<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n
Conversation strayed to Porsche\u2019s electric sedan, the Taycan, into which the company had poured millions. Taking it all in, I worried the 911 might go soft. Like a Hollywood legend who forgot\u00a0what made them a legend.<\/p>\n
After a day going to Hell (Michigan) and back in the convertible, Targa 4S \u2014 a new trim for the 2021 model year \u2014 I\u2019m happy to report the champ is still at the top of its game.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
I felt the 911 difference almost immediately. I had stepped out of Corvette\u2019s all-new C8 the day before \u2014 hands down the best-handling Corvette ever made \u2014 with full coil-over springs, widened track and instant traction. Yet, it doesn\u2019t instill the same confidence as the 911.<\/p>\n
The Porsche goes exactly where you point it. Pushing the Corvette (or most sports cars) over the undulating hills of M-32 in Antrim County, I had\u00a0to work the steering wheel at the limit to keep the beast on its chain. Across similarly challenging curves on Hell\u2019s Hadley Road, the Porsche feels like it\u2019s on rails. It’s like a\u00a0slot car begging for more juice.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t always so. The 911\u2019s aft-of-axle\u00a0rear-engine layout \u2014 compared to Corvette\/Ferrari\/McLaren mid-engine weapons \u2014 is inherently unbalanced. It took decades for Stuttgart engineers to tease out the gremlins of oversteer. An arsenal of modern technology helped. My Targa 4S tester benefited from innovations like electronic limited-slip differential, rear-axle steering\u00a0and engineering witchcraft like \u201cPASM\u201d and \u201cPDCC\u201d that would take pages to explain.<\/p>\n
All the driver needs to know is it makes handling magic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
When I drove my Tesla Model 3 Performance \u2014 a nice-handling sports sedan \u2014 afterward, it felt like a wet noodle by comparison. The only car that rivals the 911 is another Porsche: the smaller Cayman\/Boxster and its inherently balanced\u00a0mid-engine layout.<\/p>\n
But when it comes to the new 911\u2019s biggest change \u2014 the interior \u2014 Porsche still has work to do. Especially when compared to the Corvette C8, which has vaulted itself to best cockpit in class. A reminder: the C8 is also the cheapest supercar in class, starting at a bargain $59,995.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\nMy Racing Yellow Porsche tester starts at $136,550 but with options ballooned over $180,000. For this you get a roomy cabin with plenty of head clearance for this 6-foot-5\u00a0giraffe. Unlike its mid-engine competition, 911 has rear seats (though they are more hospitable to golf bags than people). Together with a carry-on luggage storage in the frunk, it\u2019s a sports car fit for weekend trips.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
The console is much improved over the previous generation with room for a cupholder (Imagine! Previous models had a flimsy pop-out from the glove compartment.). Theres’s\u00a0adaptive cruise-control\u00a0and a touchscreen complete with modern amenities like 4G Wi-Fi and Apple CarPlay. It\u2019s a layout shared with the more-luxurious Panamera sedan and Cayenne SUV \u2014 even improving on those siblings with a small, ice cube-sized auto shifter that doesn\u2019t obstruct climate buttons.<\/p>\n
But other details lag compared to the \u2019Vette.<\/p>\n
Porsche doesn\u2019t offer Android Auto, and voice recognition is average. The 911 has upgraded its signature\u00a0five-dial instrument display with state-of-the-art digital readouts \u2014 but the round steering wheel obscures some information. Corvette\u2019s race-car like\u00a0square steering wheel, by contrast, allows better visibility of its broad\u00a0digital dash. The C8\u2019s retractable hardtop can be stowed while moving at speeds up to 30 mph. Want to store the Targa roof? You\u2019ll have to pull to the side of the road.<\/p>\n
Classic touches like Porsche\u2019s left-side key remain, but overall the cabin lacks the personality of rivals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
Leave the personality to the drivetrain.<\/p>\n
Despite adding twin turbochargers, the flat-six engine makes beautiful music. The symphony\u2019s exhaust notes get more aggressive as you cycle through the Sport\u00a0and Sport\u00a0Plus\u00a0drive modes. Unlike the Boxster\/Cayman which downgraded to a turbo-4, the 911\u2019s six-holer screams for more right foot at high revs, just like the \u2019Vette\u2019s V8. Advocates for a silent, electric future should drive these beasts first.<\/p>\n
Mated to a lightning-quick\u00a0dual-clutch\u00a08-speed PDK\u00a0automatic transmission, the 443-horsepower mill exhibits no turbo lag. None. Not on corner exits. Not on launch-control starts that snap your neck on the way to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds.<\/p>\n
The Targa is available with a 7-speed manual for purists, but the PDK is superior and comes with paddle shifters for when you want to be in control.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
For all the emphasis\u00a0on interior-tech refinement, the 2021 reserves its most clever electronic trick for acceleration. \u201cSport response\u201d plants a button in the middle of the steering wheel. Luffing behind traffic, I pushed the button. Instantly, the gearbox downshifted from 6th to 3rd, the flat-6 screaming whilst the tach quivered at 6,000 rpms.<\/p>\n
Nail the throttle. Gulp traffic in the blink of an eye. Exhale. Wow.<\/p>\n
Luxury upgrades exact their toll on weight, and the added tech and Targa roof meant my 4S weighed in at an estimated 3,700 pounds. The gym-toned athlete shrugged it off. As I wrung the 911\u2019s neck through Livingston County curves and cloverleafs, it felt much smaller.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s what makes 911 the Tiger Woods of sports cars. But the competition is nipping at its heels.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
2021\u00a0Porsche 911 Targa<\/strong><\/h3>\nVehicle type: All-wheel drive, rear-engine, four-passenger sports car<\/p>\n
Price: $120,650, including $1,350 destination fee ($181,840 Targa 4S AWD as tested)<\/p>\n
Powerplant: 3.0-liter, twin-turbo flat-6 cylinder<\/p>\n
Power:\u00a0379 horsepower, 331 pound-feet of torque (Targa 4); 443 horsepower, 390 pound-feet of torque (Targa 4S)<\/p>\n
Transmission: 8-speed automatic, 7-speed manual<\/p>\n
Performance: 0-60 mph, 3.4\u00a0seconds (Targa 4S, mfr.); top speed, 188 mph<\/p>\n
Weight: 3,354 pounds, standard 911 (3,678 pounds, Targa 4S as tested)<\/p>\n
Fuel economy: EPA est.\u00a018 mpg city\/23 highway\/20 combined<\/p>\n
Report card<\/p>\n
Highs: Handling from the gods; glorious drivetrain<\/p>\n
Lows: Lacks infotainment sharpness; priced well into six\u00a0figures<\/p>\n
Overall: 4\u00a0stars<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Everything has its baseline for greatness. In golf, it\u2019s Tiger Woods. In tennis, Roger Federer. In basketball, Michael Jordan. For sports cars, it\u2019s the Porsche 911. The 21st century has seen a resurgence in supercars with new entries like the McLaren 570 and\u00a0Audi R8\u00a0joining mainstays\u00a0Ferrari and Lamborghini. Yet the 911 has maintained the German brand\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,87],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25892"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25892"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25892\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25893,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25892\/revisions\/25893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/08\/10\/PDTN\/5ccdbdca-294d-443c-805c-9ee5dc9de999-911_fr3-4-low.JPG?width=660&height=372&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
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