Porsche 911 GTS 2024 review: Hybrid heresy or more Stuttgart genius?
A surprisingly welcome boost for the definitive sports car
The Porsche 911 might look remarkably faithful to its original design but it has been through significant evolution over the years; moving away from air cooling to water cooling was a significant change (and one some enthusiasts still haven’t quite squared in their heads), while the introduction of turbocharging on even the basic (non “Turbo”-badged) models was a big move, too. But the transition to electrification might be its toughest challenge yet.
Porsche has said the 911 will not go pure-electric until it absolutely has to, but the hybrid era has arrived already. Yes, Porsche has caved in to the demands of the modern world and is offering the new, updated 911 with an all-new “T-Hybrid” system.
And, of course, the criticism has been flowing freely ever since the decision was announced. At the new car’s launch, the company even (rather bravely) showed us some of the online abuse it has received, and there was some deeply uncomplimentary stuff in there, I can tell you.
So perhaps it’s no surprise that to keep the keyboard warriors at bay, the new 911 is not as hybrid as some might have expected. For a start, only the GTS versions of the new 911 get hybrid power initially, and it’s not a eco-focused plug-in system such as the one fitted to the Panamera and Cayenne: this is a system that “self-charges” and deploys the electric power through the engine with a focus on performance.
Porsche has fitted this technology to one of the most popular versions of the 911 — the GTS — which is supposed to be a kind of halfway house between the hard-charging GT3 models and the more sedate Carreras. As such, it’s a fan favourite, and this is a significant risk for a brand that’s already taken a risk with the way the new GTS looks.
Normally, cars get better looking with their mid-life updates, but not so here. Porsche is trying to create greater differentiation between versions of the 911, so the GTS gets a strange new front bumper with weird gills at either side. Though you can’t see it in still photographs, the gills open automatically when the car needs cooling air to flow over its brakes and radiator, and they close again when everything is cool to reduce drag.
Yes, it’s all very clever — the gills even close in the “Wet” driving mode to prevent too much water hitting the brakes and reducing their effectiveness — but it isn’t a great look. In conjunction with the sensors under the nose, it makes the car look like a shark is trying to swallow Wall-E whole. It’s getting noticeably chunkier with age.
Aside from that, though, the latest-generation 911 isn’t ugly by any stretch, and the GTS tempers its odd nose with dark alloy wheels, red brake callipers and black trim, all of which make it feel a little sportier. The microfibre material that’s draped across the cabin also helps on that front. With so much black in there, though, it does feel a bit claustrophobic, particularly in coupé form.
That said, the new 911 GTS is surprisingly good at carrying luggage, partly because the rear seats have been removed as standard. You can tick a no-cost option on the configurator if you want to take your kids to school in it, but leave it rear seatless and you get a 261-litre luggage compartment behind the front seats, as well as the usual tub under the bonnet, providing and extra 135 litres.
Both are cramped by most grand tourer standards, but together they give you just about enough space for two people to go for a week away. Just buy yourself a set of soft holdalls rather than hard-case luggage.
The GTS version of the 911 isn’t really here for weekends away, though. That’s best left to the standard Carrera, which comes with a tried-and-tested twin-turbocharged 3-litre flat-six engine, albeit with a few upgrades that have seen its power output increase to 389bhp.
But the GTS features a new 3.6-litre flat-six petrol engine that’s physically more compact than before because it doesn’t need fripperies such as an alternator or anything like that. That job is taken care of by the electrical system, which includes a 40kW electric motor housed inside the eight-speed, double-clutch automatic gearbox, providing torque through the engine. Electrical energy is stored in a small battery pack with a capacity of 1.9kWh, which also provides power to a clever electrically assisted turbocharger. It’s a race-bred system, and about as far away from a Toyota Prius as hybrids get.
The idea is that rather than driving around for hours without touching a drop of fuel, the 911 GTS will simply use the e-motor to help the engine in various ways, allowing it to be fractionally more efficient while also being considerably more powerful.
For example, it doesn’t just fill in for the engine during momentary power dips, such as during gear shifts, but it can get the turbocharger up to speed long before the extra boost is needed, thereby making the system more responsive. You don’t notice it working per se, but there’s a definite sense of relentlessness and immediacy to the power delivery that makes the car feel even sharper than before.
That makes the GTS much more of a sports car in nature than the Carrera. It’s a vehicle built with the occasional track day in mind.
Total power output is 534bhp and the engine spins all the way to 7,500rpm, making a fabulous racket as it does so. The T-Hybrid system sounds like an animal, with the turbocharger and exhaust snorting and snarling their way through the gears, so it feels properly 911.
It also provides animalistic performance. The 0-62mph time of three seconds flat is four-tenths of a second quicker than the old GTS, and the top speed is nudging the 200mph mark. Forget sports car; that’s proper supercar pace.
All this hybrid technology has made the new GTS heavier than its predecessor, but only by 50kg, and you don’t really notice the weight gain on the road. You’re more likely to notice the difference when comparing the all-wheel-drive Carrera 4 GTS and the standard rear-wheel-drive Carrera GTS, simply by the way the power is delivered. The rear-drive car feels a little less planted, despite its enormous tyres, while the Carrera 4 GTS is completely stable, making that performance all the more accessible in damp conditions.
Yet the choice of rear- or all-wheel-drive set-ups makes little difference to the car’s agility, which is remarkable. We now fully expect 911s, and particularly GTS versions, to drive extremely well, but the latest model is sensational. Even the base model comes with glorious steering feel, a nose that darts into corners and a deep sense of balance, but the GTS gets its own suspension settings and, in the case of our test car, an optional roll stabilisation system that keeps the body almost completely level in corners.
Combine that with suspension that’s lowered by 10mm in the GTS Coupé and Cabriolet models (but not the Targa) and four-wheel steering, and you’ve got a stunningly agile sports car.
Even in its softest settings, it feels even more nimble and responsive than the standard 911 Carrera Coupé, but when you switch the suspension into its sportiest setting, the car feels unbelievably settled on its springs, with a body that follows the wheels instantly and a pointiness that has to be experienced to be believed.
And then there are the brakes, which have been uprated for better stopping power as standard, while our test car came with the optional carbon-ceramic units designed for resilience on a racetrack. With better feel than you might expect from such a brake system and immense power, they make the GTS a real weapon on a circuit.
There are problems with the GTS on the road, though. The new 911 feels very slightly more supple than its predecessor in every trim level, and that’s very welcome, but the GTS models feel stiff and jiggly on anything other than a perfectly smooth surface. It isn’t a disaster, but there’s a definite harshness to the ride that’s missing from the gloriously absorbent base car, which feels like a much more capable all-rounder.
Interestingly, the Targa 4 GTS, which gets the same engine and all-wheel-drive system as the Carrera 4 GTS Coupé tested here, rides much more like the basic 911 Carrera, despite having many of the same suspension upgrades as the GTS Coupé. It misses out on the lowered ride height and that seems to make the biggest difference. If you want to take the roof down and ride in comfort, while still having the pace of the GTS and some of the handling prowess, the Targa 4 GTS is the sweet spot. It’s certainly the one we’d go for.
But to do so, we’d need a bit of a pay rise. The 911’s pricetag has been creeping up significantly in recent years, to the point where a basic 911 Carrera is now priced just £200 shy of £100,000, so the GTS now costs the sort of money that makes merchant bankers sit up and take note.
The basic Carrera GTS Coupé — the rear-wheel-drive one without a single optional extra — costs £132,600, and the all-wheel-drive version takes that to £139,100. Opt for the Targa 4 GTS and you’re talking about a £149,100 outlay before you even consider options. Get the one you really want, and even the GTS Coupé will cost well over £150,000.
That’s a terrific amount of money. But then the new 911 is a terrifically capable car. Even in its cheapest (or should that be “least expensive”) form, it’s a spectacular sports coupé, but the GTS T-Hybrid is on another level. The Coupé might be a bit too stiff for road use (hence the 4.5-star rating), but the Targa is a brilliant sports car that works in pretty much every situation.
And though the keyboard warriors might complain about it at first, some time behind the wheel will soon silence them.
Related articles
- If you enjoyed our review of the new Porsche 911, you might like to read a review of the updated Porsche Taycan
- Or read our review of the new electric Porsche Macan
- You might also like to read our review of the BMW M3 Touring
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