked with a new turbo to deliver a howling 331kW – that’s 22kW more than the current 911 Carrera S and 15 kW more than the previous, naturally aspirated GTS.
More to the point, it also has a torque curve that looks like Table Mountain, with 550Nm on tap anywhere from 2150-5000rpm. That’s good enough for a 0-100km/h blast-off in 3.6 seconds and 312km/h flat out (only on the autobahn, of course).
Power is laid down at either the rear wheels or all four, via either a seven-speed manual gearbox or optional double-clutch transmission, also with seven ratios lined up.
The fantastic five
The GTS will be available in a choice of five variants: the Carrera GTS and Carrera 4 GTS – each offered either as a coupé or convertible, and the half-roofed Targa 4 GTS with all-wheel drive.
All the GTS models, irrespective of how many wheels are driven, are based on the all-wheel drive Carrera 4 chassis, measuring 1852mm across the rear wheel-arches, with active suspension management and 10mm lowered suspension as standard issue.
Sport Design
The GTS range has its own distinctive aero kit, starting with new front apron incorporating a low front splitter, balanced by an extended rear spoiler for reduced lift forces at both ends compared to the Carrera S models.
The rear treatment is also special, with smoked tail-light lenses, a semi-gloss black air intake grille and blacked-out central dual tailpipes for the standard-issue sports exhaust system. Rear-wheel drive variants have a new black trim strip between the tail-lights, while the all-wheel drive models get a special light strip in its place.
GTS logos on the doors, Sport Design side mirrors and 20 inch rims with semi-gloss black centre locks complete the look, while the Targa model has a black Targa bar, for the first time on a GTS
Track Precision app
The cabin is trimmed in a mix of alcantara – including the steering wheel rim, centre console and armrests – and black-anodised brushed aluminium trim; GTS crews sit on four way power-adjustable Sports Plus seats with extra lateral support, trimmed in alcantara with a special stitching pattern and GTS logos on the head restraints.
Porsche obviously expects you to drive this car like you mean it – the stopwatch of the Sport Chrono package is built into the middle of the dashboard, and the Porsche Track Precision app has been upgraded to coincide with the release of the GTS models.
Just show it where the start-finish line of the circuit is and it will automatically record all your laps on your smartphone, complete with detailed display and analysis of driving data – although we’re not sure we want our driving performance critiqued by a computer!
Prices
Carrera GTS Coupé - R1 695 000
Carrera 4 GTS Coupé - R1 820 000
Carrera GTS Cabriolet - R1 842 000
Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet - R1 966 000
Targa 4 GTS - R1 966 000