The New Porsche 911 Carrera T: Less Weight, Less Roof, And A Sticker To Show The World You Can Drive Stick – The Autopian

The latest Porsche 911 Carrera T is here, and it comes with a free sticker. In fact, the sticker is sort of a nod to what this car is all about: making a direct and memorable connection between the car and its driver. But before we get to that, let’s talk about exactly what you’re getting with the newest Carrera T.

Today, the Carrera is Porsche’s base 911. Add a T, and you get within that base trim. Between 1968 and 1973, Porsche sold a 911 T made to save weight over the standard car.

This new 911 Carrera T harkens back to that classic strategy of reducing weight at the cost of some luxury. Under the hood is the same engine found in the base 911 Carrera, a 3.0-liter twin-turbo boxer six that makes 388 horsepower and 331 lb-ft of torque. Notably, it is only available with a six-speed manual gearbox — that’s what makes the 911 T so special among enthusiasts.

The car intends to provide maximum engagement and fun without the price tag that comes along with something like the 911 GT3 which starts north of $222,000. It does that through a blending of lightweight design and a few nice little touches to make this car still feel special.

For example, it’s the lightest Carrera available with a curb weight of just 3,316 pounds. The front chin spoiler is from the 911 GTS model. Porsche says it used lightweight windows, cut out some of the sound-deadening material, and saved more weight by offering only that stickshift. Then, the company added an open-pore walnut ball handle to the gear shift to denote the model, and slapped a sticker on each rear side window. Have a look:

Porsche added rear-axle steering as a standard feature to this car to enable sharper handling. It also added Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) and retuned it specifically for the Carrera T. PASM lowers the car by 1 cm (0.4 inches) and adds new optimized damper settings. New six-piston brakes sit at the front of the car along with a new anti-roll bar for sharper stops and handling.

Porsche claims that the new Carrera T with all of these subtle changes can run from 0-60 mph in 4.3 seconds as a coupe and 4.5 seconds as a cabriolet. That’s an important point worth noting, too. This is the very first 911 T available as a drop-top. In fact, there are several exterior changes that distinguish the Carrera T from its siblings regardless of whether one goes for the hard top or soft top.

One is the wing mirror caps all featuring a Vanadium Grey Metallic paint. That same hue can be seen on the wheels, the model designation decals, and the badge at the rear. Every 911 Carrera T also comes with Sport Exhaust pipes in black stainless steel.

Notice there’s an “MT” badge behind the shifter, plus there’s a logo on the dashboard on the passenger’s side:

Though it doesn’t appear mentioned in the press release, it looks like the 911T will beam a six-speed shift pattern-shaped light on the ground as a puddle-light:

Here are a few more shots of the convertible:

The hood stripe featured on the press launch hardtop (shown below and also above the blue car) is a part of a unique exterior package that highlights Gentian blue as an accent color. Buyers who select it will find the same color on the intake slat inlays, the door graphics, and the wheels.

Vanadium Grey ends up in the standard cabin too on the dash and center console. Buyers have the option of adding carbon-reinforced plastic seats so save even more weight too.

They can also match their exterior Gentian Blue package with one for the cabin too. Blue thread replaces what would usually be black thread. Trim rings in the gauge cluster and clock get the same shade. The standard seats feature black plaid but again with Gentian Blue stitching and little 911 logos on the headrests.

Ultimately, this is a stripped-down 911 Carrera with several unique touches. It should be a hoot to drive, and it’ll stand out in a crowd of other Porsches too. For the privilege of owning one, a buyer will still need to fork out somewhere in the neighborhood of $134,000 for the coupe and $147,300 for the cabriolet. That is, of course, assuming that your local Porsche dealer will sell it to you without a markup.

All Images: Porsche