2019 Porsche 911

[MUSIC PLAYING] ALISTAIR WEAVER: Let me take you back to 1973. The Vietnam War is ending. The Watergate scandal is gathering pace. The world's first cell phone call is being made in New York City. And Porsche is selling this, the 911T. Back then, the T was the entry level 911, complete with a 2.4 liter engine, developing 140 horsepower. Now, in modern terms, that's roughly equivalent of a Honda Fit. Quick, this is not, but there's a reason it's for sale for $149,000. You can feel the gearbox mesh from cog to cog. The steering is unassisted. The engine sings sweetly behind my ears. This is an entirely different experience to the complication and electronics of today. This is automotive vinyl. And just as vinyl has staged a Renaissance, so has the 911T. Billed as the driver's choice, it seeks to fuse the spirits of the early 911's with the sophistication of today, and a price tag that's just north of $100,000. So is this a better, more emotive version of what is already Edmunds' favorite sports car, or just a poor pastiche of an icon? We'll find out on Road and Track. Choosing a modern 911 is a bit like picking a pizza. There are over 20 different ones to choose from, all working from the same base. The T takes a standard Carrera, the Margarita, if you like, and adds a few choice toppings. The rear window glass is thinner to save weight. The 20-inch wheels are pinched from the Carrera S, their sport suspension, a limited slip differential, a sports exhaust, and of course, some go faster stripes. Our car also has these optional carbon fiber seats, which I detest for three reasons. One, they cost $5,200, and I'd rather have a nice watch. Two, choosing than means depriving yourself of the rear seats, which for me, at least, have always been a key part of the 911's appeal. And thirdly, you look like an absolute numpty getting in and out. [GRUNTS] [MUSIC PLAYING] This car really grew out of the success of the special edition 911R, a car that proved to Porsche that its customers are willing to sacrifice absolute speed for driving pleasure. I remember being on a press event for the 911 and talking to Walter Rohrl, the German double world rally champion turned ace Porsche test driver. I asked him whether there was a place for a driver-focused 911 in the mainstream range, and he gave me this kind of knowing look, and well, here we are For a man who built his reputation in the crazy, super-powered [INAUDIBLE] era of rallying back in the 1980s, it's ironic that Rohrl has always been an opponent of the horsepower war. He reckons anything more than 350 horsepower on a road car is, frankly, unnecessary. And you know what? I think he's got a point. This T takes a standard engine from a Carrera. So it's a 3-liter with small turbos developing, 370 horsepower, and 331 pounds feet of torque. Now, when you think that the Ford Mustang GT has 460 horsepower, that doesn't sound like a lot. But only the most tedious bar bore would describe this car as underpowered. On the road, it just feels beautifully considered. As you might have noticed, our test car has a PDK flappy paddle gearbox, a $3,700 option. It might make sense in city traffic, but it undermines the Carrera T's purity of purpose. Me, I'll stick with the stick. [ENGINE ROARS] This engine doesn't sound as good as the old air-cooled 911s that died in the late 1990s, nor did it sound quite as good as the naturally aspirated engine in the previous generation 911. But to say that somehow it's lacking in sonorous appeal is, frankly, a nonsense. And it's helped in this car by the sports exhaust and the thinner rear glass, and the loss of sound deadening. So it's all a lot more immediate, a lot more emotive. I mean, it just sounds like nothing else on the road. [ENGINE ROARS] This car has standard sport suspension, which lowers the whole thing by 0.39 of an inch or about that. What I like about it is it offers some flexibility. So you can use this switch on the steering wheel to pull the throttle and gearbox into multi-mode, then you can use another button here to detune the damping, and give yourself a bit of compliance, which on a road like this, is what you need. If you have [INAUDIBLE] that's too stiff, you're going to feel like the car is going to pitch you off the road at any moment. This is wonderfully compliant, and that helps add to that kind of fluency that has always been a 911 trademark. Rivals like the Jaguar F-type and the Mercedes AMG GT have more power, and a kind of brutish front engine appeal, but they lack the subtlety, the nuance of the 911. It really is a experience like no other, and that's why it's been around for as long as it has. Even the steering, which was criticized on early versions of this generation 911 for its electric assistance, has been honed over time. So it now offers a superb combination of a feel and waiting. Porsche, more than any other mark, is great at just subtly evolving its cars, just refining them over time, just adding those little nuances that, taken together, make a huge difference to the experience. Our car has the optional rear axle steering, which cost $2090. In simple terms, what it does is to encourage the rear wheels to steer, and in doing so, make the wheelbase feel shorter than it actually is, and that enhances the car's agility on twisting roads like this. I'm not a big fan of going deep into Porsche's option range, but this is one that I would add to my car. As a road car, I can't think of another sports car that has this depth of ability, and is better suited to everyday driving on roads like these. I'm really worried that this review is starting to sound like a eulogy, but this car really is that good. Now, part of the appeal of the 911 has always been its ability to take you to the shops on a Friday, then let you dabble in some racetrack shenanigans on a Saturday. So I think it's about time we leave the beauty of Mulholland Drive in Malibu, and head to the Edmunds test track. [MUSIC PLAYING] Now our test team have just crunched the numbers and sent me over the acceleration figures for this car. Now, Porsche claims a Carrera T with a PDK gearbox to 0 to 60 in four seconds dead. Our test team, 3.6 seconds. That's extraordinary. That's just 2/10 of a second slower than a Carrera S, and it's not far behind over the quarter mile either-- 11.8 seconds versus 11.4 for the S. So don't tell me this car needs more power. Let's hit the track. [MUSIC PLAYING] Now, Porsche doesn't claim that the Carrera T is a circuit special. T stands for touring, not track. It's not as hardcore as a motor sport derived GT3 or GT2, but don't think for a moment that it's not fun out here. In some ways, less is more. To get the best out of a GT3 or a GT2, you need loads of talent and loads of commitment, but this car, it's so much more accessible. You don't have to have divine talent to start to have some fun with this car and start to play with its limits, really start to feel it move around. There's less air or less grip than you'd get in a GT3, so ultimately, it will be slower. But you know what? That's not what having fun is all about. It's not all about lap time. It's about how the car makes you feel. A little lift into this corner, turn it back on the power, hard on the brakes, turning a little as we brake. Couldn't do that in an early 911. Turn in, feed the throttle, feel the under steer power out to counter that. It's just fabulous. Give a little into the corner here, sacrifice a bit to get the power on the exit. Breaking now and turn in. Little bit of brakes on the turning, it just helps the nose in. [MUSIC PLAYING] Our test track also has a low friction handling circuit, which simulates driving on ice. So here we go onto this low-grip surface. Now, this is kind of a bit of fun, but it also gives you a real sense of where the car's basic handling balance is. I mean, can you imagine doing this in an old 911? You're basically just steering it on the throttle. Flick it one way at left, get the weight distribution going, a little bit of power, try and get the pendulum going. [GIGGLES] I'm getting paid for this. Just tease the throttle, work the steering, flick it back the other way. Porsche have done such an incredible job over the years of basically honing what is a physical imperfection. If you were designing a sports car today, there's no way that you would hang the engine out behind the rear axle. [MUSIC PLAYING] Even though it's a turbo engine, the throttle response is pretty good, which allows you to play with it like this. It's hard work. We've been debating in the Edmunds office which of these we'd buy if we found $100,000 hiding under the mattress. It's a fun sport, but to be honest, it's not really the point. These plastic air-cooled 911s are an investment piece, a toy, an alternative to a boat or maybe even an oil painting. They're not really a car in a traditional sense, this is. The 911T is about Porsche rediscovering its roots. Yes, they sell more SUVs and sports cars these days, but it's still with 911 that defines Porsche, and it's variants like the T that define the 911. If you've got oodles of cash and you're a track day warrior, then buy a GT3 and don't regret it, but if you want a fun, fast, surprisingly practical road car, then buy the Carrera T. It's not only the best all-around 911 on sale today, it's also the world's finest sports car. [MUSIC PLAYING] For more information on the Porsche 911T, head to Edmunds. And for more videos like this, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel.