GAME, SET & MATCH

The first hybrid 911 takes on recently refreshed rivals from Aston Martin and AMG

- Ben Barry

THREE DIRECTLY COMPARABLE SPORTS CARS are rarely refreshed in such quick succession as this, but the Porsche 911 Carrera GTS, Mercedes-AMG GT 63, and Aston Martin Vantage have all come rumbling up like vastly more appealing alternatives to doubledecker buses. And we were first to get all three together.

The 911 GTS is the newest car in this test. Like other GTS models, it is a Carrera S with a greatest-hits options package. But what is new—and what separates it from the original 992-generation 911 —is a significant powertrain update: the T-Hybrid system that is exclusive to the GTS, at least for now.

At its core lies a new single-turbo 3.6 flat-six engine that alone produces 485 hp, but a permanently excited synchronous motor in the dual-clutch gearbox adds 54 hp and 150 Nm of torque (there is no manual option with a T-Hybrid) and a second e-motor packaged in the turbo eliminates lag and can chip in with up to 15 hp. Both are fed by a pint-sized 1.9-kWh 400-volt battery up front that sacrifices none of a Carrera's 132 litres of luggage space.

The GTS cannot run about emission-free, you cannot plug it in, and 9.2 km/l is merely incremental, but peak system power of 541 hp and 610 Nm bests its predecessor by 61 hp and 40 Nm and leaves the Carrera and Carrera S models (still with twin-turbo 3.0-litre sixes) trailing more than ever before with 394 hp and 480 hp respectively. Even weight is not so bad, rising by just 50 kilograms to 1,595 kg (though making the 911s plus-two rear seats optional helps). Our rear-drive coupé costs from £132,600 (Rs 1.49 crore), a near-£13k (Rs 14.56 lakh premium over the new Carrera S, and a circa-€10k (Rs 11.20 lakh) uplift over the previous 992.I GTS—but both its RRP and as-tested price make the 911 the most affordable car in this test.