Porsche 911 Carrera: Everyday genius in a digital age

Key Topics.Everyday usability meets supercar thrills in the Porsche 911 CarreraPowerful yet poised: 290kW, 0–100 km/h in 4.1 secondsDigital dash replaces analogue charm, but spirit remains intact.Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here..Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here..If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By Miles Downard.Let’s get one thing out of the way: the 911 Carrera is no longer the pure-blooded analogue sports car that your dad still won’t shut up about. But after a week behind the wheel of the new 992.2 (that's the model designation) Carrera, I can confidently report that while the rev counter may have gone digital, the spirit of the 911 is alive and well..Practicality: A Supercar in sensible shoes.It might wear a Porsche badge and the kind of rear haunches that make grown men go weak at the knees, but the 992.2 Carrera is absurdly usable. We're talking about a sports car that handles school runs, commutes, and backroad blasts with equal flair.The front boot swallows a couple of overnight bags with ease, the cabin is comfortable enough for long journeys, and visibility is surprisingly un-sportscar-like—in a good way. This isn’t just a car you can drive every day. It’s a car you’ll want to..Power and poise: Fast, but never frantic.Don’t be fooled by the “base” badge. The twin-turbo flat-six now pumps out more power than most drivers have any business accessing before coffee, and it delivers it with typical Porsche polish: linear, responsive, and accompanied by a soundtrack that balances mechanical purpose with just enough theatre to raise a grin. The specifics are 290kW, 450Nm and a 0-100km/h time of 4.1 seconds. Blimey..More importantly, it hasn’t become a bloated GT bruiser. The 992.2 remains light on its feet, with the kind of intuitive, point-and-go handling that makes you feel like you’ve got some sort of secret racing pedigree. It dances through corners with an agility that seems to defy physics - no doubt a result of a bit of extra body width, which allows for a bit more tyre at the rear..Twist the drive mode selector on the steering wheel - or prod it like you're starting a stopwatch at Le Mans - and the car morphs from mild-mannered commuter to spirited back-road weapon. Normal mode is as comfy as your favourite hoodie, with supple damping and restrained throttle response. Sport sharpens everything up, while Sport Plus cues the engine and gearbox to start acting like they’re auditioning for a Nürburgring lap record. Even in its most aggressive settings, though, the Carrera never feels over-caffeinated or edgy—it’s a performance car that flatters without ever overwhelming..The digital dilemma: Losing the needle.Now, we must address the elephant in the instrument cluster: the analogue rev counter is gone. Replaced by a fully digital display, the new setup is slick, crisp, and… well, a bit dull. It does everything it’s supposed to do, but there’s something sterile about watching a virtual needle sweep across the screen..Call me old-fashioned (you wouldn’t be the first), but part of the magic of a 911 was watching that centre-mounted tachometer climb with righteous fury as you wrung the engine out. This? It’s just not the same..Verdict: A compromise-free classic?.Despite the mild heartbreak over the digital dash, the 992.2 Carrera continues to do what the 911 has always done best: defy categorisation. It’s a sports car you can live with every day. A daily driver that’ll outpace just about anything you’ll meet on the road. And now, in typical Porsche fashion, it’s wrapped in even more refinement and polish..Sure, some of the old-school charm has been tidied away in the name of progress. But when a car is this complete, this competent, and this fun, who are we to argue?.Read also:.Roaring thunder at Kyalami: Lamborghini’s Temerario revealedVolkwagen’s Polo Vivo remains a compelling entry level hatchbackFormula 1 in SA: The race to get Kyalami back on the calendar

Porsche 911 Carrera: Everyday genius in a digital age

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