1996-1998
For people who wanted the aggressive look of the 911 Turbo, but without the aggressive power or high price, Porsche produced the 911 Carrera 4S. This was, effectively a Carrera 4 with a Turbo wide bodyshell. However, it lacked the fixed whaletail spoiler (which from a practical point of view wasn’t required on a non-turbocharged car without a bulky intercooler), making do with the Carrera’s retractable item instead.
Some argued that the Carrera 4S was simply a pose and, in fact, was less good than a conventional Carrera 4 because of the body’s extra weight and drag, which made it fractionally slower. However, the 4S did have the Turbo’s larger 322mm brakes and uprated suspension. The latter may not have been strictly necessary – the standard items were more than up to the job – but if nothing else they looked superb with their large red four-piston calipers.
The suspension was lowered by 15mm which improved the car’s stance and handling, while springs and dampers were the uprated Turbo items. Note, though, that US cars had standard Carrera suspension.
The wheels were similar to Turbo items, and the 18-inch diameter. The fronts were 8-inches wide with 225/40ZR18 tyres, and the back wheels were no less than 10-inches wide with grippy 285/30ZR18 rubber.
Inside, the Carrera 4S was specced to Turbo standards, with leather, fully electric seats, multi-speaker sound system and air-conditioning all as standard.
The 911 Carrera 4S is probably the most sought after of the 993 variants. It looks stunning, is cheaper than a Turbo (to buy and to run) and, as such, prices have remained strong.
Specification
Capacity: 3600cc
Compression ratio: 11.3:1
Maximum power: 285bhp at 6100rpm
Maximum torque: 340Nm at 5250rpm
Brakes: Front: 322mm discs; rear: 322mm discs. Servo assisted with ABS
Suspension: Front: Lower wishbones and MacPherson struts with combined coil springs and dampers, plus anti-roll bar
Rear: Multilink with parallel wishbones, combined coil springs and dampers, plus anti-roll bar
Wheels & tyres: Front: 18x8J with 225/40ZR18 tyres. Rear: 18x10J with 285/30ZR18 tyres
Length: 4245mm
Width 1795mm
Weight: 1520kg
Variations
Carrera S
A two-wheel-drive version of the Turbo-bodied car was offered from 1997. This was, essentially, identical to the 4S but based on the rear-drive Carrera. It did not have the Turbo wheels, suspension and interior, though. Also, it featured a unique engine cover with a vertical divide down the middle of the vent.
Did you know?
The last-ever production air-cooled 911 was a Carrera 4S, built in 1998 and sold to US television star Jerry Seinfeld.
