2023 Porsche 911 Carrera T Review: All the 911 You Really Need

More extreme (and expensive 911s) are largely characterized by their exaggerated features: giant wings, flared fenders and so forth. Even the comparatively restrained 911 GT3 Touring looks extroverted compared with the base models, thanks to its free-breathing frunk lid and more prominent maw. But from a design perspective, while these features are functional, they distract from the simple, sensual purity of the timeless design that's made the 911 an icon over 60-plus years.

Even in come-on-Barbie-let's-go-party pink — or as Porsche actually calls it, Ruby Star Neo — the T manages to be a relatively restrained car from a visual standpoint. The sole drop of ostentatiousness are the matte black "911 Carrera T" logos on the doors, and those are easily axed on the order sheet — something I'd absolutely suggest doing. Hell, switch the badge on the back to just "911" while you're at it. Subtlety is sweet.

Porsche's abbreviations and nomenclature can be hard to parse, and it's certainly not getting easier in an era when "Turbo" is getting slapped on electric vehicles. The "T" suffix, which has begun finding widespread use amongst the 911, 718 and Macan families in the last six or seven years, refers to a sportier take on the entry-level model, one that bakes a tasty blend of added performance spices into the pie.

For the T, Porsche takes the base Carrera and adds on the PASM sport suspension, Sport Chrono package, 20-/20-inch Carrera S wheels, the sport exhaust system with black tailpipes, the Sport Seats Plus, LED headlights and more — some of which are optional on the Carrera, others of which are standard or optional on the uplevel Carrera S.

Even just the options that you can get on the base Carrera would push it past the base price of the Carrera T, so in a very real sense, it's a good deal even if you're not interested in the stick shift or extracting more performance from the car.

With six cylinders, three liters of displacement, two rather small turbos and one driven axle, the Carrera T's powerplant doesn't scream performance the way many other fast cars' do; in 2023, having power and torque figures that each start with a three feels almost sad, at least when it comes to barstool bragging rights.

But this 911 has weight on its side — both total weight and how it's distributed. At just 3,254 pounds, the Carrera T is a featherweight by modern sports car standards — and about 60 percent of that is found in the back half of the car. Having all that poundage over the rear improves grip under acceleration; combine that with tires as wide as Nebraska back there, and this car wastes almost no time spinning its wheels on takeoff. Car and Driver's independent testing saw the stick shift Carrera T bang out the 0-60 mph run in four seconds flat.

Sure, that's a little behind a 911 Carrera with the PDK and launch control — but if you're obsessed with straight-line numbers, take your cash and go buy a Tesla Model S Plaid. This car, like I'd argue is true with all Porsches, is about the involvement. It's far more involving to row your own way up and down the cogs with hands and feet dancing in tune than it is to wiggle your fingers and click through the cogs. That's not to say I can't see the appeal in the latter – God knows paddles suit the likes of modern McLarens and Ferraris ever so well — but if the option presents itself, the manual gearbox's appeal makes it a must-have in my book.

Of course, this being a 911, performance is as much about how it goes left and right as how it goes forward and back. As C/D's testers found, the T has a ton of roadholding power; at 1.07 g on the skidpad, it's just 3/100ths behinds the likes of the McLaren 720S.

Numbers, though, don't really do it justice. Fire the Carrera T into a turn, and it simply sticks and goes. You'll feel the weight transferring and the tires squeal, but unless you're being an absolute ass and driving far beyond the limits of what's safe on the streets, you're not likely to lose control. It may not be able to keep up with a GT3 on a race track, but this Carrera T will keep up with almost anything on a back road — and paint one hell of a smile across your face in the process.

The Carrera T is the only way to pair a manual gearbox with the 911's base engine, and that's likely to be the reason many buyers opt for this model. It's the seven-speed version used in the Carrera S, not the six-speed in the 911 GT3, which means the gates are tightly spaced together; the lever's firm spring pushing it back to center seems designed to help the hand form muscle memory more effectively, even if it takes some getting used to at first.

Top gear is surprisingly tall, as in the C7-generation Chevy Corvette, leaving the engine thumping along at low rpm even when keeping up with freeway traffic. Speaking personally, though, I prefer such an arrangement — with six shorter gears clumped close together, there are plenty to choose from while hustling, leaving the long cog to be a true overdrive. (It also plays a key role in helping the Carrera T score great highway fuel economy; on Michigan's flat roads, C/D racked up 30 mpg over the course of 200 miles at a steady 75 mph.) And to prevent any accidental whiffed shifts that leave you bogged down when you meant to find fifth gear Porsche also adds a lockout to seventh so you can only access it by upshifting from sixth.

And you will be shifting plenty. Compared with the Carrera S, the T is down 64 horses and, perhaps more notably, 59 lb-ft of torque. It's mostly the latter which necessitates a little extra shifting while driving; where the S can lean more on its beefier torque curve at lower rpm, the T often requires an extra downshift for Porsche-worthy oomph. The lazy among us may scoff at the idea of doing extra work, but if you consider shifting a manual "work," you're clearly not the target audience.

The Carrera T's interior, as you'd expect of a car built off the base model, isn't traditionally luxurious. My tester had the 18-way adaptive sport seats, and while they're certainly supportive — my partner calls them and their ilk "huggy seats" — no one will ever confuse them for the cushy thrones of a Mercedes-AMG SL.

Still, while it might not be lavishly decorated, it does work very well. Unlike many a sports car, there's ample room for even tall drivers, and all the controls fall close to hand and work precisely when needed. Many may be tricky to distinguish at a glance tucked away behind glass panels, but at least they click reassuringly and light up clearly when you do press them.

Besides, 911s have always been about function over form when it comes to their interiors. If you've got beef, take a look inside a 964 or 993 and tell me how fancy it is, then come back and file any complaints.

One pro tip for anyone considering ordering a new 911 from Porsche: ditch the rear seats if you can. (They're axed as standard on the Carrera T, but you can have them deleted from certain models.) The seats themselves are so small as to be all but useless for human occupation; unless you're planning on buckling up a cat carrier back there, nothing living will find them helpful.

They are, however, good places to stash luggage — and the space is even better at that when you have the second row optioned away. Each "seat" thus becomes a handy space that excels at holding large backpacks or roll-aboard carry-on luggage. Add in the parcel shelf above there that's good for smaller, flatter items and the surprisingly capacious frunk, and you can easily fit a week or two's worth of vacation gear for two people on board the 911.

The stick-shift sports car ranks are thinner than ever these days, so if you're set on having a manual gearbox, you have to be flexible on price — but maybe not in the way you expect, as the 911 is now the most expensive stick shift car on sale in America. The BMW M4 comes closest, starting $47K below the Carrera T, but it's a larger machine of a different character (and, y'know, there's that face to deal with). Otherwise, your options either involve more doors (Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing, CT5-V Blackwing) — unless you're open to something in a 718 Boxster or Cayman.

If you're up for exploring options with an automatic gearbox, the ranks open up some. The Chevy Corvette offers similar performance at a significantly lower price, and if you're comfortable dropping the money on a Carrera T, you might be tempted to opt for the rip-roaring Corvette Z06.

Base Price / Price as Tested: $118,050 / $136,280

Powertrain: 3.0-liter flat-six; seven-speed manual or eight-speed automatic; rear-wheel-drive

Horsepower: 379

Torque: 331 lb-ft

EPA Fuel Economy: 17 mpg city, 25 mpg highway

Seats: 2

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