Short Take Road Test
In society, the more letters suffixing your name—Ph.D., M.D., D.D.O.—the more years you most likely spent making tuition payments. The naming structure of Porsche 911 models is similar; some 911s get multiple degrees. The Carrera 4S—4 is for four-wheel drive, S for the larger and more powerful 3.8-liter flat-six (over the standard 3.6)—ranks just below the explosive Turbo on the 911’s armaments menu.
For 2009, the C4S and its siblings get a freshening. The S engine is still 3.8 liters, but the flat-six now makes 30 more horses, for 385. Torque is up 15 pound-feet to 310. The noticeable power surge is credited to the adoption of direct fuel injection, plus 13 pounds were shaved from the engine, and less rotational inertia means higher revs and more power. The base price makes no concessions for global recession: It’s $93,095, with our test car checking in at $109,515.
Also new this year is a seven-speed, dual-clutch automated manual. With it comes our biggest and possibly only nonfiscal-related gripe: The steering wheel has redundant shifter controls on the 3 and 9 o’clock spokes—why have four buttons when two will do? We are accustomed to using the left paddle for downshifts and the right paddle for upshifts. A $4080 option, this transmission shifts smoothly, with no tangible gap in power delivery.
If you add the optional $1320 Sport Chrono Package Plus, a launch-control feature helps the C4S rip from standstill to 60 mph in 4.0 seconds—equaling the previous 911 GT3 RS’s effort and 0.3 second quicker than the last C4S we tested. Launch control manages wheelspin with controlled clutch slip and eliminates the violent axle-hopping takeoffs associated with rear-drive, manual-transmission 911s.
The 4S squeezed out another mpg on the EPA city cycle, for a rating of 18, and three more on the highway cycle, for 26, when compared with the old automatic. The hammerheads here got 19 mpg overall.
All-wheel drive is the confidence builder in this 3485-pound car. Linking turns with Juilliard grace seems easy, even inviting. There is so much satisfaction in driving a car loaded with sensational attributes—the brakes, the steering, and the engine response are all extraordinary. To make the payments, though, it helps to have a suffix trailing your name.
