Porsche 911 Carrera S Powerkit (2007-) Review

On the road

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Porsche is touting the Powerkit to owners who enjoy the odd track day and demand a little more performance out of their 911.

Power is up by 26bhp, while torque swells fractionally by 11lb-ft up to a generous 306lb-ft. This higher maximum torque figure is delivered at 5,500rpm - 900rpm higher than the standard car. This means, the real shove comes later in the rev range.

The 0-60mph time of 4.6 seconds is impressive, but push on, and the upgrades become more apparent. The 0-100mph time has been cut by a second and now it takes just 9.7 seconds.

Behind the wheel the power and torque increase take a while to appreciate, but when your starting point is the 'standard' storming Carrera S, that's not surprising. It's only when you let the more powerful car stretch its legs that you realise what a sensational car this is. Power really kicks in from around 5,000rpm to the 7,200rpm mark and that alone will have some existing owners reaching for their chequebooks.

Even four years on, the 911 is still one of the finest drives money can buy. Beautifully weighted steering, the ability to change direction rapidly and the incredible traction out of corners make this a near-perfect car to drive, regardless of whether you are on the city commute or on the Nordschleife.

Stab the Sport button and the experience becomes even more visceral. It opens a valve in the exhaust system that introduces a glorious snarl. It's a shame, though, that this button also sharpens the throttle to such an extent that around town it introduces a slight driveline jolt that simply isn't there when it's deactivated.

Sport also stiffens the dampers, but they can be switched back to normal. We suggest you keep it on normal because because the added stiffness can start to grate.

Our car came with the standard steel brakes, which were mighty powerful and without fade even from high speeds, but those who do plenty of track days might want the even more powerful, long-lasting ceramic composite discs instead, at a cool £5,349.