The latest Porsche 911 Carrera T is here, and it comes with a free sticker. In fact, the sticker is sort of a nod to what this car is all about: making a direct and memorable connection between the car and its driver. But before we get to that, let’s talk about exactly what you’re getting with the newest Carrera T.
Today, the Carrera is Porsche’s base 911. Add a T, and you get within that base trim. Between 1968 and 1973, Porsche sold a 911 T made to save weight over the standard car.
This new 911 Carrera T harkens back to that classic strategy of reducing weight at the cost of some luxury. Under the hood is the same engine found in the base 911 Carrera, a 3.0-liter twin-turbo boxer six that makes 388 horsepower and 331 lb-ft of torque. Notably, it is only available with a six-speed manual gearbox — that’s what makes the 911 T so special among enthusiasts.
The car intends to provide maximum engagement and fun without the price tag that comes along with something like the 911 GT3 which starts north of $222,000. It does that through a blending of lightweight design and a few nice little touches to make this car still feel special.
For example, it’s the lightest Carrera available with a curb weight of just 3,316 pounds. The front chin spoiler is from the 911 GTS model. Porsche says it used lightweight windows, cut out some of the sound-deadening material, and saved more weight by offering only that stickshift. Then, the company added an open-pore walnut ball handle to the gear shift to denote the model, and slapped a sticker on each rear side window. Have a look:
Porsche added rear-axle steering as a standard feature to this car to enable sharper handling. It also added Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) and retuned it specifically for the Carrera T. PASM lowers the car by 1 cm (0.4 inches) and adds new optimized damper settings. New six-piston brakes sit at the front of the car along with a new anti-roll bar for sharper stops and handling.
Porsche claims that the new Carrera T with all of these subtle changes can run from 0-60 mph in 4.3 seconds as a coupe and 4.5 seconds as a cabriolet. That’s an important point worth noting, too. This is the very first 911 T available as a drop-top. In fact, there are several exterior changes that distinguish the Carrera T from its siblings regardless of whether one goes for the hard top or soft top.
One is the wing mirror caps all featuring a Vanadium Grey Metallic paint. That same hue can be seen on the wheels, the model designation decals, and the badge at the rear. Every 911 Carrera T also comes with Sport Exhaust pipes in black stainless steel.
Notice there’s an “MT” badge behind the shifter, plus there’s a logo on the dashboard on the passenger’s side:
Though it doesn’t appear mentioned in the press release, it looks like the 911T will beam a six-speed shift pattern-shaped light on the ground as a puddle-light:
Here are a few more shots of the convertible:
The hood stripe featured on the press launch hardtop (shown below and also above the blue car) is a part of a unique exterior package that highlights Gentian blue as an accent color. Buyers who select it will find the same color on the intake slat inlays, the door graphics, and the wheels.
Vanadium Grey ends up in the standard cabin too on the dash and center console. Buyers have the option of adding carbon-reinforced plastic seats so save even more weight too.
They can also match their exterior Gentian Blue package with one for the cabin too. Blue thread replaces what would usually be black thread. Trim rings in the gauge cluster and clock get the same shade. The standard seats feature black plaid but again with Gentian Blue stitching and little 911 logos on the headrests.
Ultimately, this is a stripped-down 911 Carrera with several unique touches. It should be a hoot to drive, and it’ll stand out in a crowd of other Porsches too. For the privilege of owning one, a buyer will still need to fork out somewhere in the neighborhood of $134,000 for the coupe and $147,300 for the cabriolet. That is, of course, assuming that your local Porsche dealer will sell it to you without a markup.
All Images: Porsche
Ugh, that self-congratulatory crap from the factory is to put it politely, undesirable. And I say this as someone with a “save the manuals” sticker on the car I have with a manual.
I guess context matters. The Porsche is intended as bragging, or at least comes off that way where I feel mine supports the continued existence of a thing that’s fallen out of favor outside of a niche I happen to be within.
My old Boxster S is a 6-speed, but I never thought that I needed stickers or puddle lamps on the car to proclaim this. It’s a “if you know, you know” sorta thing.
I’m here for the wood knob.
Heyyooo!
Beat me to it! It is a beautiful knob 😉
The perfect vehicle for your local self-impressed dentist
if I could afford a 911, this would be my pick over pretty much any other model. You could daily drive this but still have loads of fun. And I bet they’ll never be able to make a 911 as light as this again
Tell me you’re trying to impress someone without telling me you’re trying to impress someone…
Yes, yes, yes, that’s all well and good…
But, is it a manual??
Can I get those stickers for my Matrix?
Asking for a friend (my Matrix).
The stickers are indeed lame, but the T is a great variant, especially for tuning. I have a 991.2 C2T and with a few TiAl bolt ons (M660 turbos, etc) and a custom Cobb tune by Mikey Botti, it makes 625 whp on pump/730 on E85 gas while remaining very manageable around town. My generation is a good bit lighter and has ceramic brakes and suspension from a totaled GT2 RS parts car, custom ultralight Strassse center locks for the narrow body, and a titanium exhaust, so it’s likely under 3000 pounds wet, which is what this car should have weighed from the start. It’s a fantastic jumping off point for modifications and the most visceral car I’ve ever driven. The loss of the 7th cog is a head scratcher, especially since this is the same transmission otherwise (as opposed to the 6 speed from the GT3 everyone raves about). It’s a great overdrive gear for the highway and is locked out until you’re in 5th, so I’ve never minded having it. Numeric’s shift kit for these cars makes a world of difference. it’s already a great gearbox, but is sheer perfection with their kit.
The 1970 Porsche 911 T coupe has a curb weight of 2,249 lbs. Also it is engaging on the level of “I’ll do anything you ask but pay attention or I’ll kill you”. The 1970 is sort of the psycho girlfriend and I guess this is more the trophy wife?
Yeah I know the 1970 Porsche 911 T was the base model 911
That’s some goofy shit that I’d be surprised to see on an old Civic with a comfort stuffed animal hanging off a decorative tow hook. And didn’t they used to have a 7-speed? The 6 is probably the better to drive, but nobody drives these super special versions (1/600 special special editions, each more special than the last), anyway, and more gE4r$ is more. I’ve never really gotten the Porsche thing, but now they’re quickly working their way up the expensive joke list Ferrari currently reigns over. [insert gif of hockey coach kicking a trash barrel shouting, “Fucking embarrassing!”]
The stylized ‘911’ on the door reads as ‘gm’ to me. So that’s cool.
I can’t unsee that now thanks. 🙂
I guess stickers are lightweight, but I rather miss the old ‘5-speed’ badges
Looks like someone at Porsche is a fan of the Manual Gearbox Preservation Society.
https://thecurbshop.com/collections/tmgps?srsltid=AfmBOoo_hb_RTWrOHN0Ln3we12Xzy9JWhj7WxqQOhrfzfcOh54GaBOVi
Congratulations to the ‘Special Boy Stickshift Driver’s Club of Real Big Boys’ for finally breaking into the mainstream and getting one of their cringe-ass stickers on a new car. You done it.
This car was built for my 16 year old son who just bought a T shirt that says “I can drive stick”
The stick stickers are stuck on so the world knows you are a “sticker”
Repeat this in a German accent.
It’s about 800 lbs too heavy and about 1 foot wider than it should be. What a pig.
But, it’s ONLY 3300 pounds. That’s almost 300 pounds lighter than my 1967 Impala with a 283 and two speed automatic. That’s amazing weight savings!
By Grabthar’s Hammer, what a savings.
To put things into perspective, the Impala is about 2 ft longer and the better part of a foot wider than the modern 911, has a cast iron engine block, and a steel body.
That’s just dumb
Obnoxious.
I’m sure for $495 they’ll sell you a “sticker delete” package, but if I’m spending 6 figures on a car I definitely don’t want gimmicky puddle lights or 50 cent stickers on my windows.
On the configurator, the puddle light is fortunately an optional extra, and the side stickers can be removed for $0, the window sticker is of course also completely removeable with purchase of a 50 cent razor blade.
Just what I want to do to my brand new $140,000 car!
It’s been my understanding that sticker add HP. That’s why they were all over the tuner cars.
Small stickers = 5HP
Large stickers = 15 HP
I’d like six large stickers, please.