The most expensive Porsche in Australia today, the 911 S/T, costs $660,000. Photo: Supplied.
The most expensive Porsche in Australia today costs $660,000 and is called the 911 S/T.
What makes it so special, even in a showroom flooded with other 911s and the all-electric Taycan flagship, is everything from the carbon-fibre bonnet and leather-lashed interior to a rev counter that tracks all the way to 9000.
But what makes it worthy of the price tag is the driving experience. The S/T is wickedly quick, super-responsive and all kinds of wonderful. It is more like something you wear than something you drive.
On your favourite driving road, it does everything brilliantly, from acceleration and braking to cornering grip that crushes any turn. You would have to hit a racetrack to get close to extracting the best from the car.
The S/T was created to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the classic 911, which hit the world in 1963, and picks up a combination of GT3 performance parts with full-scale luxury.
In a nod to its heritage, the S/T’s leather-lashed dash has green lighting for the instruments. Photo: Supplied.
The result is a car that was an instant sellout around the world, even with the ‘’look at me’’ door numbers – 63 again – which destroy any attempt at stealthy motoring.
Thankfully, it does not have a giant wing on the back but it’s still hard to hide in everyday traffic. There are lots of ‘‘heritage’’ ticks, right down to the green lighting for the instruments, from a company that trades heavily on its history.
The Porsche 911 has been a benchmark car for generations, not as shouty as a Lamborghini, as costly as a Ferrari, or as straight-line rapid as the best of the new generation of electric performance cars. It has a shape that anyone can recognise, an engine fitted – unfashionably – in the tail, and a 2+2 cabin to reflect its sports car roots.
The S/T goes all the way with leather-covered racing seats, a built-in rollover bar – which turns it into a selfish two-seater – and the usual Porsche infotainment and air-con and sound system and the rest.
What makes it different – very different in 2024 – is a slick six-speed manual gearbox. Shifting is a delight, with a positive notchy feel, and it helps the engine to spin effortlessly in any gear. It has the best of Porsche’s non-turbo engines and is good for 368 kilowatts and 465 Newton-metres, for a 0-100 km/h dash in 3.7 seconds.
With a slick six-speed manual gearbox, shifting is a delight and the engine spins effortlessly in any gear. Photo: Supplied.
It’s a car of contrasts, and the lightest of the current 911 generation despite all the luxury stuff. So it has door ‘’pulls’’ instead of handles, saving a few grams but still wrapped in leather. The engine has lightweight parts, there are forged alloy wheels and carbon-fibre body panels, while even the battery has had the weight-saving treatment.
But Porsche has not skimped on the giant ceramic brake discs, the wheels – made from magnesium, 20 inches at the front and 21 at the back – or the discreet aero parts to create downforce. It all looks and feels great, and suitably luxurious. But it’s the driving that elevates the S/T to greatness, even at Porsche.
Fire the engine and there is a crisp bark from the six-cylinder powerhouse in the rear, then snick it into gear, ease down on the long-travel accelerator pedal and move away. The steering is meaty but ultra-responsive, the ride is firm but not as crushingly bumpy as a GT3, and the response is instant. It is pure 911 and purely for enjoyment.
You cannot help smiling and, despite the door numbers, plenty of people smile back.
It’s that kind of car and a very welcome beastie in a world where most motoring is done in boxes designed to take us from A to B on the low road, never the high road.
Porsche 911 S/T
- Position: Electric flagship
- Price: From $660,500
- Engine: 4.0-litre flat six
- Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
- Plus: Performance, heritage, enjoyment
- Minus: Stupidly costly, single focus.
- THE TICK: Winner
Score: 9.4/10.
