Table of contents for No. 245 in Total 911

Hybridisation has arrived in the 911, but not in the way any of us thought. It’s not the first hybrid 911 outright – that accolade goes to the 997 GT3 R of 2010 (you can read more on page 28), though this was a race car built specifically for the Nürburgring. The 992.2 GTS is therefore the first road-going 911 hybrid and, really, is the result of years of learning and development from the successful 919 e-hybrid Le Mans racers. That’s reflected in the fact Porsche is calling this a ‘Performance Hybrid’. With an electric motor supporting the traditional flat six combustion engine 100 per cent of the time, there’s no full ‘e’ mode, as seen in Porsche’s Panamera and Cayenne e-hybrids. The technology therefore is used to enhance the…

Total Car Control So you think you can drive? Let’s face it, we all like to believe we’re a dab hand behind the wheel, able to unlock – at the very least – a significant proportion of our Porsche’s performance potential. Yet the reality is, there’s always room for improvement – and as racing great Nigel Mansell once said, you can never have too much tuition. What’s more, undertaking performance driver training is a genuine investment in yourself. You’ll learn skills that are transferable to any vehicle, and many different driving environments, for the rest of your life. With that in mind, I signed up for a two-day Total Control Masterclass with Ivan Thompsett at Total Car Control, a specialist in one-to-one performance driving tuition. Ivan has been operating in…

Data file Full specs, ratings and market values of every Porsche 911 model from 1963 to 2024 can be found starting on page 82 Plus Showroom Looking for a new 911? The classifieds from our independent specialist partners are the first place where you should start your search Servicing & tuning Get the very best from your Porsche 911 with the help of our selected performance and maintenance specialists Porsche lifestyle Helping you make the right lifestyle choices to complement you and your 911. Don’t just drive Porsche – live the brand Insurance & finance Get your Porsche covered with the best insurance deals for road and track to ensure happy, safe motoring…

911 Turbo ‘Prototype’ to star One of the most historically important 911s will go on display in London later this year, over 40 years after its public debut The original 1973 911 Turbo ‘Prototype’ is set to go on show in August at London’s Concours of Elegance. One of the most historically significant 911s of all time, the unique Porsche was one of the first road-going offerings to wear the Turbo badge. Chassis number 9113300157 was the star of the Porsche stand at the 1973 IAA Frankfurt Motor Show, helping to establish a now legendary model lineage for turbocharged 911s. Porsche is also marking the 50th anniversary of the iconic sports car during 2024 with various celebrations. Based on a 911S, the concept car was developed at Style Porsche, the…

992.2: the new era New 992.2 GTS The 992.2-generation is here, and Porsche is kicking off the new era with seven new models. These are split between the rear-drive Carrera Coupe and Cabriolet (more on those beginning on page 24), and five GTS models: the rear-driven GTS Coupe and Cabriolet, all-wheel-drive Coupe and Cabriolet, and the all-wheel-drive Targa. Yes, you read that correctly. Porsche has jumped, head first, into its new 911 era, unleashing the GTS which, traditionally, has been reserved as a ‘best of’ proposition to run out a generation. Porsche is parting with tradition because the company is breaking new ground for its iconic 911. For the first time since the introduction of the 911 Turbo in 1974, Porsche is bringing to market a new powertrain technology to…

Buying a used 911: the economist’s case When readers contact Total 911 with requests, we always try hard to comply. So when issue 242’s letters page received a suggestion from Andrew Hobin that we should repeat and update a piece I wrote in the magazine’s distant past, it was passed on to me to respond. The original article was published back in 2012 and attempted to give the economist’s verdict on whether buying a used 911 could make more financial sense than purchasing a brand-new Ford Mondeo. Could the same be said over a decade later? Because Mondeos no longer feature on Ford’s model list we’ve taken What Car?’s class-leading driver’s car, the Focus, to see if the principles of economics have changed in the intervening years. We want our…

911s in the data file are organised in rows according to release date, beginning with the very first model in 1964. Many models were available in Coupe, Targa and Cabriolet forms, with the option of automatic transmission. Here, data has been provided from the Coupe variants unless stated. All data here has been compiled, where possible, from Porsche’s own figures. General valuations This reflects the general market trend for a model’s used value compared to the previous financial quarter. The review for 2024 Q4 will be October. The review for 2024 Q3 was June. Ratings Each model is rated out of five in our half-star system according to their performance, handling, appearance and desirability. Sales debate After five decades, is the 911 Turbo still relevant in 2024? Fifty years of…

Newman v McQueen Dear Sir, May I add a counterpoint to your excellent ‘Porsche Moment’ from issue 244, featuring Steve McQueen and Paul Newman’s racing credentials. I remember in my youth a newspaper article in the early 1970s:’NEWMAN WILL KILL HIMSELF TRYING TO CATCH McQUEEN’. It was the general consensus at the time within the Hollywood and racing community that McQueen was the faster man on the track. Ever the daredevil, he was even considered reckless at times but nevertheless the more natural and driven racer between the two. No one knows if McQueen would have continued racing into his 80s; as you point out, Newman did. Sadly he never had the chance, passing away at just 50 from mesothelioma, a cancer that’s associated with asbestos. David Smith Both are…

992.2: the new era In the 2000s, to improve its image F1 turned to KERS. The kinetic energy recovery system harvested heat, otherwise wasted, from braking and transformed it to power, the driving wheels. Within a decade regenerative braking was a feature of mass-production hybrids that used batteries to store this energy and run electric-only for short periods. The concept greatly interested Porsche and in 2009 Weissach bought a KERS rig from F1 pioneers Williams, with the idea of running a GT3 R so-fitted in competition. The system chosen by Weissach used a flywheel that was propelled by brake heat energy. Spinning between 28,000 and 36,000rpm, the flywheel, positioned in the passenger footwell, acted as a commutator supplying current to a pair of electric motors driving the front axle. To…

Nick Jeffery Surrey, UK @npjeffery @npjeffery Model 991.1 GTSYear 2015Acquired AUGUST 2022 I’ve just returned from a road trip in the 991.1 GTS, covering 1,299 miles across France, Luxembourg, Germany and Belgium with TIPEC Kent & South East London Region entitled ‘Gentlemen’s Tour 3 Bringing The Metal Home’. Also known as the GT3! Day one was a 4:30am start, driving down to the Channel Tunnel. I was glad I hadn’t cleaned the GTS before the trip because it rained all the way down to Ashford and into France. I didn’t fall into a driving rhythm straight away – it always takes time for me to readjust from pedalling the Spyders to the 911. We had 26 cars and 42 people on the trip with a nice variety of cars including various generations…

More books have been written about Porsche than any other motor manufacturer, but standing out among over 100 texts is Excellence Was Expected by Karl Ludvigsen. Few books are regarded as the veritable bible on their subject, but Excellence undoubtedly falls into that category. The author celebrated 90 years on 24 April, and although he says he won’t revisit Excellence again, retirement is seemingly not in view as here Jens Torner’s photo shows him at work in the Porsche Archive only a couple of weeks before his recent birthday. It was almost as if Ludvigsen was destined to write Excellence. A car-mad youngster, he devoured magazines on the subject and even had a subscription to Motor where he read the first road impressions of a small, rear-engine coupe made by…