Porsche 911 GTS 2021 Review

An entry price of $314,800 plus on-road costs isn’t exactly going to put a 2021 Porsche 911 GTS in every garage when first Australian deliveries commence in the coming months, but it’s only a $25,000 hike over the superseded 991.2 GTS.

It’s also a $74K hike over the stock 911 Carrera 2, and that’s not nothing.

The range of 911 GTS models tops out with the Targa 4 GTS at $366,900 plus ORCs and that’s not insignificant. It’s also a circa-$90,000 discount on a 911 Turbo, and that’s not insignificant either.

You can shift your own gears (and, at seven, a lot of them), but only in the entry-level rear-drive version of the latest 992-series 911 GTS (for no extra money). The rest use eight-speed PDK dual-clutch systems.

While the lightest GTS, the rear-drive Carrera GTS, tips in at 1510kg (dry), there is a light-weight pack to pull that back beneath the 1.5-tonne barrier.

The package detracts from the comfort orientation of the GTS, though, with carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) seats, a lighter lithium-ion phosphate battery and lighter glass everywhere, including the windscreen.

It also dumps some of the sound deadening, so it delivers a more pure flat-six blare than usual, and Porsche insists half the point of the light-weight package is a more intimate driving experience. And they may be right.

There are other options, so hold off writing that cheque just yet.

The 911 GTS can come with rear-axle steering as an option. There are also optional aero elements in the front to reduce lift, while the rear spoiler’s attitude is reprogrammed to balance it out, with another four degrees of rake angle for added downforce.

It’s not an easy car to spot amongst the Carreras, though the observant may recognise black contrasting bodywork for the lip spoiler, the alloy wheels and the engine cover. The GTS badges, though, are considerably easier to notice.

There’s a 14-way electric seat option, or even an 18-way adaptive sports seat, to go with the new voice recognition and updated navigation systems.

There’s also a three-year free in-car internet connection (at least, there is in Europe) and the entertainment system now works with iPhones and Android Auto as well.

It’s the brakes, you see. Every fast Porsche specialises in faster brakes, and the 2021 Porsche 911 GTS is no exception.

Brake suppliers (like tyre suppliers) privately admit that Porsche has the most gruelling testing and validation standards in the car-making world, and that becomes obvious whenever you stand on them.

The standard anchor set on the new 911 GTS includes 408mm front discs that are 36mm wide and ventilated, supported by a pair of 380x30mm rear discs, all clamped by six-piston monobloc callipers up front and four-piston units at the back.

There are carbon-ceramic options, because it’s Porsche, and the same set-up runs the gamut of the 911 GTS range. It adds even bigger discs – at 410mm up front and 390mm at the rear – and they’re remarkably squeal-free.

All the coupe and cabriolet versions sit 10mm lower than their Carrera cousins (the chunky 1650kg Targa is the exception) and they all use PASM (Porsche Active Stability Management) dynamic damping.

There’s torque vectoring, PSM (Porsche Stability Management) and an electronically controlled active rear differential lock.

There are options, like the front-axle lift function (that gives 40mm more nose height), a more comfort-oriented power steering weighting and the rear-axle steering that adds high-speed stability and also pulls the turning circle down from 11.2 metres to 10.9m.

The GTS is only 4533mm long, with a 2450mm wheelbase, and its tracks have been pushed out to 1595mm at the front and 1557mm at the rear – all the better to squeeze in the 245/35ZR20 front and 305/30ZR21 rear rubber.

That’s just 10mm less footprint width than the 911 Turbo at each end.

There’s a meaty car beneath the 2021 Porsche 911 GTS bodywork, and that starts with a 22kW power boost and a 20Nm torque jump from the predecessor, taking things out to 353kW of power and 570Nm of torque.

It never feels like it’s lacking either, so it’s enough, and it gets the GTS to 100km/h in 3.3 seconds, to 200km/h in 11.6 seconds (the rear-drive PDK gets there first) and out to a top speed of 311km/h.

The tricks to eke out the urge have all come from the software and the Turbo, including a pair of symmetrically designed turbochargers and electrically controlled wastegate valves, which help to regulate the boost pressure (it maxes out at 1.3 bar).

The intercoolers for the turbocharging system live above the engine, under the rear grille, while its Piezo injectors deliver fuel to the engine at up to 200 bar.

It’s not a high-revving engine, peaking its power at 7500rpm and delivering its best torque performance from 2300 to 5000 revs, but it’s entirely in keeping with its character and never feels underwhelming.

There’s also a Sport Chrono package that delivers dynamic engine mounts, a switchable PSM Sport mode and the Porsche Track Precision app, along with a button that gives the car maximum performance for 20-second bursts.

There are plenty of 911 Turbo pieces lurking in and around here, including the ‘helper’ springs and the Porsche Active Suspension Management, which has been retuned for GTS work.

Sitting 10mm lower than the Carrera, it also uses the Turbo’s brake package and centre-lock alloys for the 20-inch front and 21-inch rear wheels.

Porsche promises a lot of things every time it launches a new 911 variant. (To be fair, a lot of car-makers promise new things whenever they launch a new variant.)

The difference is that what the Porsche engineers (and it’s always the engineers, not the marketers) suggest will happen turns out to be precisely what happens and what you feel behind the wheel. Dammit, it’s like they know.

The beauty of the 2021 Porsche 911 GTS is not that it’s faster than the Carrera, or that it’s cheaper and less binary than the Turbo.

No, the beauty of it is that it feels like its own car, with its own character, with its own sense of what it does well.

Oddly, it’s at its best with the PDK gear-shifting, because the seven-speed gearbox proves to be awkwardly notchy, even with 10mm lopped off the gear lever’s height.

Porsche explains that the gear gates are necessarily jammed in close together to squeeze in the extra one (which, realistically, is only there for fuel economy).

The reality is that it loses the carefree, buttery gorgeousness of past 911 gearboxes, it’s counter-intuitive, and when you want to change down multiple gates (seventh to, say, fourth) the digitised blip on downshifts is useful but not always wanted. (It can be switched off.)

The power and torque are impressive, though, and it all just seems to work in harmony with the eight-speeder, blasting off the line to beyond 300km/h in a seamless surge of pressure and urgency, but never fury.

It’s the same philosophy with the suspension and the handling. There’s extreme competence there, but it’s never at the expense of the things you need to do every day.

It soaks up any bump or undulation in the way you have always expected a 911 to do, letting you know it’s there with a little tug at the wheel, without moving the body from its stance.

That gives you a car you can hurl at the scenery, expecting it to grip and grip, and also a car that can live on either the front or rear ends through a corner with equal aplomb.

It punches out of corners with eye-popping urge, but it’s the ability to dive into an apex, walking the driver on a fine line between apprehension and assurance, that makes it special.

The wonder of the Porsche 911 isn’t that it continues to get better, but that it continues to get better AND feel like a 911 with every new generation AND every sub-model as well.

And so the 992-series 2021 Porsche 911 GTS feels exactly like what it says on the tin: it’s halfway between the Carrera and the Turbo, and yet it feels like its own model, with its own distinct character.

Much of that comes from that enchanting, engrossing turbo wastegate trill, but the aural charm is unmistakeable.

The chassis, too, feels like a 911, except there’s a layer of security there that feels unshakeable even in the face of insane commitment.

If you are in the market for a sports car at this sort of price point, it would be almost impossible for me to give you a game-changing reason why it shouldn’t be a 911 GTS.

How much does the 2021 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS cost?
Price: $314,800 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Early 2022
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder twin-turbo petrol
Output: 353kW/570Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch automatic (seven-speed manual – no-cost option)
Fuel: 10.7L/100km (WLTP)
CO2: 244g/km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Not tested