PJ Cayenne

The solution that worked for me is a 991.2 C2 T4. The C2, RWD, is my 3 season car. The second is the T4, or "Tiggy" as I've dubbed it. Tiggy is fun to drive, comes with heated seats, self dimming mirrors, Apple Car Play and rain sensing wipers. It is smooth, quiet and kind of fun to drive. Tiggy can be had for about 25k, so if you add that to a 100k or so 991, it's about 125k all in for a C2 T4. Plus I don't have to worry about someone sliding into my C2 on a snowy road and I get an errand car for those crowded parking lots...just my solution to the RWD vs. AWD question. Sorry for going OT.

nariman

i drive near Boston, and rain is not a problem at all, after driving a vette my 911 feels like a awd car in the rain, very very stable
i also drive in the snow with snow tires, it is ok but not so perfect and i did get stuck on a little hill once and i could not continue driving, also maybe my snow tires are used
but it is possible to drive in the light snow
so i will see how it will do next winter and then i will decide what to do

Ed911.2

I had this dilemma when speccing my new car. I was lucky enough to have a comparison session on a handling circuit between 2 & 4WD Carrera S's. Even in the dry, I liked the feeling of being pulled out of the corner by the front and it seemed as though you could get on the power slightly earlier than the 2WD. The front end of the 2WD car seemed slightly more nimble on the entry, though. Depends much on personal preference.

I run a tuned RWD 535d as a daily and on winter tyres it will out-accelerate, out-brake and corner better than AWD cars on normal tyres in the cold, wet and slush. However, I do like the idea of being able to pull out onto a greasy roundabout without worrying whether it won’t happen at the speed I was planning. I’m not concerned about going all sideways as the electronics take care of that, just being stranded in the middle of somewhere scrabbling for traction.

Went with 4WD on my GTS in the end as a) it fits my use case and b) I like the light bar and the wider hips. YMMV...

subshooter

You know that the GTS and 4GTS have the same body width right?

PantsFire

I've always felt safe in rear wheel drive cars in the rain, as long as you have the right tyres on you should be fine.

Where AWD will save your bacon is in the ice and snow. Then, regardless of tyre the difference can bet night and day. So if you're going to get, and drive in, regular winter snow and ice then I'd go AWD.

Ed911.2

I did but it slipped my mind as I originally had an order for a C4S but changed it to a GTS which, as you say, only comes in wide...

StormRune

I've had a 4, then an S, and now a 4S. To be honest here in Central Texas it isn't really a drivability game-changer but I like the wider look. I did think the C2S I had felt a bit more nimble as someone else stated earlier, but the C4S pulls itself through sharp curves in an amazing way... although I can't really say how much of that is from the torque-vectoring and how much is from the AWD. As to rainy weather, at highway speeds a 4 will hydroplane just as fast as a 2 and as stated in another post earlier it will stop no faster in any condition. Being able to pull like crazy off the line in rain is a hoot but not really necessary. As others state, I think the only major plus will be in snowy/icy conditions, then I think it is likely a big plus but what do I know since I never see those.

Valvefloat991

The rain is an utter non-issue with a rear-drive 911. I drive my 991.2 C2 in Colorado and with snow tires, and not even winter driving poses a problem--unless the snow is very deep. Yes, the AWD offers extra traction on steep hills, but remember that a rear-drive 911 already has over 60 percent of its weight on its driving wheels, so it inherently has decent traction. And AWD doesn't help you stop or corner any better.

For me, AWD on the 911 only delivers negatives. More cost, more weight, more drag. Don't need it or want it.

gg1

People can claim or say all they want, but if you watch this video and look at the effort required to keep the 2wd car under control in rain and even just listen to the driver's voice while he drives compared to the AWD Porsche, that is all you really need to see. There is no comparison in rainy weather. I drive an AWD Audi that is a beast in snow and rain and you can't compare an AWD car to a RWD car of same model in poor weather conditions. Great video and the RWD car has PDK, which should be faster.

Valvefloat991

A couple of observations. First, the track was clearly wetter for the C2S than it was for the C4s. Second, this was a comparison of the cars at racing/exhibition speed (I say exhibition because if you were driving for best lap times, you wouldn't be hanging the tail out that way in either car).

Do you drive at the limit of adhesion during your normal driving? If one slows down ten percent from maximum track speed, both cars would simply track through the corners and you'd still be going three times as hard as most of us ever drive on the street in the rain.

So if you regularly turn off your stability control and slide your 911 on city streets in the rain, by all means, go for the C4. But for the rest of us, the differences are moot.

And aren't 911s supposed to be about driving involvement? I would think that all of the drivers who say they always drive in Sport+ mode and with their exhaust systems switched to loud would welcome a car that is more difficult to drive.

Bacura

I order my 911/50 almost 3 years before it came available. I told my SA that unless it was RWD to cancel the order. I don't drive in the winter and I don't race it in the rain. For winter driving 100% awd. The problem is that if the snow is deep you are still cooked. That's why I bought a Tiguan for the snow and salt.

gg1

None of what you are saying matters. The bottom line is the AWD car is going to crush the RWD car in rain or snow. If you took any classes at all in physics or engineering it would be crystal clear. I have driven over 100 cars in all kinds of conditions and there is no comparing a great AWD car to a RWD car of any type, so long as they are higher end. You can point a shoot in an AWD car in rain. You can't do that with a RWD car. Everyone wants to pretend their car is the best because they spent over $100K on it, but the bottom line is AWD is superior in adverse conditions. You cannot argue against it really. Now is RWD enough? Sure, but just don't drive the same as you would in an AWD car in heavy rain.

skiahh

WTH is a 991.2 C2 T4 or C2 T4??

Rambler_13

I think it's the combination of his C2 along with his VW Tiguan. But what do I know, I still speak pre-1996.

bkrantz

gg1, this is true only as far as fastest lap time. AWD helps mostly/only with acceleration (as classes in physics and engineering should demonstrate). During steady-state cornering, transitional handling, and especially braking AWD does little to nothing. That is where basic chassis design, weight balance, and even tires determine car performance. Going back to the OP's question about safety, AWD might help some drivers under some conditions, but it is not substantially "safer".