The 2024 Porsche 911 S/T Is a Manual GT3 RS, Newest Contender for Best Car Ever
With the 9,000-rpm, 518-hp 4.0-liter flat-six from the GT3 RS and a shorter-ratio six-speed manual transmission, the 911 S/T is The One.
OK, take a deep breath. Yes, it’s yet another Porsche 911. Except this one is the most deliciously enthusiast-nerd-centric version since the 911 R from 2016.
Prepare yourselves, everyone, for the 2024 Porsche 911 S/T, a car that combines the 9,000-rpm, 518-horsepower naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six from the GT3 RS and the six-speed manual transmission of the GT3 Touring and wraps it up in a gorgeously neat, $291,650 package. It's essentially a manual GT3 RS Touring and for the lucky 1,963 who will actually buy one, it's set to be the Greatest Car in the History of Cars.
In addition to packing an extremely choice powertrain, the S/T is light. Seventy pounds lighter than a GT3 Touring, the 3,056-pound 911 S/T is the lightest 992-gen 911 yet. The entire front clip is replaced with carbon fiber panels featuring fender vents specific to this car. The rear sway bar, roof, and doors are made of carbon fiber, as is a stiffening brace on the rear suspension. Of course, lightweight glass and carbon fiber bucket seats are standard, as are carbon-ceramic brakes and reduced sound insulation. Interestingly, rear-wheel steering is omitted from the S/T, likely in the name of weight savings prevailing over modern chassis tricks.
As a result of all this, the RS-engined, featherweight 911 hits 60 mph in 3.5 seconds and reaches a top speed of 186 mph—down from the standard GT3 Touring's top speed of 198 mph due to a shorter final drive ratio which closes up the gearing for better engagement and acceleration. As a tradeoff, that 3.5-sec 0-60 time is 0.2 seconds quicker than the Touring's.
Not only is the gearing shorter, but drivetrain inertia has been reduced. A new lightweight flywheel and clutch assembly have slashed a colossal 23 pounds of weight out of the engine's rotating mass. While that doesn’t sound sexy, it will pay dividends in driving character that the numbers will never reflect and make that flat-six blippy and responsive.
Inside, the S/T gets heritage nods like the green-backlit tachometer and gauge theme that calls back to the earliest 911s (and the 911 R) with powerband stripes that call back to the 356. The optional Heritage Design Package offers a choice of throwback interior materials that complete the treatment and make the interior a total knock-out win.
It’s truly a driver’s 911 for the modern age. Everything Porsche has done here appears to serve feel and emotion rather than outright speed and stats. And I love it. We get one of these in almost every generation of 911. This one might prove to be the best we’ll ever see.
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