The new Porsche 911 S/T might just be the purest interpretation of the 911 you can buy today with a focus on pure public road enjoyment.
The new 911 takes its name from the 911 S/T of 1970-71 that was built specifically for motor racing, winning at both Le Mans and the Nurburgring, but does it live up to that pedigree? On paper, it certainly seems so.
Powering the 911 S/T is the 4.0-litre naturally-aspirated flat six-cylinder engine taken from the GT3 RS, good for 386kW (518bhp) and 465Nm of torque. Power is sent to the rear via a six-speed manual transmission from the GT3 Touring.
The transmission is geared towards lightness, with the engineers developing a lightweight clutch that sheds 10.5kg for improved performance.
Making this car lighter than any other 911 seems to have been the goal with the front bonnet, roof, front wings, and doors all made from carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP). There’s also a lightweight roll cage, anti-roll bar, and shear panel. Even the battery has been swapped to a compact lithium-ion unit to save weight as well as lightweight glass for the windows.
Even the 20-inch front and 21-inch centre-locking wheels are made from magnesium to save weight.
The result of all these measures makes the 911 S/T weigh in at 1,380kg, which is 40kg lighter than the GT3 Touring.
All of this combined means that 0-100km/h is reached in just 3.7s for a top speed of 300km/h, according to Porsche. Compare it to the GT3 RS automatic which could do 0-100km/h in 3.2s for a top speed of 296km/h, and the GT3 Touring manual which can do 3.9s for 320km/h.
Porsche highlights that the “focus of the development of the 911 S/T has not been not on track use, but rather for journeys on public roads.”
The “aerodynamics of the 911 S/T are also optimised for the public road rather than the race track,” highlighted by the addition of a small ‘Gurney flap’ lip spoiler instead of the GT3 RS coupe’s tall rear spoiler.
Inside you find full CFRP bucket seats as standard with four-way power-adjustable Sports Seats Plus as a no-cost option.
The car can be optioned with a $36,760 AUD Heritage Design Package that adds a unique Shoreblue Metallic paint job, ‘Ceramica’ white wheels, and optional 0 to 99 numbers on the doors.
The 911 S/T will be released in Australia by mid-2024 with 1,963 examples (a reference to the year of the first 911 release) and is priced at $660,500 AUD plus on-road costs making this the most expensive Porsche ever sold in Australia.
