Driven: 2025 Porsche 911 Carrera S Is a Worthwhile Treat

Yahoo

01-04-2025

While the latest Porsche 911 is busy making waves for the adoption of hybrid power in the 992.2-generation GTS model, it's business as usual elsewhere in the lineup, i.e., steady gains in performance and refinement. Building on the updated base rear-wheel-drive Carrera, now comes the 2025 Carrera S, a one-level-up indulgence that Porsche says is the most popular trim in the lineup. With additional equipment and a meaningful bump in power over last year's model, the new S gives 911 shoppers even more reason to splurge.
As a hedge against potential boredom with the standard Carrera's 388 horsepower (nine more than you got in 2024), treating yourself to the S nets 473 horses (a gain of 30) from its twin-turbo 3.0-liter flat-six. Credit a larger intercooler and new turbochargers cribbed from the outgoing nonhybrid GTS. Though that greater herd of ponies peaks at the same 6500 rpm as before, the carryover 390 pound-feet of torque amasses 100 rpm lower, at 2200 revs. The result is cake and a fork to eat it with—slightly better low-speed tractability, plus stronger top-end pull—which puts the S on par with the previous GTS.
Make that almost on par: Though the outgoing GTS produced the same 473 horses, it made a beefier 420 pound-feet of torque at 2300 revs. In our test of a 2022 model, that was enough to sling a GTS coupe to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds and cover the quarter-mile in a blazing 10.9 seconds. Still, we expect similar times from the new Carrera S once we test one, and it'll surely beat the 2025 Carrera's 3.1-second 60-mph time and 11.4-second quarter by a tenth of a second or two.
All those times factor in the potent launch-control function of the 911's eight-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic—the only transmission available in the new base Carrera, Carrera S, and hybrid Carrera GTS models. Blame production efficiency and relatively low take rates for the loss of the S's previously optional seven-speed manual. But the 911's stick shift isn't dead just yet, as Porsche will still sell you a three-pedal, six-speed manual in the 2025 Carrera T (as standard) and the updated GT3 (as a no-cost option). As for a manual returning to the Carrera S, Porsche may entertain the notion if demand is strong enough, but it's currently not in the works.
On the rare occasion that the S's PDK gearbox isn't doing exactly as it should—seamlessly shuffling ratios to help keep the engine churning and the driver focused on, well, driving—you can notice a whiff of lag from the engine as the turbos spool up. Then the flat-six begins to howl through its now-standard active sport exhaust (previously a $2950 option), the scenery starts to blur, and you wonder if your senses were acting up. We'll always prefer rowing our own gears whenever possible, but it's virtually impossible to knock the clairvoyant cog swaps the PDK pulls off midcorner without upsetting the car. Same goes for its smooth, effortless character when trundling around town.
As a premium 911 model, the Carrera S continues to include standard braked-based rear-axle torque vectoring and 20-inch front and 21-inch rear wheels (versus the Carrera's 19s and 20s). Adaptive dampers now shared with the new GTS also are in the recipe and feature updated hydraulic tuning and a greater bandwidth in capability. Combined with carryover, softer-than-GTS spring rates, the changes are most noticeable in the suspension's improved compliance and overall balance, which also helps sharpen the car's already-stellar responses.
The generally rough road conditions of the Midwest will be the ultimate test of this new setup. But we could feel a slight improvement in ride quality even on the manicured pavement of our Southern California drive route, the S gliding over stray bumps and expansion joints with little disturbance to the cockpit or degradation in body control. On twisty mountain sections in the car's Normal chassis setting, the dampers continually adjusted to maintain massive levels of grip and composure as we bombed from corner to corner in impressive comfort.
Reassuring stopping power via upgraded brakes—six-piston, 16.1-inch units in front and four-pot, 15.0-inch units in back, also from the outgoing GTS—counter the Carrera S's enhanced thrust. As before, larger carbon-ceramic binders are available, as are rear-axle steering and a PASM sport suspension that lowers the car by 0.4 inch. Unsurprisingly for a Porsche, the add-ons can pile up quickly, though we do recommend springing for at least the front-axle lift system ($2980) and the extended-range 22.1-gallon fuel tank ($230).
From the outside, version 992.2 sees the 911 receive some mild design tweaks, with the main callouts being gently resculpted bumpers and standard multifunction LED Matrix headlights (upgraded HD-Matrix units are available). Also present are several new wheel designs—and on cars equipped with adaptive cruise control, an ungainly cyclops-like sensor in the front fascia. Avoid that last one.
As with other 2025 Carrera models, the S coupe is now a standard two-seater, with rear accommodations a no-cost option and mandatory on the droptop Cabriolet. Traditionalists may gripe about the new engine-start button to the left of the steering wheel, versus the previous switch that you had to physically twist, as well as the loss of the 911's central analog tachometer flanked by two small digital readouts. But we can't argue with the functionality of the new 12.6-inch instrument display, which provides superior readability and better integration with the updated infotainment in the 10.9-inch touchscreen. The configurable digital cluster also can be set to display the familiar central tach, so it's mostly a net gain.
All these improvements up the Carrera S's base price considerably, with the coupe's entry point swelling more than $15K versus the 2024 model, to $148,395. Add $13,200 for the S Cabriolet. Yet account for its greater performance and additional equipment—which also includes extended leather trim, a cooled inductive device charger, an upgraded drive mode selector on the steering wheel, and more—and the S's inflated ask is not as punitive as it seems. For us, short of taking out a second mortgage for a new GT3, the manual-only Carrera T ($135,995) is still the preferred way to go for 2025. But for those simply weighing a grander 911 than the base car, the Carrera S is a compelling step-up.
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