Porsche 911 review

In its maturation into its eighth (992) generation, the Porsche 911 has grown. But that’s brought with it even more comfort and technology, which means the iconic sports car is now also a better GT, offering more technology and practicality than ever. As such, it continues to set a high bar is this segment.

However, it’s not at the expense of performance – as today’s Porsche 911 is also faster and more agile than its predecessor. It still offers the package’s unique rear-engined dynamics but with that comes a friendly side that makes the 992-generation an even more exploitable sports car.

Of course, the price has risen as a result of all this extra tech and ability, but the 911 is still a stunning piece of engineering. Together with improved efficiency, these changes on the 992 mean it offers even more of what the 911 is famed for: comfort, usability and performance.

The 911 is the model that has come to define Porsche. After more than 50 years in production the car is now into its eighth generation, and while Porsche is ploughing ahead with its SUVs, with this 992 iteration of the car it's not forgotten its lineage and what has made Porsche a great performance brand: in many ways the 911 is better than ever.

The range is split into three main models – Carrera, Carrera S and Carrera 4S – each available in coupe or convertible Cabriolet form. There's also the niche Targa 4, Targa 4S and Targa 4S Heritage Design Edition, along with the extreme Turbo S and Turbo S Cabriolet, if you need even more power.

A short spell on Porsche's online configurator shows just how customisable the car has become, with near-endless equipment packs and personalisation options. You can even specify exclusive PTS (paint to sample) paint. In time, we can expect a version with a manual gearbox, while later, the usual GTS, GT2 and GT3 models will appear.

• Best sports car to buy

The 911 has grown – it's 20mm longer than its predecessor, although the wheelbase is the same length, while it’s also now 45mm wider at the front. There’s no narrow-body version like there used to be, so the two and four-wheel drive cars are all based on the same shell, which now boasts less steel and much more aluminium in its construction to help keep the weight increase relatively modest over the 991.2.

With prices starting from around £83,000, through to £165,000, it still occupies the same sector of the market though. So this sports car is going up against the Aston Martin Vantage, the updated Audi R8, the Mercedes-AMG GT and even the likes of McLaren’s entry-level 540C.