Currently reading: Paris motor show 2010: Porsche 911 Carrera GTS

Porsche's outgoing 911 Carrera coupe and carbio get a punchy last hurrah: the 402bhp GTS

Porsche has unveiled its new 911 Carrera GTS at the Paris motor show.

The model is a swansong for the current 997 range as the most powerful and potentially best-handling regular production Carrera yet.

See the official pics of the new Porsche 911 Carrera GTSSee an exclsuive video blog of the Porsche 911 Carrera GTS on the Paris show stand

It's due to go on sale in the UK in coupé and cabriolet body styles in December. It will be the final ‘regular’ 911 before the range is replaced with an all-new model from autumn 2011.

Unlike Porsche’s more extreme GT2, GT3 and Turbo 911s and their derivatives, the rear-wheel-drive GTS aims to preserve the Carrera’s day-to-day practicality while also boosting power, performance and dynamic ability.

Power from the Carrera S’s 3.8-litre direct-injection flat six engine is increased by 23bhp to 402bhp. Peak torque of 310lb ft is now available at 4200rpm, 200rpm lower than in the Carrera S.

Buyers get a six-speed manual gearbox as standard or can choose Porsche’s seven-speed PDK gearbox with steering wheel-mounted shifters as an option.

The manual GTS has a top speed 2mph higher than the Carrera S’s at 190mph, and its 0-62mph time is cut by 0.1sec to 4.6sec — or to as low as 4.2sec in a GTS coupé with PDK and the Sport Chrono Package Plus in Sport Plus mode.

Despite the extra power, the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of a PDK-equipped GTS are unchanged from the Carrera S’s at 27.7mpg and 240g/km.

Read Autocar's first drive of the most potent Porsche 911 ever: the GT2 RS

The biggest visual change to the GTS is that the rear is 44mm wider than the Carrera S to accommodate a wider track. Porsche claims this “further enhances the chassis dynamics”.

A new sports exhaust system is also added, with two dual tailpipes painted black on the outside. Porsche says this exhaust set-up produces “a unique sound”.

The GTS rides on 19in RS Spyder high-gloss black alloy wheels with 235/35 ZR19 tyres at the front and 305/35 ZR19 at the rear. Other styling changes include a SportDesign front bumper with a black spoiler edge and black side skirts.

The rear bumper is painted black between the tailpipes and Carrera GTS logos are added to the doors and engine cover.

The black-finished cabin features Alcantara on the centre sections of the front sports seats, SportDesign steering wheel, gearlever and handbrake.

Prices for the Carrera GTS start at £76,758 for the coupé and £83,493 for the cabriolet.

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Mark Tisshaw

mark-tisshaw-autocar
Title: Editor

Mark is a journalist with more than a decade of top-level experience in the automotive industry. He first joined Autocar in 2009, having previously worked in local newspapers. He has held several roles at Autocar, including news editor, deputy editor, digital editor and his current position of editor, one he has held since 2017.

From this position he oversees all of Autocar’s content across the print magazine, autocar.co.uk website, social media, video, and podcast channels, as well as our recent launch, Autocar Business. Mark regularly interviews the very top global executives in the automotive industry, telling their stories and holding them to account, meeting them at shows and events around the world.

Mark is a Car of the Year juror, a prestigious annual award that Autocar is one of the main sponsors of. He has made media appearances on the likes of the BBC, and contributed to titles including What Car?Move Electric and Pistonheads, and has written a column for The Sun.

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matsoc 16 September 2010

Re: Porsche 911 Carrera GTS unveiled

Finally a "C4S look" C2S, great! I have to go back to the 993 2S to find a better looking 911! I love the interior too...comes with alcantara as standard in place of leather. I read that rear seats will be a no-cost option. The price is interesting, but, for me, very high if compared to a used 997.1C2S, still a great car, now affordable and not so different from these new ones: I don't like pdk and the direct injection engines are a bigger step for emissions than performances.

In others words I would buy a good 997.1 for half the money or I'll wait the new model...

Leaving out the money, in my dream garage the gts would be the ultimate everyday-911, great car!

david RS 15 September 2010

Re: Porsche 911 Carrera GTS unveiled

Last week I saw the 911 Sport Classic.

A great one too.

With its duck tail ;-)

ianf 15 September 2010

Re: Porsche 911 Carrera GTS unveiled

So this is the back of a 4 with the front of a 2: brilliant! Always wanted the better proportioned (in my eyes) carrera 4s, but with out the 4wd. More power is a bonus for bragging but not really relevant. Hmmm... manual or PDK?... If price is correct, probably the best value d2d car out there! One more year to 997.2's replacement: I'd be surprised if this was the swan song.