Porsche 911 S/T review
This staggeringly brilliant - and expensive - sports car pushed its driver to start playing the lottery.
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This Porsche 911 S/T – all $755,000 of it – made me break the habit of a lifetime.
I don’t play lotto.
An idiot tax, as my dad calls it. But the Powerball sign said $20 million and I didn’t want to hand back this baby blue, racing-numbered 911 heartbreaker.
Once I’d snared the jackpot I’d place my order the same day.
All perfectly planned.
After matching zero numbers – not one – I must instead reflect on a week living with what truly is peak road-going 911.
But why is this S/T the most expensive Porsche ever sold in Australia?
Because ask any purist Porsche enthusiast to design their ideal 911 for 2024, this would be the result.
Collector status guaranteed – this one-of-1963 limited editions worldwide will probably double in value by decade’s end.
Engine’s from the 911 GT3 RS, meaning 386kW and 465Nm from a non-turbo (therefore pure) 4.0-litre six-cylinder. Yet, like the much-missed 911 GT3 Touring, this S/T is far more liveable-with than any spine-compressing race-car-for-the-road RS.
Using a six-speed manual gearbox it revs to a knee-trembling 9000rpm, while its soundtrack has the driver screaming rude alternatives to “Hallelujah!”
At 1380kg it’s the lightest current 992-generation 911, thanks to no rear seats, no rear-wheel steering, magnesium rims, carbon ceramic brakes, special lightweight mechanicals, thin-section windows and carbon fibre reinforced plastic for the wings, bonnet, doors and anti-roll bars.
And, well, just look at it. Blissfully pure lines with a retractable rear spoiler hidden away.
You can buy a plain one for $660,500 plus costs, but – come on – you must add the $36,760 Heritage Design Package as shown.
Enter side decals, race number roundels (choose your own number); the 20 and 21-inch wheels are painted Ceramica (white), there’s a 1963 historic Porsche bonnet crest and delicious gold 911 S/T badging.
It’s Porsche Nerd fantasy land.
Open the door and there’s a rare misstep. Puddle lights say ‘Icons of Cool’ making them immediately un-cool.
The interior saves it with driver-focused brilliance. Firm, carbon-backed and hyper-low seats are trimmed in cognac leather with black pinstripes, while dead cow coats practically every cabin surface. It smells like a millionaire’s club room.
A short-throw gear shifter is stubby perfection, while old meets new with digital driver display surrounding an analog rev counter with 1960s 911 luminous green numbers.
Gorgeous.
Of course the price is ridiculous, but this is a style and engineering masterclass. And as you’re in so deep, why not another $9500 for a carbon roll cage; leather air vents at $3000 and maybe bespoke floor mats for $2000? Curse you, wrong lotto numbers.
To drive, I’m hesitating to call it the best I’ve ever had.
But I really can’t recall anything better.
Porsche’s own GT3 RS and GT4 RS come close, but they implode your ear drums, beat-up your back and are as subtle as a wrecking ball to the face.
This 911 S/T takes the bonkers rawness of an RS engine, then wraps it in something you could almost drive every day. The suspension’s stiff as hell, but tolerable.
Throttle response is lightning, you’re at 100km/h in 3.7 seconds, and the beautiful, mechanical, snickety manual gear changes get more divine the faster you go.
You need a clear road and high speed limit to enjoy it, but once you’re past 5000rpm, the head-pinning thrust and screaming noise bring new levels of euphoria.
Of course handling and steering response are life affirming, but the nicest surprise is how its variable damping copes with crummy Australian road surfaces. Despite potholes and bumps, all stays beautifully precise, grippy and engaging.
At slow speeds the brakes are a bit lazy, the gear changes stiff and the clutch mechanically rattles away at idle. But purists won’t care. These are just happy reminders of proper racing DNA.
For the lucky souls invited to buy an S/T – lotto winners or otherwise – it would be utterly criminal to hide these rewarding, exquisite masterpieces away. It’s a car that must be driven, and on the road.
VERDICT
Only the ludicrous price and no rear seats stop it scoring full marks.
This is peak road-going 911 brilliance.
4.5/5
PORSCHE 911 S/T VITALS
PRICE About $755,000 drive-away
ENGINE: 4.0-litre six-cylinder, 386kW and 465Nm
WARRANTY/SERVICE 3yrs/u’ltd kms, no capped price servicing
SAFETY 6 airbags, auto emergency braking, cruise control, rear camera, rear sensors
ECONOMY 15.6L/100km
SPARE Repair kit
CARGO 132L
Originally published as Porsche 911 S/T review
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