On the interior, black leather covers the heated front seats and the fantastic-feeling SportDesign steering wheel. Although these seats-coined “Sport Seat Plus” by Porsche- don’t have the massive adjustability of some of the later Porsche seats, they don’t need all the adjustments, as they are fitted with silver-painted hardbacks and offer the ideal combination of bolstering and comfort. The cockpit of the 991 is heavily influenced by that of the Panamera luxury sedan with its waterfall like center console, which is fitted with an LCD screen as well as individual buttons to control most of the car’s important features. A Bose 12-speaker sound system that offers fantastic surround sound to all 4 passengers has been optioned, and auto-dimming mirrors have also been fitted.
Powering the Carrera S is a 3.8-liter water-cooled flat-6, which is rated at 395 horsepower and 325 lb-ft of torque and paired to a 7-speed PDK gearbox. Although the 991 was offered with both a 7-speed manual and a 7-speed PDK gearbox, it is widely accepted that the manual was not up to Porsche standards and the PDK was the far better choice. With the addition of the SportDesign steering wheel, the PDK has proper paddle shifters inside which offer near instantaneous shifting, while still offering all of the convenience of an automatic when you are just sitting in traffic. For a bit of extra noise, this car was also fitted with the factory sport exhaust which has two modes and can be opened up by pressing a button on the center console, yet is not overly loud if you go out on a road trip. This Carrera S configuration is said to do the 0-100 km/h run in just 4.1 seconds, and has a top speed of 308 km/h.
The 991.1 is a great era for the 911 and the Carrera from this generation represents the final 911 Carrera fitted with a naturally aspirated flat-6. Although it is impossible to guess how collectibility will be judged in the future, the final naturally aspirated Carrera certainly has the makings of a car that will become more valuable in the future. This example in its appealing black on black color combination and with the right options, will be a great driver example that you can enjoy for many years to come.
The 991 chassis 911 marked an enormous jump for the legendary rear-engined sports car. It is just the third entirely new chassis since the 911’s launch in 1963. Upon its release at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, the 991 was lauded for its clean lines, upgraded, Panamera-style interior and desirable range of powertrain options- with the 7-speed PDK gearbox taking center stage as the optimized transmission for the chassis. The 991 grew a fair bit in size from the outgoing 997, but with that, interior space was improved significantly and the rear-mounted powertrain was able to move further inwards to help rectify some of the notoriously spiky handling of 911s past. Despite an increase in size, thanks in large part to the use of aluminum and composites, the 991’s curb weight was nearly 100 lbs less than that of the 997 which, when paired with its more powerful engines, made for a properly quick car.