2025 Porsche 911 Carrera T Review

Fun fact, this is the first time I’ve ever driven a Porsche 911 on the road.

I’m not just telling you that so you can congratulate me — although I accept all accolades. I’m sharing that because it makes me the perfect person to review this particular model.

See, the 2025 Porsche 911 Carrera T brings the brand 35 per cent more new buyers than any other variant, making it the king of conquests. So, like me, this may be many buyers’ first taste of the brand’s most famous model.

Power 6 / 10

As Porsche nerds will be all too eager to tell you, the 911 Carrera T’s naming convention goes all the way back to the 1970s, when the automaker wanted to sell a touring car version — that is to say, a racing version — of its rear engine sports car. These days, the name implies that this is the most intense normal 911 on sale. So, it doesn’t have the 500-odd horsepower a 911 GT3 kicks out (though that’s the only other 911 currently available with a manual transmission).

Instead, it has a bare bones base engine that makes 388 hp and 332 lb-ft of torque. For its $150,000-ish price tag, buyers can easily get around 100 hp more from the likes of the BMW M4, the Mercedes-AMG GT 55, or the Lexus LC 500. The Chevrolet Corvette Stingray also produces significantly more power at a five-figure starting price.

With a zero-to-100 km/h time of 4.5 seconds, this is the slowest 911 on sale today, and although that may seem like more evidence that this car is underpowered, fans of the brand know that it’s not. Quite the opposite, in fact. The last slowest 911 on sale was the ridiculous, hilarious, enchanting 911 Dakar, which turned typical German sensibility on its head and transformed the sports car into an off-roader that was as historically reverent as it was completely irrelevant. Indeed, something magical happens when Germans let their hair down and give up on making sense.

Driving Feel 9 / 10

No, 388 hp isn’t very much on paper, but in practice it was enough to launch my mother-in-law’s head slamming back into the headrest even after I warned her multiple times that I was about to pin the throttle. After she had composed herself, she said gamely, “Oh, I get sports cars now. It’s about the adrenaline rush.” Yeah, man. You got it!

More importantly, the car handles staggeringly well. On another drive that same evening (as a sidenote: this is the test car I have had to give the most rides in) with my father-in-law, I took a connecting ramp from one highway to another and decided not to bother with the brake pedal, prompting him to ask, “You aren’t afraid it’ll flip over?” No, not even a little bit.

The 911 Carrera T takes fast corners so steadily that I’m sure the bubble on a level wouldn’t have budged on that off-ramp. With its rear-wheel steering, stiff chassis, and 305-mm wide tires at the back, this car feels like it’s on rails. And while I was expecting a little more feedback through the wheel in long, high-speed corners, there’s no lack of engagement thanks to the six-speed manual transmission.

Features 8 / 10

Chunky and heavy to operate, the manual transmission is likely this car’s most important feature. At first, the lever is almost difficult to push away from you and into the higher gears, but as the powertrain warms up, the shifter loosens just enough to feel mechanical and solid without making gear selection a chore.

The ratios are a little long but work well, as far as I’m concerned, giving the driver the ability to toot around comfortably without requiring them to shift constantly during more spirited driving; let’s not forget, having to downshift five times before entering a corner takes a long time. The pedals are better suited to heeling and toeing on a track (when you dip deep into the brake pedal) than on the road, so the auto-blip feature was a welcome addition for me.

Meanwhile, the walnut knob atop the shift lever is a nerdy nod at Porsche history, as similar wooden toppers were used in some of the brand’s most famous vehicles, including the Carrera GT hypercar and the 1970 908/03 Spyder race car. Originally intended to save weight, the piece is appropriate here, since the Carrera T’s other important feature is exactly that.

Relieved of some sound insulation material and equipped with thinner windows, the car is designed to tug at automotive enthusiasts’ heartstrings by allowing them to say their favourite word: lightweight. With the full bucket seats ($6,740) and without the rear seats (a no-cost option that was equipped to this tester), the 911 Carrera T weighs 40 kg (88 lb) less than the standard Carrera.

Oddly, the supposedly lightweight trim comes standard with four-wheel steering and is also available as a drop top ($16,000). The latter option likely undoes any weight savings — if they weren’t already undone by the standard four-way power adjustable seats or the 18-way adjustable seats ($3,460). But apparently Porsche buyers were asking for a soft top, so the brand obliged. 

Indeed, despite being the only manual 911 in the lineup (apart from the GT3 Touring), or perhaps because of that, there’s a confusingly vast array of options available. Whether you want a fixed rear wing ($7,880) or a deleted model designation on the back ($0), a sunroof ($2,280) or a carbon fibre roof ($4,440), a rubberized dash topper or leather everywhere, the automaker will give it to you, but, as you can see, you should be prepared to pay handsomely for it. While options are good, my fear is that the 911 Carrera T is trying to do too much. Maybe it would have been better to just offer the manual transmission across more of the lineup, and let the Carrera T commit to being a lightweight model.

Safety 7 / 10

The 911 isn’t at the cutting edge of safety technology, but it covers the basics. The Carrera T isn’t offered with adaptive cruise control, which is a bit of a disappointment, but then again, the 911 exists to drive. The car will give you information about traffic signs (such as the speed limit) and it will keep you in your lane if you start drifting out of it (the scary kind of drifting, not the fun kind). It will also brake automatically if it detects an impending frontal collision, and it monitors the driver’s attention level. 

My only real complaint with the 911 Carrera T specifically is that I found that the H-pattern sticker on the rear quarter windows was located close enough to my blind spot that I sometimes had a mild panic attack while changing lanes.

Styling 8 / 10

I find this generation of 911 (the 992 generation) quite attractive, and the recent refresh (992.2) only adds to the appeal. However, in my opinion, the Carrera T’s aesthetics package is a bit cringe. I appear to be in the minority here, but this is my review, so I’ll say that on top of being annoying during shoulder checks, the H-pattern sticker on the rear quarter window smacks of desperation to be liked by the save the manual crowd.

Coming from a company that is actively reducing the number of manual vehicles in its lineup, it feels disingenuous to me. I don’t love the side decals either, but neither sticker is required to have this car, and they seem to garner a whole heck of a lot of positive attention from passersby.

Something I like about the Carrera T’s aesthetics package,however, is the plaid-ish upholstery. Although I would have liked a less subtle, more expressive pattern, it’s nice that any pattern is available at all, and this tester’s Gentian Blue is a lovely hue. 

Practicality 7 / 10

The frunk looks small and can only handle 135 L of stuff, but on a weekend trip, it surprised me with its ability to handle a hard-shell carry-on bag, a soft-shell cooler, and a third bag with sundry items. I didn’t even have to use the rear seats or the small cargo area behind them. For all of my surprise, though, I don’t think it would fit a golf bag.

Space in the cabin is a bit scant, unfortunately. While there are door pockets, they don’t fit a water bottle, which was a little disappointing because the central cupholder didn’t accommodate my particular bottle, either. Meanwhile, there’s a storage cubby under the armrest, but it’s only large enough to fit a phone.

User-Friendliness 9 / 10

That the armrest only fits a phone is appropriate, because that’s where the wireless charger is. A fast-charger, it’s pleasingly not finicky, like some can be, and will improve your state-of-charge quickly. Unfinicky is a great word to describe the rest of the cabin, too. The screens are sensitive and quick to react to your inputs, while the important controls (volume, temperature, driving mode) are all handled with real buttons that feel good in the hand and do exactly what you’d like.

In fact, beyond the excitement of driving a 911, it was the user-friendliness that impressed me most. Everything reacts quickly to your needs. Get in on a hot day and the air conditioner starts blowing cold air staggeringly quickly. Need your rear warmed on a cold night and the seat heaters kick in as quickly as the 911 reaches highway speeds. Meanwhile, every switch, dial, and button is fitted with cement-like sturdiness, which gives the cabin a sense of quality that elevates it beyond simple material quality.

Comfort 6.5 / 10

As you’d expect, the 911 Carrera T has a stiff suspension. That’s what allows it to corner with such precision, after all. Although it doesn’t crash over bumps harshly, the stiff ride and the rigid chassis mean that it isn’t comfortable over bad roads. So far, so normal.

But in the case of this particular trim level, the lightweighting efforts — the thin glass and reduction in sound insulation, in particular — make it quite loud on the highway, which makes it feel like more of a sports car than a luxurious grand tourer.

Fuel Economy 7 / 10

The Porsche 911 Carrera T had not yet been rated by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) at the time of this writing, meaning it’s hard to say exactly how big of a difference its manual transmission makes. The standard 911 Carrera with its eight-speed dual-clutch automatic is rated at 12.9 L/100 km in the city, 9.2 on the highway, and 11.3 in combined driving. After a week of driving, this tester showed an average fuel economy of 11.7 L/100 km, which is impressive given that I wasn’t driving particularly carefully.

Value 6 / 10

It’s hard to compare vehicles at this price point because so much of luxury and performance is ethereal. However, by objective metrics, the 911 Carrera T is behind the competition. It’s slower and significantly less powerful than the standard M4 or the AMG GT 55, which only cost a little more. The LC 500 and the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray can also be had for significantly less. And that’s before you even start tallying the options, which almost inevitably add tens of thousands of dollars to the purchase price.

The Verdict

It’s ironic that we think of Germans as being so logical and efficient, because the people of Stuttgart have created something that cannot be defended by any logical argument. There are faster cars out there, but can they give you the same sense of connection as the 2025 Porsche 911 Carrera T’s manual transmission? There are more powerful cars out there, but do they have this brand’s motorsport history? And there are more luxurious cars in the segment, but will they feel as well put together as this one? It’s hard to say, but it makes sense to me that purchases in this segment are made more by the heart than the mind, and, like the scruffy underdog in a rom-com, it’s easy to fall in love with this particular 911.