jfischet

the 991.1 GTS is "Poor man's GT3 Touring"
and my 991.1 S is a poor man's GTS
and the 991.1 base is a poor man's S
and the 991.1 base is aspirational to everyone else.

manual
NA
ftw

LawrieK

The reason I chose a manual 991.2 GTS is because of its pretty much maximum torque from 2100 to about 5200 (approx) with smooth revving power up to over 7000; it's epic to drive on twisting roads and the sound is great too. Blasting out of slow corners with the torque available, but still being able to rev it out is just so addictive, without having to keep it boiling at the high end of the rev range as you do with the 991.1. If you want more power, it's easy to achieve with the turbos so you can get close to being a mini GT2.

fluid15

+1.

If your criteria is '911' and 'speed' (for street) then you can get both for less than a 997. From there the increase in price is based on your 'want.'

Harsany

You will have to kill me to get my 991.14S. The new cars are faster yes. The way they build power vs the NA motor is not for me. I won't even mention the sound...oh I guess I just did

Atheist

I originally was going to purchase a 2016 991.1 GTS with a manual. Test drove one and then another with the PDK. Then test drove a 991.2 S with PDK. A finally bought the 991.2 GTS PDK car.
My opinion:
The 991.1 GTS MT was the most FUN car to drive if, I wanted to horse around with it as a weekend toy / track car. Great exhaust note when revving high. Downside, to have fun with the car on the street you need to break the law. It really shines when it is being rung out to 8K rpm . Has to be aggressively shifted and revved high to get the reward. Upside is it is probably best for resale value due to increasing rarity, but only if sparingly used in right situation and sold with low mileage. Not something I need to worry about due to use daily as per my intention . Almost GT3 like sans the too harsh suspension for street driving.
991.1 with PDK - nice for the street but not suited as well to the rev range of the NA engine as the MT version , although quicker.

992.2 S with PDK - very nice daily driver, handled a little better and faster than both the 991.1 GTS cars and certainly better suited for my type of driving with the torque better mated to legal driving speeds especially with the PDK transmission. In the turbo car the PDK was better and didn't seem like a penalty. In the NA cars the MT lets you better take advantage of the strengths of the NA engine, iIf you are somewhere where you can actually red line it without going to jail.

991.2 GTS which I ultimately purchased. I planned to drive the car daily. I live in a coastal canyon near Santa Barbara my daily commute is twisty canyon roads and open highway. I drive it a lot and hopefully while resale value is nice the only guy who will be putting 100K miles on this car is me. I think the ultimate decision when comparing cars that are all ultimately great drivers cars, is the consideration of how you use them. For my purposes the 991.2 GTS offered me a perfect combination of comfort, more modern refinements in the newer car, I was able to find a lower mileage cars, with better performance in a more usable range for public roads. Also the exhaust note is still beautiful at high revs although admittedly not quite the same. I just learned to be comforted by the fact that what ever I missed from the 991.1 NA MT car, I gained in overall performance and daily drive ability. Should I go to the track I won't get beat by a 991.1 NA MT or PDK car because the car is better, it's not, it's different, I'll get beat by a 991.1 NA MT car because the driver is significantly better. Truthful self assessment, as much as I use to like rowing my own gears and always thought a Porsche without a third pedal was silly, I have come to realize I am actually a much better in the PDK car. I do override the transmission with paddle shifters or in manual mode when I want to do the gear selection myself. No one vehicle is absolutely perfect and the key is to find the compromise that works best. Want 0-60 buy a Tesla or Carrera Turbo S. Want a car for a closed course with losts of twisties by a GT3RS want something for the highway.....everything is somewhat of a compromise of different abilities best suited to the end use.

My buddy has a 1997 air cooled, manual gearbox 911 Carrera cabriolet. It has been in his garage for years and only has 35K miles on it. He brought it over the other day and bragged how it was the true Porsche sports car "a real Porsche". Shorter wheelbase, air cooled, manual no top. It is a lovely car and very fun and nostalgic but for all it's old school charm, compared to my modern car, while a beautiful example of a era gone by and a great weekend driver, its crude, raw, slow by todays standards, and with no modern amenities. A great car for a weekend cruise and quite collectable but not something I want to drive daily or commute to work in. Oh and then I took him for a ride in my GTS. The look on his face when I hit the Chrono Sport full boost button while going 50 mph was priceless. Then I asked is this a real Porsche? He replied "uh yes, a real fast Porsche".

911T4ME

Hmmm, I seem to make plenty of good use of the 991.2 torque with my manual. In fact, I find it joyous.

RSflared72e

The debates between 991.1 and .2 are kind of funny to me. I've come from mainly owning early, air-cooled, normally aspirated 911s (most recently, a low-mile '88 Carrera with factory LSD) to my 991.2 with PDK. Now THERE'S a contrast.

And I am freaking loving this 991.2. It does everything well. Even the sound, while different, is still very enjoyable in sport mode (and of course can be easily dialed up with mods).

I don't see me going back. The 991.2s are just that good. I've never owned a 991.1, but living without the turbo power would be tough now that I've had it.