na4life

i was on the fence between my 991.1 GTS and a 458. Here’s the thing— the 458 has a glorious engine but the 991 has superior handling despite being rear engine. Now, if we add the 488 to the mix totally different story. That said, F-cars are also pretty unreliable compared to a P-car. The situation is improving apparently but the 911 is a car you can happily put miles in and not really worry.

Porsche911GTS'16

I could not disagree more. The 3.8 L, 430 hp engine in the 991.1 GTS is a masterpiece. Yes, I am biased, owning one but the current market for well-maintained 991.1 GTS (particularly in manual) speaks for itself. Good examples of these 6-7 year-old cars are going for MSRP. I also have a 991.2 GT3 Touring and while the 3.8 L in the GTS cannot compare, in many ways, to the 4.0 L in the GT3, the 3.8 is no slouch. I have said in previous threads that the 3.8 may actually have the better exhaust note and I prefer that the 3.8 does not have valves that open at 4,000 RPM, as occurs in the GT3. The "kick" that occurs when the valves open at 4,000 RPM (in every gear) is one of my niggles with the Touring.

RL members in numerous 911 forums often opine on wanting a GT3 that is less stiff, less noisy, has back seats. Some suggest that the Touring become a GT3-light, so to speak. Well, my friends, I am here to tell you that a 991.1 GTS would be perfect for many of these members. It has back seats, a bitchin' NA engine, a lighter chassis than the GT3, it is far less noisy than the GT3 and it can be had with either manual or PDK.

Others on RL opine that Porsche is going to make the GTS NA or perhaps even have a special edition Carrera in NA. That is not going to happen for a wide range of reasons.

A few years back, I played golf at Spyglass Hill in Pebble Beach with the owner of a BWM dealership in Chicago. I asked him about the fact that BMW no longer offered a sports car with an NA engine. His response: "Yeah, they (BMW) took all the fun out of it." I know this is a Porsche forum and not a BWM forum but the point being, the options for a naturally aspirated sports car are becoming ever more limited. The NA flat six was the heart and soul of the 911 from 1964 until 2016. Perhaps, for some, it is an anachronism, an engine from a bygone era that is bettered by higher-horsepowered FI engines with more low-end torque. To others, it is something to be cherished, a marvel of engineering from a car maker who has honed the craft of developing NA engines for sports cars for over 50 years.

Turbocharged engines are here to stay, be it in a 911 or most other sports cars. NA engines, like manual transmissions, are becoming more scarce with each passing year. As such, the time is nigh for getting a 911 with a manual transmission and an NA engine while you can.

Personally, I don't find myself missing the Apple CarPlay of my 991.2 Touring while driving my 991.1 GTS. Quite frankly, I find it refreshing driving a car that feels a little "old and outdated." It is like a great pair of leather shoes that fit just right and get better with age.

Newusername

I had the chance to test drive a 2015 GTS 3.8/PDK last summer and also a 2017 C2S and while the sound of the GTS was better, I just fell in love with the 3.0t/PDK combo, plus I find the .2 standard bumpers to be the best looking in the 991 generation excluding GT3 variants. Either way, get whatever variant you want or can as in my experience they are all fantastic.

fluid15

With 2 choices like that you're automatically a Winner I recently bought/chose a 991.1 Carrera S. I had the opportunity to spend a full day with each model and both amazing (both PDK). Personal opinion but I prefer the minor tweaks/styling of the .2. Mine is not a daily driver and I don't race so it's purely for occasionally jumping in and getting the thrill of a 911 which I've loved since being a kid. As pointed out by the OP picking a manual means "picking the slower, more inefficient option" so the deciding factor for me was Emotion of the experience. Mine also has Soul Headers and Soul Exhaust go on next week. I love all the .2s and no wrong choice, just personal preference. No question they have small advancements. I also drive a Tesla often for DD and absolutely love the low speed/instant torque - I mean INSTANT - but it's no Porsche and IMO has a completely different use case (all about the expectations). I'm not sure when/what will replace my 991 but current thought is it wouldn't be an incremental change (.1 to .2) but probably a newer generation. I've had 3.2 Carrera and 993 so interest would be looking forward.

ShahulX

I could only afford a 991.1 S anyways but I did want an NA engine, w/manual...(I mean if I could do a 991.2 GT3 manual I'd have done that lol) ... I do love the NA shreik and think the NA cars may garner more money in the future than the turbos.. but honestly anything not electrified will be pined over in the coming years

Riptide

Well one has a legendary engine....and one sounds like a rather large vacuum cleaner....🤠

991Targa4S

Its always better to get the last year instead of a first year of anything.

Jack F

If you get a chance to drive both then you should have a definite preference. Neither option is bad. But one should just make you smile and giggle. If that doesn’t happen with either, just move on and buy a GTI.

desmotesta

Equipped with a PDK, .2 cars (S or GTS) are better suited for that trans and its a "better" driving experience. .1 GTS is best mated with a manual, its literally "Poor man's GT3 Touring", period!!!!

flsupraguy

It's not just the sound. The 991.2 has a boring driving experience. All that hp and tq down low. While on paper its "better" in real life the 991.1 is more rewarding. Just my .02...

Watson

I think the same. I prefer a MT with a NA engine but a PDK would make more sense to me on a .2 car to make the best of all that torque.

Rudyr

I could have bought pretty much any car I wanted, but having grown up wanting a 911 my whole life when the time came that I could afford one, it was a 991.1 C4S with the GTS engine in manual to fulfill the "911 experience". As another person said above, the 3.8L/430HP is pretty much the peak of what you can buy before getting into more track oriented GT3 configurations. Moving forward I can always buy a 911 with a turbocharged engine, and likely one paired with some form of electric motors as well. However, the possibility of being able to get a high revving NA engine w/ a manual is pretty much evaporating before our eyes. I don't disagree that from a pure performance POV the newer motors and DSG type transmissions are better, but if that was my concern I probably wouldn't have even bought a 911 in the first place; could have picked up a Z06 or ZR1 Vette, GT500, etc.

chuckh

So I was reading this forum… thinking of upgrading from a 997.1 (08) manual c2s.

but… the 08 is still too damn fast for streets. Hydraulic steering. 3100 lbs. I put in Apple car play- easy to install in a touchscreen deck.

for $40k.

what am I missing? Is either the 991.1 na or the 991.2 turbo worth and extra $60+k…

thx

NHmacan

I have CarPlay in my GT3 and never use it.

ddolbi

You're not missing anything. However, you should have bought 996 at half the price of your 997. It's less than 3,000 lbs and Porsche offer new classic PCCM. By the way welcome aboard.