Porsche 911 Carrera 4 and Targa follow turbo charge

Where the rear-drive Carrera goes, the 4 and Targa follow – and with the 991.2 911 that means teaming turbo torque with traction.

The 911 Carrera 4, Carrera 4S and 911 Targa 4 and Targa 4S all remain with 44mm-wider rear guards compared with the rear-drivers, and the new 3D-effect tail-lights continue indented in the lighting strip for the all-wheel drive variants.

Standard on all models now is Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), the adaptive dampers of which drop ride height by 10mm. Only the Carrera 4S gets a rear-axle steering option ($5490) pinched from the 911 GT3 and Turbo that assists agility and also cuts turning circle by 0.4 metres.

The all-wheel drive system now has its hydraulics operated by an electric motor rather than mechanical pump that previously fed off the flat six-cylinder engine.

The new turbo 3.0-litre range can now deliver all 272kW and 450Nm (Carrera 4/Targa 4) or 309kW and 500Nm (Carrera 4S/Targa 4S) to the ground without slippage that may afflict the rear-drive versions.

A PDK-equipped Carrera 4 wipes 0.4sec off the 0-100km/h sprint of the old 3.4-litre atmo, and at 4.1 seconds is now a tenth faster than a rear-drive Carrera. The Carrera 4S can comfortably get into the 4s now, a 3.8sec dash also a tenth faster than the Carrera S.

You’ll pay for the privilege of wet-road and snow-going security, however, with the Carrera 4 using half a litre more per 100 kilometres (7.9L/100km) and the Carrera 4S sipping 0.3L more (hardly changed at 8.0L/100km).

A new steering wheel with Sport Response Button allowing a quick twist of different driving modes, and fresh infotainment screen and software, also follows other 991.2 models.

Prices also rise, the $233,900 (Carrera 4), $269,000 (Carrera 4S), $255,400 (Carrera 4 Cabriolet or Targa 4) and $290,500 (Carrera 4S Cabriolet or Targa 4S) pricetags all rating $16,200 over the rear-drive equivalents.

For the first time, Cabrio and Targa models also join at the pricing hips – previously the soft-top was about $5K cheaper than the quirky retractable metal-and-fabric version.

They say hips don’t lie, but the real truth will come when the 3.8sec 0-100km/h Carrera 4S coupe has a new Audi R8 sniffing its backside on a wet and twisty road, hopefully in our country, sooner rather than later.