09 Jun 05
Likewise the manual six-speed gearbox, which, as with just about every other control input on a 911, is absolutely perfectly weighted. You'll never shift faster than the box can handle, and the mechanical precision makes it feel as though it's quite perfectly indestructible. There is an automatic (or sequential shift if you prefer) Tiptronic gearbox, which is for people interested in owning a Porsche but not driving one. If you're the former, it's very unlikely you've read this far, so I'm not going to bother saying anything more about that hateful thing.
So Porsche has engineered its latest four-wheel drive system brilliantly, as only a company that could make a rear-engine sportscar work this well could. But is it worth it?
The standard Carrera 4 costs £62,930 and the Carrera 4 S £69,900. That's £4550 and £4900 more respectively than their two-wheel drive counterparts, which would be worth every penny if the C4 were a notably better car to drive than its rear-drive only sibling.
It isn't.
