R_Rated

The .1 makes you work for it and to get power you have to wind it up pretty good. For most, the .2 will drive more like a normal car. This is not to say the .1 can't be enjoyable as a daily drive but for the masses the .2 will be a more "natural" car. Putting the car in the right gear for the task at hand is part of driving a performance car. With the .2 it won't matter as much as in the .1.

The .2 doesn't have a giant wave of torque as you infer but more of a V6/V8 low end power that the 3.8 does not have. If you're in the wrong gear in the 3.8 it is hard to accelerate to pass, merge, etc whereas the .2 is much more forgiving - making it better for a daily driven commuter for the masses.

For the record - I still like my .1 and wouldn't trade for a higher speced, new, .2

X2Board

There is no doubt the .2 is the better performer, but for some of us, power is not everything. If that were the case, I'd still be in my F80 M3, probably with a stage 2 turbo upgrade at this point, but the farty exhaust, and non linear power delivery took away all the fun. It was nothing like my E90 M3.

I guess I'm a just die hard, high revving N/A engine, type of guy.

dflowerz

Engine power was very disappointing when I test drove a base 991.1 C4. We were going down the highway and I was checking the acceleration to pass and bottom line was the car just did not make as much hp as I wanted at peak power revs. The car had PDK and I was shifting a lot to get the car in the power band and it just never was very good for me and I told the sales guy as much. He was almost pleading that the S model was a lot better. That test drive is why I am getting a 991.2 C2s. More power and a better torque distribution, from my point of view, for street driving. I have no problem with revving an engine if need be. I rode a friend's 600cc sport bike during a track day and was revving the snot out of that bike to stay in the power band. Fun on the track, but not so much on the street. It is a personal preference. No right or wrong. I just like the 991.2s power better.

Dewinator

I re-read this like 4 times and I have no idea what you're talking about. Ok, .1 base to .2S, you're talking about a 20% HP difference, so it's probably noticeable faster. For the 5% difference from .1S to .2S, probably less so.

The whole power band on the track vs the street thing, still makes no sense to me. A Prius has adequate power for 99% of the driving I do on the street, and when I get a chance to wind it up, I love doing it. I don't understand what the difference between revving up on a the track vs on the street is you're talking about. I guess just personal preference as you say.

Archimedes

This is what I disagree with and I wonder what car you're driving whenever I read this. My C2S has plenty of torque and I don't have to work for it at all, particularly in commute/traffic situations. It's shockingly torquey compared to the 3.4 in my Cayman S. I'm sure the .2 feels even stronger down low, but the idea that the .1S is lacking in necessary torque is ridiculous.

Archimedes

He was right. You drove a heavier 4 with the less powerful motor. The S is noticeably more powerful on the road. When I was shopping Carreras I drove them back to back twice. Both great cars, but the power difference was very noticeable and I ruled out the base pretty quickly.

This weekend I finally got a chance to drive my Cayman S and my Spyder back to back (similar HP spread than the Carrera and the Carrera S) and they felt like two different cars. The power difference is immense, particularly coming off of corners.

R_Rated

I have C2S. All relative as my last car had 500tq... that kicked in almost too early.

Rezus

...so you are saying the .2 is more boring but capable car, sounds about right. I am sure a GTR is faster too but I love the work to get the best out of the car even though it is slower than a bunch of new turbo cars

R_Rated

I believe yes... More boring but more capable. Actually I have doubts about track times...

dflowerz

.1 has less low rpm torque than .2 On the track you keep the revs higher all the time. On the street there is starting and stopping so more of the low revs are used. I guess the point is that the lesser low end torque of the .1 would be less noticeable on the track than on the street. Still, the .2 might be more forgiving of missed shifts on the track that result in lugging the engine.

Although I was not thrilled with the power of the 991.1 C4, I still came back from the test drive gobsmacked by the overall feel of driving the 911 and knew I had to have one!

Dewinator

I've never driven a C4, but the C2S doesn't FEEL super fast or torquey when I'm just driving around on the streets, but when you actually do WANT to go fast and click the PDK down a couple gears, the 3.8 revs like a possessed spider monkey and you're into the meaty part of the power band faster than you can blink. So I don't really understand what isn't usable about it on the street, it just sounds like it doesn't feel like it's as beefy when you aren't wailing on it.

DrCGuerra

I read the article. Even if the .2 is a better car, I found the article to be absolutely garbage. He is the first author that I have read that did not like the 991.1. It might be that he drove a base, cabriolet 991.1 with a passenger and 2 golf bags. He could not have driven a heavier car with the least amount of HP. I guess the hot air he expressed out his backside did not produce enough propulsion to get the car moving quicker. I do not care if he thinks the .2 is a better car. Better is in the eye of the beholder. Just because a car is faster does not make it better. As many of said, it is a personal choice. IMO, the NA is the better car for me. The "small-t" might be better for the .2 buyer. Anyway, I trust Chris Harris' opinion a whole lot more than this author. While Chris Harris does praise the new car, he "misses the old motor". Same thing happened when BMW went from the E46 (my favorite inline-6) to a "better" engine but a lesser car, the E92 (I still personally liked the E46 motor better-there is nothing like the sound of a BMW inline-6 other than the Porsche flat-6), to the crazy torque engine of the F80/82 M3/M4. A base 911.1 beat the torque crazy M4 (evo track battle). Just because a car has more torque and faster acceleration does not make it a better car. It's how the whole car drives in synchrony that makes it a driver's car. To me, that is the 991.1.

oalvarez

and so it would hold that a slower car is not "better" either.

the word "better" would have to be better defined in the given context.

DrCGuerra

Exactly. Better is what the buyer believes, wants, or needs it to be. For me, that was the NA engine. To the .2 driver, it's probably the new engine. All I was trying to convey is "different strokes for different folks". Enjoy your .2. I'm sure it's a fabulous car. IMO, what makes the 911 an icon and unique is that it brings out the passion in its owner.

oalvarez

To be clear, I don't own a 991.2.