Porsche has revised its 911 range with a stroked version of the flat six-cylinder engine, now out to 3.6 litres and aided by Porsche's VarioCam Plus variable valve timing and lift control which boosts peak power by 15kW to 235kW. Torque jumps 20Nm to 370Nm.
Porsche has also added the Carrera 4S to the range, which we've driven here. North American magazine Road & Track describes the C4S as the 'Un-Turbo' as it gets most of the 911 Turbo's mechanical goodies except for - wait for it - the turbocharger installation. Visually the two 911 models are almost identical: Low slung front spoiler with three large air intakes; 60mm wider rear end hiding Turbo-style 18in alloy wheels and tyres; 959-style airflow slats carved into the rear bumper.
Porschefiles will pick the differences: No Turbo-style air intakes ahead of the rear wheels (they feed the 911 Turbo's intercoolers); no subtle, fixed rear wing with riser, as the C4S gets the same pop-up wing as the standard 911.
Predominantly rear drive, the Porsche 911 C4S 4WD system feeds 5 percent of the power to the front axle via a multi-plate, viscous coupling clutch as in the 911 Turbo, and is able to ramp up to 40 percent when the rear axle overwhelms traction. It's due to this rear drive bias that the C4S retains the 911's true sporting nature, though the 4WD system does take the edge off the 911's propensity for rear-end nervousness on the limit.
Some all-wheel drive cars will push the front all day unless you're quite brutal with the steering wheel on corner entry, and the C4S does display initial understeer on turn in - a product of the rear-engined weight bais. This is a car that needs to be set up before the corner, not just thrown in and sorted out. The C4S will only reveal its incredible poise and sublime handling that all those development hours on Porsche's Weissach test track hammered into the chassis to a committed driver.
Treat it politely and you'll find the C4S lazy on turn-in and constantly pushing wide on the throttle. Commit to a corner, however, and the 911 will hunt the apex like a lion on the scent, while the bigger engine's punch out of a corner has to be experienced to be believed. The Boxer engine revs so quickly, so cleanly and hungrily it's as if no rev limiter will be strong enough to stop the onslaught. And the brakes, they're straight from the awesome 911 Turbo, which means 330mm discs with abs-assisted, four piston calipers that bite harder than Tyson.
The factory claims a European combined cycle (city/country) fuel economy figure of 12.1l/100km for the C4S, giving a touring range of around 520km from its 64litre tank. In our short stint with the C4S we fared slightly worse, averaging low 14s during a week that included daily commuting and a particularly spirited, early morning mountain climb.
It's a common fallacy these days that the 911 is a hard car to live with, usually spouted by those - like us - who's desire for ownership will never be matched by the bank balance to fulfil it. The complaints usually tow the 'unforgiving suspension' line, or harp on about the impracticalities of the cabin, the low entry height, the lack of luggage space, or even the incredible resolve and concentration required to tootle sedately around town in a 235kW supercoupe.
Quite frankly, it's all rubbish. The current generation (996) 911 is as easy to live with as any other high-performance 2+2 coupe we've ever driven, with the possible exception of the BMW M3. The 911 is not at all hard to drive in town at legal speeds. It does not lurch and lunge off the line, nor does it require a finely attuned clutch foot to prevent stalls. This is a truly civilised supercar, and while you may not fit the family shopping in the smallish boot (under the bonnet), you will certainly slot in enough food to keep a happy couple ticking over for a month - we did. The rear seats provide ample room for a couple of future adults, though headroom could be a problem for mid-teens up.
Face facts: The Porsche 911 is designed to be the ultimate sports coupe - and it is. It is not designed to carry the family to soccer training, or drag the dog to grooming, though this latest version will certainly do it better than any 911 ever has before.
It is designed to be fun and fast to drive, incredibly fast. It will climb a mountain, or tear across a valley quicker than any other car in its price range. And it will do so happily all day, every day. And so will you if you buy one.
Food for thought: Porsche's factory test pilots achieved a 8min 16sec lap of the Nurburgring in a 911 C4S - the 911 Turbo did a 7:56.