A 911 for grown-ups
The Porsche 911 GTS is quite possibly the best of the Carreras and comes perilously close to being the only 911 you should buy.
The Porsche 911 is a car reviewer's nightmare, says Jeremy Clarkson in The Sunday Times. "It's like asking a restaurant critic to write about a McDonald's burger that has exactly the same ingredients as all the others, but in a slightly different arrangement." Porsche currently has "9.6 trillion mildly different permutations of what is basically the same bloody car". There is, however, one thing that sets this new GTS model apart: the price. It's just £78,370. Equip a Carrera S to the same level and it would cost you £95,000.
But would you want one? "I've always quietly respected Porsche's attempts to marry thrill-a-minute driving with everyday usability," says Clarkson, "but I've always thought it was chasing an impossible dream But now I'm past 50, I don't really want flames coming out of the exhaust any more and a ride that cripples my back." So buying a Porsche doesn't mean you're having a mid-life crisis: it just means you're "grown-up". Driving it, however, is still "a beautiful experience": you don't drive a GTS, you "dance with it". At last, here's a 911 you'll actually want to drive.
This new GTS has the wider body of the four-wheel-drive 911s combined with rear-wheel drive and a more powerful, 402bhp version of the 3.8-litre flat six engine and it's "quite possibly the best of the Carreras" on offer, says Vicky Parrott in Autocar. In fact, this car comes "perilously close to being the only 911 you should buy".
MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
-
Taxpayers urged to fight automated HMRC penalties as 20,000 win on appealHMRC loses more than 60% of cases when taxpayers appeal an automated penalty it has imposed, new figures show.
-
More than five million taxpayers overpay with wrong tax codes – how to check yours is rightHMRC overcharged taxpayers £3.5 billion in income tax the latest data shows, with tax coding errors largely to blame. Accountants say it is “essential” people check their tax codes to avoid being hit with higher bills.
