qikqbn

Congrats to Porsche and continuing their pursuit of better performance with each model. I watched the video already today and was very surprised by these numbers as well. Some other interesting comparisons:

Not only does the 991.2 Carrera S beat the 991.1 GT3 and Turbo S at Willow Springs, but at Laguna Seca Randy Pobst was faster with the 991.2 then the 450 Hp 997.2 GT3 RS wearing sport cup 2 tires! Not much to argue about with Porsches Progress when it comes to lap times and accelleration. 1:36.44 (991.2 CS) vs 1:36.77 (997 GT3 RS)

The 0-60mph of 3.1 seconds and 1/4 mile of 11.5@120 mph both beat the 997 GT3 RS 4.0 and practically match the 991.1 GT3 with 475 hp.

Very impressive indeed. I will say that being around the track often that the Michelin Sport cup 2 sticky tires that the Corvette was wearing in this comparison are good for about 2-3 seconds per lap when swapped on the same car that was using normal street tires like a michelin super sport, which is still a very nice tire. So if the 991.2 CS was wearing Sport cup 2 tires you may have seen a time dipping in to the 1:25 range which would have easily beaten the corvette.

In fact one of the reasons Corvettes have been doing so well in their lap times for the last few years when doing these comparisons is that most of their special models are coming standard with Sport cup 2 tires on their cars. Can't penalize Chevy for wanting to use great tires. They will only last 3000 miles, but the vette is offering some amazing performance for less than $100k. I would still rather drive my Porsche 911 for a lot of the same reasons people have mentioned. for the 99% of us who spend our time on the street or a curvy canyon road, the 911 just feels more special

As far as which model offers more feel, more fun to drive, and the best of both worlds... well, that will be argued about on the forums until the world comes to an end because every driver is at a different phase in "carhood" and has different expectations or desires from their car. Some are not satisfied unless they are seen in the latest and greatest models and some are not satisfied unless they are driving the oldest most analog model. To each their own and different strokes for different folks. All I can say is that it is a great day to be driving a Porsche 911 if you are fortunate enough... no matter which model it is.

JustBud

These types of arguments crack me up. Air cooled is better than........, Analog is better than......., Naturally aspirated is better than,.......progress comes anyway, and it will drag us all kicking and screaming into the future..... We all get to be the cool kid that found the cool spot first when the latest edition comes along...... me, I'm waiting for my .2 now and then I'll get to be the cool kid down the road when the hybrid comes out.......in the end we all have some variant of the 911, and I'm ok with that.

Ski Porsche

If you watch the side-by-side lap you can see in a straight line the C2S pulls the Corvette a little each time, but the Gran Sport carries more speed through nearly every corner. That's the mechanical grip from the sticky Cup 2s along with downforce. At the same time, the PDK is quicker over a lap than a MT so give them the same transmissions and tires and it's going to be close. My guess is the C2S will take the 'Vette by a small margin (it has nothing to do with the fact I'm a P-car owner--honest).
From the perspective of performance and speed, no question the .2 is faster than the .1. For me the .2 is funner than the .1 because of it's responsiveness, acceleration throughout the rev range and, yes, the sound. In addition, everyone talks about turbo lag, but what about the lag from getting the .1 spun up into it's power band? Once either motor is up to speed, they're equally responsive--only the .2 pulls harder. The rear axle steering is another plus, the car is absolutely pinned to the ground through a curve. I loved my .1 C2S, but my new .2 C4S is even more amazing to me.

-Ryan-

It will always be that way. I guarantee you when the Ford Model A came out guys were saying yeah I liked the Model T better. It was more raw. I felt more connected to the road.

Larry Cable

if those crack you up - just wait till they ship a hybrid 911 ... or worse, fully electric!

R_Rated

Interestingly enough, I think Corvette people are the only ones that praise the new models. Chevy has been very smart about supplying awesome tires for their cars to help with magazine coverage... Look at the Camaro race car? The special tires were barely street legal and needed a surface with friction on the wheel to keep the tire from rotating!

M3, Mitsubishi Evo, Subaru STi, VW R32 and the list is endless of groups out gathering pitchforks and torches over the new; mostly heavier and more advances, models ruining what was great about the outgoing.

Archimedes

Pfft, the Model T?! Nothing compares to my horse and buggy...

Seriously, there are folks on RL that won't be happy until Porsche puts out a 911 with manual spark advance.

Hurricane

LOL!!!!!!!

GregD

I was saving it for a bookend pic for when I get my white 991. But OK ;-)
It's not that fast but it feels fast and sounds like a banshee!

Al.Fresco

That's a Fuch'n sweet 911 !!!!

GrantG

Was the lap in the 991.2 just achieved recently (in the Fall)? Cooler temps make a big difference (particularly for turbo cars). Temps can get really hot at Willow in the Summer (if the others were run then)...

Archimedes

I don't know why anyone is surprised by this time relative to the other cars, given the specs of the car and the performance it's already displayed in other tests and at the Ring.

subshooter

Yeah. I can't wait for the driverless all electric 911. Can't wait.

GSIRM3

Along with voiding your warranty.

jimbo1111

It's a great lap! No doubt. What would lap 2 ,3 and so on look like? Have porsche engineers accounted for heat soak. I guess time will tell.