Used 2020 Porsche 911

The 2020 Porsche 911 — aka, type 992 — takes the familiar slope-tailed sports car’s inherent DNA and amplifies it with systematic upgrades. Wrapped in a slightly more shapely hourglass body, the 911’s available engines are still stubbornly mounted behind the rear axle, but produce more horsepower and torque than ever. An 8-speed dual-clutch PDK (Porsche Doppelkupplung) automatic gearbox remains standard equipment, but a 7-speed manual transmission has been made a no-cost option for the Carrera S and Carrera 4S models. This will please traditionalists.

While direct competitors are few, the biggest threat to Porsche’s sports-car monopoly is the new mid-engine C8 Chevrolet Corvette. Though equipped with a starting price that’s one-third more affordable than a base 911, the newsworthy new Vette has stolen a fair share of the German’s thunder.

Loaded with new technology and performance upgrades, the 8th-generation Porsche 911 ultimately represents more of an evolution than a revolution in the microcosm of truly world-class sports cars. But for an icon that has enjoyed continual improvements over its half-century existence, those improvements are simply the cherry on top of a hugely successful platform.

Climb into a Porsche 911 of any vintage, and you’ll be hit with a series of familiar elements — the sparse dashboard, a big analog tachometer front-and-center, and a fairly upright interior that comfortably holds two adults ahead of diminutive rear seats. But the most familiar part of the 911 experience is the drive. Available in rear-wheel-drive (RWD) and all-wheel-drive (AWD) variants, the all-new 2020 Porsche 911 Carrera’s incrementally elevated performance makes the sports car manage to feel both rooted in tradition, yet utterly modern.

One of the most immediate touch points of any sports car is steering, and the 911 Carrera feels intuitively connected to the road through the palms of your hands, conveying a clear picture of how the front tires are grasping the road. The 911’s accelerator and brake pedal deliver similar levels of communication, accurately conveying how much input will be needed to draw the desired acceleration and deceleration — which, for the record, is fierce in both directions. Handling is sharp, tenacious and unflappable, with surprisingly supple ride quality; brakes are commensurately capable, with available carbon ceramics delivering track-ready performance.

Step up through the 911 range and you’ll get more “wow” factor; while the base model is plenty quick thanks to enhanced output of the 379-horsepower flat-6 engine, the Carrera S’s 443-horsepower powerplant steps up the game with even more grunt. Expect future variants to deliver even sharper performance.

Although all-new, the 8th-generation Porsche 911 Carrera’s general interior layout feels familiar, with fresh design details tweaking the formula. For instance, for the first time ever the instrument cluster features two thin, frameless digital screens flanking the (still analog) tachometer, while the main multimedia interface adds a large 10.9-inch touch screen. The sparseness of the instrument panel is punctuated by knurled toggle switches for key functions, and the passenger area of the dashboard has a trim section that can be finished in a variety of materials including open-pore wood and carbon fiber.

Countless contenders have come and gone since the Porsche 911 made its debut at the 1963 Frankfurt Motor Show, many of them with styling treatments that have passed like last season’s fashions. By sticking to the same basic silhouette while adding subtle tweaks to each generation, the 911 has managed to retain its timeless character despite incremental updates.

For 2020, the 911 claims a few firsts: a new wide-body design that is shared with both rear-drive and all-wheel-drive models, and different-diameter front and rear wheels. The look is tailored and tight, making the 911 look comfortable and confident in its skin.

“JUST RIGHT” PERFORMANCE FEEL
Plenty of modern sports cars deliver astounding performance, with spec sheets that would put supercars of recent vintage to shame. But nothing feels quite like a Porsche 911, a model line that exudes a strong sense of its own unique personality.

PERFECT PACKAGING
Though placing the engine behind the rear axle presents its own engineering challenges for handling and vehicle balance, it creates copious usable space throughout the vehicle. For instance, the 911’s lack of a transmission tunnel lends the cabin an open, spacious feeling, and the front end of the vehicle features a surprisingly capacious “frunk,” or front-trunk storage area.

Porsche is famously bare-bones when it comes to standard equipment, but the new 2020 base model gets a slightly more generous starting point, with standard safety items like brake assist and wet-driving stability mode. The new 911 is the first ever to feature the automatic PDK transmission as standard, although a 7-speed manual is now a no-cost option on the Carrera S and 4S models. Also standard: LED matrix headlights.

If you’re feeling spendy, Porsche offers a plethora of ways to part with your money while ordering your 911 Carrera. Porsche charges for everything from fully leather seats ($700) to special leather colors ($6,040), but performance options are even more tempting, among them a sport-exhaust system that can switch loudness levels at the touch of a button ($2,950), carbon-ceramic brakes ($8,970), and a sport chrono package that enables more aggressive drive modes and launch control ($2,720).

Carrera S and above models can be equipped with rear-axle steering ($2,090) a la carte, or bundled with the Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control system featuring active roll stabilization ($3,170). Tick enough other boxes, including the Burmester premium sound system ($5,560), and it rapidly becomes easy to spend upward of $30K in options.

Featuring an updated injection system, new turbochargers, and a revised intake and cooling system, the engines in the 2020 911 Carrera lineup are more powerful and efficient than ever. Though twin turbocharging has entered the entirety of the current 911 lineup (save the Speedster model, which is based on the previous generation’s naturally aspirated engines), so-called Turbo and Turbo S models and RS variants will no doubt appear in the future, boosting power output even further.

3.0-liter twin-turbocharged flat-6 (Carrera, Carrera Cabrio, Carrera 4, Carrera 4 Cabrio)
379 horsepower @ 6,500 rpm
331 lb-ft of torque @ 1,950-5000 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 18/24 mpg (all Carrera and Carrera 4 models)

3.0-liter twin-turbocharged flat-6 (Carrera S, Carrera S Cabrio, Carrera 4S, Carrera 4S Cabrio)
443 horsepower @ 6,500 rpm
390 lb-ft of torque @ 2,300-5,000 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 18/24 mpg (S automatic), 17/25 mpg (S manual, S Cabrio manual), 18/23 (S Cabrio automatic, 4S automatic, 4S Cabrio automatic), 17/24 (4S manual, 4S Cabrio manual)