The Carrera T showcases the Porsche 911’s solid foundation.
Drive a $126,550 Porsche 911 Carrera T back to back with a $242,950 Porsche 911 GT3 RS and you’ll genuinely feel some similarities. No, I’m not talking about switchgear or cabin tech; there’s a throughline of driver engagement that’s alive and well in every single 911. Porsche’s GT3 RS is a track star because it builds on a great foundation, and the 911 Carrera T is a love letter to that inherent brilliance.
The focus here isn’t power or speed, it’s about fitting the Carrera T with handling upgrades normally reserved for higher-end 911s while also reducing weight. The T comes with Porsche’s PASM sport suspension and torque-vectoring rear axle – things you can’t get on the standard Carrera. You also get staggered 20-inch front and 21-inch rear wheels and a sport exhaust system that enhances the aural quality of that turbocharged flat-6 engine.
As for weight savings, the majority of it comes from jettisoning the 911’s pretty-much-useless rear seats. (You can add them back in if you want, but, like, why?) Thinner glass is also part of the package, which does make the cabin somewhat louder than a standard 911, but not so much that it’ll bother you day to day. All told, Porsche says the Carrera T is around 100 pounds lighter than the base 911.
The Carrera T relies on the 911’s entry-level 3.0-liter turbo flat-6 for motivation. Output is quoted at 379 horsepower and 331 pound-feet of torque and the T is exclusively offered with rear-wheel drive. You can (and should) get the Carrera T with Porsche’s seven-speed manual transmission, as it’s the only way to pair the 911’s base engine with a stick. So equipped, Porsche estimates the Carrera T will accelerate to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds.
You can spec the Carrera T with Porsche’s lovely eight-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic transmission, which does reduce the 0-to-60-mph time significantly, to 3.8 seconds. But considering the T’s back-to-basics ethos, the manual just feels… correct. No, the seven-speed stick isn’t perfect; it lacks the mechanical tactility of Porsche’s six-speed gearboxes. But there’s something about rowing your own gears in this car that just feels right. PDK is a peach, but no thanks.
You know what else is a peach? Porsche’s 3.0-liter flat-6. Yes, the Carrera T might ‘only’ have 379 hp and 331 lb-ft, but that torque comes on super low (1,500 rpm) and stays strong past the midpoint of the rev range. This engine loves being wrung out to its redline and quick-shifted into the next gear. Bonus: There’s an automatic rev-matching downshift function built into the manual transmission, too, which makes dropping a gear a cinch. You can turn this tech off if you prefer to do your own heel-and-toe work, but this system is so stinkin’ good, I like leaving it on.
Weirdly, the Carrera T package doesn’t include rear-axle steering; that’s a $2,090 option. It seems strange for Porsche to leave off this corner-carving bit of tech, but you know, having driven T models with and without this feature, I can’t say I genuinely notice enough of a difference to make this a crucial upgrade. Instead, driving the Carrera T shines a spotlight on the 911’s sharp and nicely weighted steering, perfectly balanced chassis and strong steel brakes. On that note, while you cannot get carbon-ceramic brakes on the Carrera T, you won’t miss ‘em. The standard stoppers have great pedal feel and great initial bite.
From inside, the Carrera T is just like any other 911, with cleanly organized controls, two screens flanking an analog central tachometer and Porsche’s latest multimedia system. The T-specific seats have comfy cloth inserts with accent stitching, and you can option this Carrera with a few useful driving aids like blind-spot monitoring and lane-keeping assist. Oh, one thing I definitely recommend: a higher-end stereo. Porsche’s base audio setup is tinny garbage.
Fit the 911 Carrera T with must-haves like a front-axle lift ($2,770), LED matrix headlights ($3,270), a surround-view camera system ($1,430) and, oh, what the heck, the $5,560 Burmester stereo and some fancy paint, and you’ll be out the door for around $133,000. That’s certainly not chump change, and if you go easier on the extras, the 911 Carrera T starts at $126,550 including $1,650 for destination. The Carrera T is half the price of a 911 GT3 RS, but it’s way more than half the car.
