The new Porsche 911 GTS has arrived to fill the gap between the Carrera S and the full-bore GT3, promising a “focused” driving experience with an emphasis on agility.
Serving as the range-topper for the standard 911 line-up, the GTS is marked out visually by a raft of bespoke styling cues, while accompanying powertrain and chassis upgrades bring increased performance.
Porsche’s turbocharged 3.0-litre flat-six engine is up from 331kW in the S to 353kW. This, combined with 569Nm of torque, enables the GTS coupé to crack the 0-100km/h sprint in just 3.3sec with an eight-speed PDK automatic gearbox and four-wheel drive.
It can also be specified with a seven-speed manual gearbox and in rear-wheel-drive format. There are slight performance variations according to options.
The 911 Cabriolet can also now be ordered in GTS form, as can the 911 Targa, although this comes with four-wheel drive only.
A bespoke suspension set-up, derived from the 911 Turbo, brings dampers which “respond to dynamic changes at lightning speed”, a 10mm drop in ride height and, for the coupé and the Cabriolet, Porsche’s Active Suspension Management System (PASM) as standard.
The 911 Turbo’s uprated brakes are carried over, too, as are its 20-inch front and 21-inch rear centre-lock wheels.
Trim accents, the wheels, the exhaust tip and the spoiler lip are painted black, as are the dynamic LED headlights and model-unique tail-lights.
Meanwhile, carbonfibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) bucket seats, thinner window glass and a lightweight battery save up to 25kg as part of the optional Lightweight Package, which also deletes the rear seats and adds rear-axle steering.
Otherwise, the GTS is marked out inside by liberal use of Race-Tex upholstery, model badging and matt carbonfibre trim inserts.
Customer deliveries are scheduled to start later in 2021
Felix Page