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GROSS DÖLLN, Germany – While much of Porsche AG’s highlight reel for the 911 is dominated by clips of Le Mans victories and Nurburgring laps, it’s easy to forget how wonderfully drivable the iconic German sports car can be away from the track.
Through 45 years of fiddling and tuning, Porsche has honed the Turbo’s force-fed punch, infused luxury-car levels of refinement and ironed out the tendency for the car’s tail to lead it through corners when lifting off the throttle.
For ’09, Porsche continues the rear-engined 911’s march of continuous improvement with more-efficient, flat-6 powerplants and a raft of drivetrain and electronic updates aimed at further enhancing all-around livability.
In continuing the auto maker’s recent charge of boosting power and fuel economy with Direct Fuel Injection, the Carrera 4 and Carrera 4S (C4) coupe and cabriolet now feature new 3.6L (345 hp) and 3.8L (385 hp) DOHC 6-cyl. boxer engines, respectively, aided by the added security of electronic all-wheel-drive.
The new models, which have all the presence of the Turbo minus the whale-tail spoiler, are distinguished by 1.7-in. (4-cm) wider rumps vs. rear-wheel-drive variants, and reflective red bars between the new LED taillight clusters. LED running lights and signal markers also grace the noses of all ’09 models, as do bi-xenon headlamps that can be optioned to swivel around bends at night.
