GENERAL:

Rear-engine, 4—wheel-drive coupe

2-passenger, 2 door steel body

Bose price $69,500

the 911’s racket without otherwise altering its distinctive sonic character.

Porsche designers also chose not to alter the 911’s visual character and only created new bumper-and-apron moldings for front and rear. These look faintly formless to us and slightly too heavy- handed for the body they are hung on. But they are part of an aerodynamic rework that trimmed the 911 ‘s mediocre drag coefficient from more than 0.39 to 0.32. A full, flush bellypan plays a role in this improvement, as does a sadly hokey-looking retractable rear spoiler. This movable flap was intended to preserve the original spoilerless 911 silhouette while providing whale-tail levels of engine cooling and lift prevention at speed. It motors up out of the bottom of the air intake grille at 50 mph and stays deployed until just before the car comes to a stop. There must be a better way.

We have absolutely no quibbles with the changes Porsche has made to the familiar 911 interior. The basic layout is unchanged and feels wonderfully usable, even if it is vaguely archaic: You sit upright behind a rather vertical windshield, surrounded by glass in a somewhat narrow but functional cockpit, looking out past those prominent fender bulges. But think of the things inside a 911 that have made you crazy. The shifter? Fixed, with a short, straight le

ver on a high console, operating direct, positive linkage. The climate control? All those incomprehensible levers have been replaced by the 944’s self-evident control cluster. Even the pedals are positioned for easy heel-and-toe dancing.

So others may argue, but we see the Carrera 4 as a car that retains all the 911’s great virtues of solidity, reliability, power, response, visibility, and space utilization and yet raises the car to absolutely modern levels of controllability and safety. Tremendous all-weather capability is a bonus. If it feels less thrilling on the limit than a 911, just remember that that car could thrill you to death. One of the crude, original Gmünd-built 356s from, say, 1949 would be “thrilling” to drive, too, but would you want to commute in it?

Hans Halbach, Porsche’s director of marketing, observed: “Twenty-five years ago, everyone thought the real Porsche was the 356. Now, everyone thinks the real Porsche is the 911. And sure it is! [But] Porsche has always managed to anticipate a change of values in society and react to it.”

A car that’s better by today’s more demanding standards is—let’s face it—a better car, even if there is a trade-off somewhere. In the end, we figure the Carrera 4 is an engineering achievement, and the best car Porsche makes.©

ENGINE:

SOHC flat-opposed-6, aluminum block and heads

Bore x stroke 3.94 x 3.01 in (100.0 x 76.4mm)

Displacement 220 cu in (3600cc)

Compression ratio 11.3:1

Fuel system electronic injection

Power SAE net 247 bhp @ 6100rpm

Torque SAE net 221 lb-ft () 4800 rpm

Redline 6800 rpm

DRIVETRAIN:

5-speed manual transmission

Gear ratios (I)3.50(II)2.12(III)1.44 (IV) 1.09 (V)0.87

Final-drive ratio 3.44:1

MEASUREMENTS:

Wheelbase 89.4 in

Length 167.3 in

Width 65.0 in

Height 52.0 in

Curb weight 3197 lb

Weight distribution front/rear 40/60%

Fuel capacity 20.3 gal

SUSPENSION:

Independent front, with damper struts, lower A-arms, coil springs, anti-roll bar

Independent rear, with semi-trailing arms, coil springs, anti-roll bar

STEERING:

Rack-and-pinion, power-assisted

BRAKES:

11.7-in vented discs front

11.8-in vented discs rear

Anti-lock system

WHEELS and TIRES:

16 x 6.0-in front, 16 x 8.0-in rear cast aluminum wheels

205/55ZR- 16 front, 225/50ZR- 16 rear Bridgestone RE71 tires

PERFORMANCE (manufacturer’s data):

0—60 mph in 5.7 sec

Top speed 161 mph

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