Overview

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 updated 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 updated 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 specified 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.

How to spot

• Wide Turbo-style wings
• Retractable rear spoiler
• 18-inch wheels
• Red brake calipers
• Carrera 4S badge on rear

Specification

Capacity: 3600cc

Compression ratio: 11.3:1

Maximum Power: 285bhp @ 6100rpm

Maximum Torque: 340Nm @ 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

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.