jrt600

it's not very fast - 0-60 in 4.6sec, 1/4mile in 12.7sec @113.2mph. Both times are 3/10th of a second behind the PDK 997 GTS they tested 10 months ago (as well as a PDK Cayman R they tested recently). Braking and handling numbers are outstanding though. Hopefully the acceleration times are just the result of a bad surface and/or bad driver, otherwise file them under disappointed (it is Inside Line, and their numbers seem to always be a couple tenths behind Car & Driver et al).

2012 Porsche 911 ----- 2012 Audi R8

0-30 (sec.): 1.9 ----- 1.7
0-45 (sec.): 3.0 ----- 3.1
0-60 (sec.): 4.6 ----- 4.5
0-60 with 1-ft Rollout (sec.): 4.4 ----- 4.3
0-75 (sec.): 6.3 ----- 6.8
1/4-mile (sec @ mph): 12.7 @ 113.2 ----- 12.9 @ 109.2

30-0 (ft): 25 ----- 28
60-0 (ft): 102 ----- 104
Skid pad lateral accel (g): 1.04 ----- 0.98
Slalom (mph): 71.3 ----- 72.3

http://blogs.insideline.com/straight...carrera-s.html

Edgy01

Those numbers mean nothing. Or, do you want the drivers to simply burn up clutches to get some arbitrary number that will impress people?

10 GT3

Maybe the point has to do with something about it being slower than the 09' S Cab they tested and any performance improvement may just be hype...

bosstucker

Compared to C&D, MT, or R&T, Inside Line gets the closest real world results. The reason they have slower times is because they always give the 0-60 without rollout and let you know when they do use a 1 ft rollout, they don't remove anything from the car to save weight. They are also fairly gentle with the transmission (usually). The others seem to use rollout with hardly any fuel and every possible removable object removed, they are brutal on the transmission and they don't tell you the tricks they used to get their times... Or maybe the test driver at Inside Line is just plain slow... That said, IMO 0-60s are useful only when you are trying to argue with a 14 year old boy, where we lose anyway because the kid's favorite car is always a bugatti veyron or nissan gtr with a sub 3 second 0-60 :P

texas911

I call BS. C&D and R&T have published how they do tests, feature articles in fact, very transparent and they don't do any of the stuff you mention.

orthojoe

92.8 dB at full throttle. Does this mean a stock 991 S will be outlawed at laguna seca as well?

equ

The acceleration numbers are barely improved, just slightly better than the 997.1S and worse than a PDK GTS and very close to a 997.2S pdk CAB!

http://www.insideline.com/porsche/91...carrera-s.html
http://www.insideline.com/porsche/91...and-video.html
http://www.insideline.com/porsche/91...and-video.html

So ignore the 0-60 figures. Mph at 1/4mi removes the launch somewhat. In any case, we're comparing apples to apples as all of these are Edmunds' tests.

Slalom picked up perhaps 1mph, so that's a little something.

The real news is in the g's. Caymans were always around 0.99-1.02g and now finally a non-GT2/3 911 is up there, without Sport Cups. I guess they finally got the front of the car to shoulder a bit more of the work involved.

The commentary is interesting as well. Sounds like turn-in is improved but some steering feel is lost.

I just moved from a cayman (987.1S) to a 997.2 (base). I do like the new engine and power and find it more than sufficient for me. So all 991's are going to be fast enough as they are at least as good but not much better than the 997.2's.

On the whole I see the 991 as a toss up from my 997.2. It looks like turn-in is improved and peak g's are much higher, likely less understeer. A bit more cayman-like and that's very good. BUT, at the cost of some loss in steering feel, which is a bummer. I personally enjoy the liveliness and feedback of the 997 a lot.

jrt600

All major automotive publications use standardized testing procedures, otherwise their numbers are meaningless. Inside Line does this allowing us to compare their acceleration numbers for the new 991 S, which are disappointingly slow, to its predecessor and natural competitors. So yes, the numbers do mean something.

Normally I hate the GT-R argument (more performance for less money) because it ignores so much, but it's getting harder and harder not to feel fleeced by Porsche when the 2013 GT-R does 0-60 nearly two seconds faster than the 991 S, especially when a reasonably optioned 991 S costs 30% more than the GT-R. Heck, the $75k new CLS550 has been doing the 0-60 run in 4.2-4.5 seconds - would you not be embarrassed that your $120k 991 S loses to a base engined, midlevel Mercedes family sedan?

GuyR

0-60mph in a PDK car has some meaning, since every driver can access this exact performance every time they wish. In a manual it's much less relevent, since few people will ever launch a manual car properly at 5-6,000 rpm by side-stepping the clutch and then power-shifting through the gears with perhaps a slight clutch-kick to help.

The reality is that the 991 performance improvement is all about the chassis, not the very small improvement in acceleration.

Edgy01

The point I'm trying to suggest is that a 0-60 time means nothing at the end of the day. It's the handling and the overall package that you live with daily that makes the most impact. Porsches were never designed with the 0-60 time as their focus.

docfink

+1

kosmo

I admit it strange. I would have thought it to be faster than the 997s. Lets see what the PDK does.

BTW is it 400hp or 394hp???

jrt600

I'd go with 400hp, since that's how porscheusa.com is advertising it. Reminds me of the BMW Z8 being rated 400hp, but often quoted at 394hp as well.

As far as 0-60, quarter-mile times, etc, I agree it's all about the total package, which is why I buy Porsches and not Corvettes, GT-Rs, etc. But part of that 'total package' is accelerative ability, especially since the opportunity to floor it presents itself more often than the chance to test the handling limits of a car. As such a car's acceleration is just as important to daily enjoyment of that car as handling ability. And maybe I'm vain, but I don't want (or expect) my $120k Porsche sports car to be slower than my wife's $75k Mercedes CLS550. Perhaps I am just expecting too much from Porsche in this respect. Regardless, if people out there don't think 0-60, quarter-mile times, etc are important when discussing the merits of a sports car, then we will just have to agree to disagree.

kosmo

the z8 has the same powertrain as the the e39 m5, a 4.9L 394hp V8. Its so often quoted as 5L w/ 400hp.

Perhaps IL was using the metric system ,


Im going to speculate that there's something else going on.

comis_hq

Not exactly 991, but....