This is the new Porsche 911 Carrera 4S, yours from £127k

A Porsche 911 is a simple, uncomplicated sportscar that remains the benchmark for simple, uncomplicated sportscars. Trying to order a new one however: quite complicated. Today, Porsche has released another new swathe of 911 variants to confuse you even more.

So, welcome to the new Porsche 911 Carrera 4S, 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet, and 911 Carrera 4S Targa. Good luck sailing the deep waters of the Porsche configurator!

Jest aside, it’s actually quite simple. About half of Porsche’s customers who choose a simple 911 ‘S’ go for all-wheel-drive. And these 4S cars have always been… really bloody good.

Probably still are. The new 4S cars get Porsche’s uprated 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat six, producing 473bhp (around 30 horsies more than the last-gen 4S), that additional grunt in part thanks to adopting the intercooler design from the 911 Turbo.

All 4S 911s are matched to an eight-speed dual-clutch auto and of course, all-wheel-drive. The front diff is, apparently, water-cooled and controlled electromechanically as in the last-gen car, and “like every 911 with all-wheel-drive, the S variants are nevertheless designed with rear-biased driving dynamics”. So you get grip, and a bit of wahey! all bundled into one rear-engined package.

Extra Good Stuff comes via the 4S’s standard-fit 20/21in staggered wheels, Porsche’s torque vectoring system (PTV+), a sports exhaust, and the brakes from the GTS (408mm discs up front, 380mm at the back). Go for the Targa 4S, and you’ll get rear-wheel-steering thrown in too.

There’s also leather, LED headlights, wireless phone charging, the ‘light design’ package, and any number of personalisation options. You can even spec in a rear-seat for the Cab and Targa cars – normally they’re delivered as strict two-seaters.

Speed? It’s there alright. In the Coupe with the Sport Chrono Pack, the 4S will do 0-62mph in 3.3s and crack on to 191mph. Porsche hasn’t revealed times for the Cabrio or Targa 4S cars, but expect them to be a fraction slower. Which still won’t be slow.

Prices kick off from £127k for the Carrera 4S Coupe, to £137k for the Carrera 4S Cabriolet, right up to £137,600 for the Targa 4S. Simple.