The inevitable spread of Porsche 911 variants is underway, with new 991-spec models filling out the lineup like infantry divisions following Guderian into France. Here is the Carrera 4S, and everything we know about the upcoming four-wheel-drive 911.
Porsche has been building four-wheel-drive 911s since the first 964s in 1989, and the über-911 959 got four-wheel-drive three years earlier. While enthusiasts whine endlessly about how the extra driven axle disturbs the purity of the 911's design, they've been popular with everyone who doesn't live in climates where it never rains or snows.
The price difference between the two- and four-wheel-drive for the last-generation 997s was $6,300, so given that a new 991 Carrera S starts at $96,400, we can expect the 4S to go up a similar amount.
For your money, you don't get any more than the two-wheel-drive car's 400 horsepower, but traditionally you do get the wider track of the 911 Turbo.
We haven't yet seen if Porsche will stick with the clutch-based differential they used in the 997 C4S, Turbo and Turbo S. Car And Driver reported that this solution required Porsche to reengineer the whole front bulkhead, leaving no room for a spare tire.
In the end, it's not the 911 we're most excited about, but it is the 911 that is less likely to have you skidding down a slushy hill into a parked car. We can expect to see it undisguised later this year.
(Hat tip to Henry Roe Ramsey!)
Photo Credit: Charles-Edouard Dendoncker/Jalopnik