Catch Me If You Can

Now it’s the turn of the new rear-drive 911 Carrera S. Can it fight off challengers from Aston Martin, Audi, Lotus and McLaren and hold on to its title of the king of the coupes?

- Richard Meaden

There’s nothing quite like the group test of an all-new Porsche 911 to have the weight of responsibility resting heavily on a road tester’s shoulders. And with good reason, for this rear-engined icon has consistently defined a sector of the high-performance market.

Blessed with a near-impregnable combination of qualities that enable it to perform with inspirational brilliance on a challenging road, fit effortlessly into everyday life and feel uniquely special at 25kmph or 240, the 911 has long been an industry benchmark.

There’s a more existential reason for the professional angst: the eternal and infernal debate which rages with the introduction of every new generation of 911. We perhaps get too hung up on gazing at our navels wondering what makes a 911 a 911, but if you’re a fan of the breed, this stuff matters. So as if it’s not enough that the 992 has to fight such disparate yet talented opposition (more of which in a moment), it also has to stand nerdy and nuanced comparison with its forebears. Same as it ever was, then.

When it comes to putting an all-new 911 through the mill, evo never skimps. Obviously that’s because we have the contents of countless brown envelopes stuffed with cash and franked with a Zuffenhausen postmark to blow on fancy hotels (that’s a joke, by the way), but also because we’re firm believers in the need for time, miles and context to arrive at a considered verdict. It helps if you also have a diverse and experienced team of testers, in this instance evo veterans John Barker, Jethro Bovingdon and Stuart Gallagher, plus Antony Ingram – a man of few words, but with a clear and astute take on what he likes in a car and why he likes it – and finally yours truly on keyboard duty.