Tested: 2025 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS Is Supercar Quick

• The GTS sits between the Carrera S and Turbo in the 911's vast lineup.
• Porsche's hybrid system makes the GTS more powerful than ever, but there's no longer a manual transmission.
• The all-wheel-drive 911 Carrera 4 GTS hit 60 mph in just 2.8 seconds, quicker than Porsche's claims.
• Prices for the 911 GTS start around $170,000. 

The middle child

Porsche's GTS models have long been the sweet spot in their respective lineups. Whether we're talking about the 911, the Taycan or the Macan, the GTS represents a step up from the respective S trim with more performance and additional features. The Carrera GTS comes with more horsepower, bigger brakes and lowered suspension compared to a 911 Carrera S, but it doesn't go as far as something like the track-oriented GT3. With the updated 2025 model, the GTS separates itself even further with the new T-Hybrid powertrain.

Like all 911s, the GTS uses a flat-six engine. The 3.6-liter engine is up from 3.0-liter in the last 911 GTS and uses a single turbocharger rather than the twin-turbocharged setup you'll find on cars like the 911 Turbo S. It's paired exclusively to an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. Unfortunately, the GTS is no longer available with a manual (though it's still offered on the 911 Carrera T and 911 GT3). 

The rear-mounted turbocharged flat-six is complemented by a hybrid system, though unlike rivals like the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance, it's not a plug-in hybrid. The car uses a small 1.9-kWh battery that sends power to two electric motors, one mounted in the transmission and one mounted in the turbocharger. This helps mitigate turbo lag and smooth out shifts, filling in power where the gas engine falls short. Total system output is 532 horsepower and 449 lb-ft of torque.

While the 911 GTS can be had with rear-wheel drive, our test car was an all-wheel-drive Carrera 4 GTS. Prices for the GTS start around $170,000, but our test car was fitted with a handful of options including carbon-ceramic brakes ($10,680), adaptive sway bars ($4,450), a front-axle lift ($2,980) and a few other options. All in, this Carmine Red ($1,490) test car came in at a cool $206,335. 

Seamless performance

Porsche tends to understate a car's performance when it comes to things like 0-60 times, and the new 911 Carrera 4 GTS was no exception. At the Edmunds test track, the car hit 60 mph in just 2.8 seconds and passed the quarter-mile mark in 10.7 seconds at a blazing 128.3 mph. That's quicker and faster than the last Carrera 4 GTS that Edmunds tested and nearly as quick as a 911 Turbo S. It beats a base 911 to 60 by 0.7 second and is a full second and more than 10 mph faster through the quarter mile. 

The hybrid system gives the GTS more low- and mid-range punch than before. It also reduces turbo lag, helping give the powertrain a smooth, even character. Shifts from the dual-clutch automatic are still exceptionally quick, but the hybrid system helps here, too, by filling in power and smoothing out those shifts. 

On our skidpad, the 911 GTS pulled 1.09 g, slightly better than a base Carrera and just about on par with the last 911 GTS we tested. It's quite a bit off the 1.24 g skidpad figure we saw from the 911 GT3, but the new GTS has plenty of grip in a corner. The all-wheel-drive system still sends most of the car's power to the rear wheels, so the front end never wants to push wide in corners. In fact, the Carrera 4 GTS is more than willing to rotate and kick the tail end out with a little coaxing from the gas pedal. 

Braking performance was the only area where the new GTS didn't perform quite as well as the old one, though the results were close. The old car stopped from 60 mph in 96 feet, while the new GTS took 103 feet. The new car is slightly heavier, weighing in at 3,675 pounds. The only 911 we've ever tested that was heavier was the 911 Turbo S. Still, 103 feet is solid performance, and our car's carbon-ceramic brakes meant there was no fade during testing. 

The most impressive thing about the T-Hybrid powertrain is how little it feels like a hybrid. The system fits seamlessly within the 911, and the car just feels a little more amped up when compared to the last one. 

A new beginning

The GTS might be the first 911 to use a hybrid powertrain, but don't expect it to be the last. Porsche has invested heavily in this powertrain, so expect hybridization to make its way to further 911 variants in the future. Porsche put a hybrid 911 on a racetrack in 2010, but it took nearly 15 years for one to hit showrooms. This isn't going to be a one-off experiment. But after spending some time behind the wheel, that's certainly not a bad thing.