Does the T in the Porsche 911 Carrera T Actually Stand for Touring?
Traveling to Montreal for a four-day visit in my new Carrera T gave me a whole other perspective on what the car can do.
Many people assume the letter T in the name of this Porsche 911 variant stands for Turbo. Even though the car’s engine is fitted with twin turbochargers, the T is short form for Touring. If you want a Porsche 911 Turbo, a descendant of the legendary 930 Turbo of the 1970s and 1980s, the car you are interested in is currently being produced and labeled Turbo or Turbo S. Both these cars are blindingly fast, especially when it comes to acceleration. Their flat-six engines have more displacement than the 911s in the Carrera range as well as larger turbo-chargers, creating a lot more boost. The T, on the other hand is equipped with the engine found in the base 911 Carrera model.
The T nomenclature was introduced in 1968 and remained in production until 1973. It was positioned as the entry level 911 with a six cylinder 110 hp boxer engine, replacing the 912 whose four-cylinder engine was perceived as not powerful enough for a Porsche. Along with its base engine, the T was offered with base trim both inside and out. The L and S versions included more powerful engines, more luxury and therefore, more weight. The T proved a hit with 911 enthusiasts who enjoyed a lightweight and nimble sports car. Its power deficit and lack of creature comforts were compensated for by its handling and the driver engagement the car provided. It’s limitations, instead of being a drawback, were welcomed by enthusiasts.
When Porsche revived the T badge in 2018, they adopted the same approach, but times had changed. Although weight saving measures were still employed, more creature comforts have been retained. Moreover, today’s base engine is a powerful and very flexible unit, so it doesn’t suffer from any deficits in the modern T. Porsche has added performance-orienting suspension settings, a limited slip differential, but most importantly, a short-shift manual transmission. These, along with minor weight-saving measures create a car with a lot of the original’s spirit. It’s nimbleness and driver engagement are reminiscent of analogue sports cars. Today, many cars that look like sports cars don’t really drive like one. They are essentially grand tourers engineered for high-speed comfort.
For a modern car, the T is loud, the ride is firm and it transmits plenty of mechanical feedback to the cabin. It excels on twisty hilly roads and is extremely engaging for a modern car. When I first drove mine, I thought its Touring designation might be a misnomer, given its lively disposition.
So, how did it fare on a road trip to Montreal where you are traveling on a major highway for 465 kilometers from Canada’s major urban area to its second largest city? Does the car possess any touring attributes or is the T in its name just the letter that follows S in the alphabet? Highway 401, which becomes Route 40 in the province of Quebec, is a long, busy, multiple-lane ribbon topped with various surfaces, some as smooth as glass, others painfully worn out, patched, broken and repatched. This is what I discovered on my drive.
Visibility:
One quality the 911 possesses that makes it more usable than most of its competitors on long trips is excellent visibility. That is a very good thing to have as you keep an eye on a busy multilane highway filled with a mix of transports, pickup trucks pulling trailers of all descriptions, SUVs filled with restless children and distracted drivers in a hurry. The 911 allows you to view your surroundings, overtaking and being overtaken are straightforward because of the car’s minimal blind spots.
Seats:
After four hours of non-stop driving, fatigue was low, primarily due to the Sports-Plus seats, which are standard in the T. You sit deeply and the bolstering holds you firmly in position. I have sat in 18-way adjustable seats in a Carrera 4 and those seats don’t seem as deep as the T’s. My car’s seat envelopes you and its cloth inserts are gripper, are more comfortable and cooler than an all-leather seat. Manufacturers should seriously consider bringing back cloth seats in sports cars.
Overdrive:
My car’s manual transmission has seven gears. Prior to this trip I used the first four almost exclusively. Fourth gear produces about 105 kph at 3000 rpm, giving you little reason to keep shifting up in normal traffic. I did try fifth and sixth once on a stretch of highway, just to ensure they actually worked. I never made it up to seventh.
On this trip, once past the congestion of the Greater Toronto Area, I selected seventh gear for the first time. The car was set in Normal Driving Mode and was moving at about 120kph. The revs lowered to 2000 rpm and the engine note changed to a deep, quiet hum, much like that of a big V8. In seventh gear and at that rotation I was traveling at approximately 124 kph. Despite the sound from the car’s large tires, the cabin was surprising quiet.
The engine’s torque band is very flat and full torque comes on at 1800 rpm. This characteristic makes the use of seventh gear practical because if you need to overtake on the highway the engine has sufficient strength to pull steadily without the driver having to downshift. The only problem with such a high gear-ratio paired with strong low-end torque, is if you do not pay attention, you can creep up to 150 kph without being aware of it. Just a bit of increased pressure on the accelerator will get you there without any perceptible change in the engine note.
Cruise Control:
I used this feature on a few quiet stretches and what is impressive is how few steps are required to operate the system. You push a button at the tip of the control stalk to turn it on, then you set your speed and activate the cruise control in one motion by pushing the stalk away from you.
Radio:
The drive to Montreal can be monotonous and I always used to listen to audio books on CD in my previous cars. My 911, like most recent cars, is not fitted with a CD player. It does come ready for Apple CarPlay or Android Auto connections and is also configured for Sirius XM and Spotify music services. Android Auto has proved very useful to me because I enjoy the YouTube Music site as well as CBC’s podcast site. I am still exploring other sources for audio books and podcasts which I hope will render the CD player nothing but a distant memory.
The AM radio band has also disappeared in the 911, and as a result so have the sports-talk radio channels I like to listen to. There too I have been able to find the AM radio stations I enjoy through apps accessed from Android Auto.
Fuel Tank:
Still on the topic of covering long distances, the car’s extended-range fuel tank I opted for was extremely useful on this trip. There are particular spots where I know high-octane fuel is available along my route and ninety-four litres of available driving as opposed to the sixty-litre standard tank gives you plenty of time to drive on to the filling stations you are sure will carry 93-octane. When the tank is full and the car is cruising in seventh gear, the range indicator estimated I had 970 kilometers if I ran consistently at a little over 120 kph. On a long highway trip, this is remarkable range.
Rain Mode:
Once in Montreal, I visited a number of friends on the island of Montreal, Laval and Laprairie. I drove on South Shore and Laval highways at night in the pouring rain. The car’s rain mode is not a gimmick, it really plants the car on the wet road and takes the edge off the car’s acceleration sharpness and steering response, which under the very heavy downpours I encountered were welcome safety features.
Ground Clearance:
The front-axle lift, to some a useless option, proved extremely helpful. It engages very quickly and when I wasn’t sure about the angle of a curb, parking-garage ramp or speed bump, it gave me a sense of security. I can’t even count the number of times I have used this feature since owning the car.
Tight Parking:
I parked in the downtown core at the Place Ville Marie car park, a parking garage beneath Montreal’s landmark skyscraper. Not having been there in decades, I had forgotten just how much of a tight maze it is and how compact the parking spaces are. I followed a Land Rover in whose driver tried to slip into three spaces unsuccessfully. I decided to make an attempt to enter the third one he abandoned and the Surround View camera system was such a blessing. The overhead view allowed me to know how close I was to the BMW on my right as well as the massive rectangular pillar to my left. I was able to maneuver into the space with confidence. Once positioned, the folding mirrors I ordered also came in handy, eliminating those two protrusions.
I did not purchase my Carrera T primarily as a tourer. I was seeking a nimble sports car with sharp handling that would also be reasonably acceptable on long trips. My Montreal trip showed me that the T is more than acceptable as a tourer. Porsche manages with the 911 to produce a car possessing race-car pedigree, yet flexible enough to deal gracefully with real-world situations. The combination of what the T variant offers and the options I selected have given me a vehicle I will continue to take on long trips without hesitation.
The more I live with my T, the more I understand why the versatility the 911 possesses moves Porsche owners to fanatical levels of loyalty. Unlike many other cars of its calibre that are taken out only for an occasional short spin, many 911 drivers like to use their cars and come to expect they will deal with what the real world of driving throws at you. On this trip, my car did unexpectedly well in the real world.
Great article !