porschewiseguy

Apologies for another noob thread. I am not from a sports car background. Will never be tracking the car. I enjoy the occasional spirited driving. In the past I've driven Audi S5s, BMW E92 3 series, Jag F-Type S, etc. I thought they were all plenty fun/fast. Never desired "faster" than that for my use case as I won't be tracking the car and only using on highways and local roads. Even still, I think a base Carrera 4 would be faster than all of those.

That said, do I really "need" the 4S vs a regular base Carrera 4? Would I even notice/appreciate the difference of the 4S? With my spec I'd be saving roughly $20K on a base Carrera 4 vs 4S. Besides the marginally faster 0-60 times, I noticed the base Carrera 4 doesn't have "PASM" but instead PTV (torque vectoring). Does that make a big difference? Overall I'm more interested in the "looks" and "cool factor" of the car along with some fun/fast driving once in a while. I am not overly concerned with resale value - don't plan on selling/trading in every couple years like some folks to get the next new car. I don't ever aspire to get into the GT or Turbo cars. Would be keeping this one for a while.

Secondly, is it any easier to get an allocation for a base Carrera 4 over a 4S? Or harder? On PorscheFinder there are not many, if any at all, base Carrera 4's that I ever see. I'm assuming people don't buy them for the lower resale? Does that improve allocations for base Carrera 4?

Anything else to consider when deciding base Carrera 4 vs 4S?

Thanks in advance!

Malakas

One thing to consider is that you add the weight of the AWD system without the power of the bigger turbos in the C4. Unless you need the AWD, I'd just get a base Carrera or T.

That said the S comes with larger turbos among other things, and tuned, is a righteous amount of fun on the street.

Chalk992911S

Completely agree with the above. Personally, I would not spend $120K+ without going S just for the pure fun factor of the extra power. I’d also note, if you want the “look/cool” factor, go with the Sport package that lowers the car 10mm. Nothing worse looking than 3” of tire to fender gap.

I’ll add, the 992 911 Carrera 2S is absolutely one of the best cars I’ve driven in the rain. No idea why they make a C4. It rains close to 200 days a year here. I‘ve flat out launched the car many times in the rain, zero tire slip. I’m guessing close to 60 in 4 seconds even in rain. On the freeway during rain events, 80+mph feels not much different than dry. Very trustworthy.
If you’ve never owned a rear engine 911 before, it’s really something special.

ipse dixit

It's harder to get a C4 allocation than a C4S allocation.

The C4S has the SPASM option; C4 does not.

The C4S has the 7MT option; the C4 does not.

The C4S comes with 20/21 wheels/tires; the C4 comes with 19/20.

The C4S rotors are 410/390; the C4 rotors are 330/330

Are those differences significant? Not even accounting for the HP/TQ difference.

For me, yes (even before the power differential).

For you? That's a question only you can answer.

porschewiseguy

Thanks for breaking it down. Just curious, why is it harder to get base C4 allocation?

ipse dixit

Supply and demand.

People don't want them (or want them as much as the C4S).

alin2

In addition to a lower demand probably, I think the S and GTS variants of the 992 are higher margin for Porsche than base models.

Honestly, the value proposition for a base C2 and C4 are significantly more marginal IMO as compared to previous generations.

porschewiseguy

so wouldn’t that also mean less people on a waiting list for a base 4? Versus more allocations but a lot more people waiting for those allocations?

gellie

IMO, the S variant will hold resale value better than the non S. 4 or non 4 is another discussion.

porschewiseguy

Not concerned about resale. TBH I don't even understand how the resale process/market works. I planning on owning till 300K miles or when the car dies, whichever comes first.

porschewiseguy

Can't you upgrade the wheels? Base gets PTV+ while S gets PASM. I don't know what is the difference. For a noob like me I probably can't even tell the difference.

dudeoverthere

Ask around at the local dealer(s) and see what they have for wait times on the various trims. The AWD cars are rear wheel biased until you get on it. Unless your facing snow the rwd may be all you need. Even then the rwd is good with winter tires.

I personally like the 4S because of the performance upgrades over the base. Also live in the mountains so want the extra grip at all four corners.

Here are some production numbers by trim.
https://rennlist.com/forums/991/9755...l#post17469843

aggie57

In which case get the S; the extra cost means nothing over that period of ownership.

PHX

Build some on the configurator and have a ball doing it. Compare features, prices, wheel sizes, options, etc.

Research on the Porsche website as well.

nyca

Porsche doesn't want to make "cheap" 911s in this market. The C2 and the C4 are the hardest ones to get.