GP20

Just joined Rennlist and I'm looking to buy my first Porsche 911. I've always owned BMW's in the past. I currently own an '08 Z4M-coupe and an '16 F80 M3; both cars will stay. My future 911 will share daily-driving duties with my M3.

I actually started looking at the 4GTS last year, but took some time off to deal with my other investments, and now I'm back to looking for one. Like many others, I looked into buying a 991.2 GT3 as well. I would've needed to really stretch for it, but if I needed to stretch for any car, the GT3 would've been the one. However, after test-driving it, I realized it's just not for me. GT3 is absolutely amazing as advertised, but simply too hardcore for my driving and my future planning. The car will probably never see track time. I want AWD, sunroof, and rear seats, and I want to be able to take the car out on long road trips.

A low-mileage used 4GTS would be comfortably within my budget. But a car with the the color (chalk gray) and options (close to fully loaded) would be really hard to come by in Canada. So it just got me thinking about spending a bit more (well, likely $25~30K CDN more) for this chalk gray Turbo non-S. I actually don't want a Turbo S because I don't want ceramic brakes and I don't need 580 HP, and I simply don't want to stretch for a Turbo S.

Is a Turbo going to be too much of a car as my first 911? I've also heard people say it's not as fun as a 4S/4GTS and not as nimble, and that while the Turbo has a ton more power, it's too fast that I won't get to stretch its legs very much. Am I better off sticking with the 4GTS? I've actually never driven a 4GTS, but I've driven a bunch of 4S, and I know the 4GTS is more than enough for my needs. I like the styling of both 4GTS and Turbo (how can you not like the side vents and extra widebody).

I've also heard that the Turbo suffers the worst depreciations. Assuming I drive 5k miles per year, over the next 4 years, will the Turbo depreciate more % than a 4GTS? If I plan to keep the 911 for 10 years, which car is more worthy of keeping long-term?

Also wondering about maintenances. Is maintenance cost significantly higher for a Turbo?

Thanks and I appreciate all comments!

spdracerut

Gut feel based on what you've said, you're not a power junky. So I wouldn't bother with the Turbo. Seeing as how you live in Canada, I'm guessing that's why you want AWD. Is the only reason you want the GTS is for the wide body? If so, I'd say that's a large premium to pay along with limiting your options. Also consider that most GTS came with the center lock wheel which makes wheel changes for snow tires a pain in the ***, relatively speaking. If you give up the wide body and center lock wheels by moving down to a C4 or C4S, that would hopefully give you more vehicles that meet your color and option preferences. A base C4 with just a tune is putting out GTS levels of power. Throw in some headers and sport cats, and it'll be comfortably more power than a GTS along with a much better soundtrack. Just throwing out some options.

john45in

Had a nice 13 C4 for over 4 years which I traded in a year ago on a 16 Turbo CPO (wanted cheap brakes and 5-lug wheels at tens of thousands less). I'm not a "power junky" but the horsepower/torque difference is truly significant and the low-end grunt is amazing. For me, I made the right upgrade.

Bud Taylor

They are all turbo get the 992S.

Bob Z.

Since he is posting in the 991 Forum I'll assume he likes that one better, which most of us do, including me!

OP: I'd go for the GTS since it is still a fast car and you will not have to stretch your budget.

polobai

I would also look into a base c4 or c4s and throw a tune on there to take it past gts levels. I am not a fan of the center lock wheels-especially when it comes to swapping for snow tires for example. You can find the GTS with 5 lugs, however they are pretty rare as they have to be ordered that way. This way you have more options to chose from. Now if you dont want to mod and want to keep the warranty in tact (completely understandable) then gts may be the way to go.

Emmett Bowd

I was seriously considering a 991 Turbo as well as it was in my budget reach, but settled with a 991 Targa 4S as I really wanted to experience the Targa and everything it has to offer.

When I was looking at 911's across Canada, I noticed a number of 2019 GTS's which were still being sold as 'new cars' in my budget as well.. though most were non-4 variants.

GP20

Thanks for all the replies! Definitely vey much appreciated!

Last year, I sort of wanted to wait for the 992 to come out and see it in person. But now I can honestly say I don't like it. Both the exterior and interior, I don't feel any connections. A 4S is definitely enough for me, but I want something just a little extra and a little different, hence the 4GTS. Coming from the F80 M3, I want something that at least has more HP and quicker than my M3. And since I already have 2 RWD's, I want to try Porsche's AWD this time.

I guess it's just the idea of not knowing how long I would possibly have to wait for a chalk gray 4GTS that got to me a bit and made me think about getting the chalk gray Turbo right now. I ended up finding out the Turbo had a $3k accident, so that car's probably out the window for me as well. Then I might as well keep waiting for the 4GTS.

On the other hand, the idea of saying fukk it and getting this GT3 keeps creeping up in the back of my head even though I know the car wouldn't make sense for me. I keep hearing the engine scream in my head. Oh I wonder why.

Bob Z.

Wait for a Chalk Gray 4GTS - one will pop up and you will be happy you waited, and I, too, waited to see the 992 before I decided what to get...I ordered a .2 4 GTS. in Targa form.

Ira Blumberg

I own a '17 4 GTS that I purchased new and I went through a similar decision process as a lightly optioned Turbo non-S was within striking distance of the price of the GTS as I had optioned it. Also at the time, the GTS was just announced and discounts were minimal whereas I could probably have worked some discount on a Turbo if I had found one on a lot.

There are definite pluses and minuses for each depending on how you plan to use the car. Almost all GTS have centerlock wheels that make swapping to a winter wheel a dealer visit item (unless you have lots of space in your garage, the proper tools and an assistant). Definitely much more of a hassle than swapping wheels on a conventional 5-lug car. On the flip side, the GTS centerlock wheels are wider than those on the Turbo which puts more of the tire tread on the ground and contributes to better handling. The GTS is also lighter. The GTS is definitely slower (but by no means slow) in a straight line, but on a twisty track it basically keeps up with the Turbo. I don't have the link handy, but one of the German car magazines took 3 similarly equipped car to a track and had the same driver run them back to back. The cars were a 4S, a 4GTS and a Turbo non-S. As I recall, the Turbo was the fastest at something like 1:06.3, but the GTS was only about 0.3 seconds behind the Turbo while the 4S was almost a full second behind the GTS.

The last consideration is price and tuning. Cobb, APR and Softronic all sell tunes for the GTS that will raise its power to or above that of a stock Turbo. These tunes cost about US$1,900. Thus, if the cost increment of the Turbo is much above US$2,000, a GTS plus tune will get you the same or more power for a lower price.

For me at least, the GTS has been all the car I need. I have not tracked it. It provides all the acceleration I need and can use without having a long discussion with Johnny Law and the handling is amazing.

Good luck with your shopping.

Jack F