911 Carrera GTS Drag Races Itself, It's One-Tenth Faster Than Porsche's Official Claims

Here’s a challenge for you, everyone: How does Porsche get better with every generation while still staying true to a 60-something-year-fresh design? I mean, the 911’s unmistakable profile hasn’t changed that much since 1963 (look at how a contemporary Ferrari, Lamborghini, or Corvette were styled back in the day and where they are now).

And yet, just when we start getting the faintest suspicion that the Nine-Eleven simply can’t improve anymore, Porsche pulls a rabbit out of the hat. Their latest hare is a full-time sprinter, and it really wants to get even with the tortoise nemesis.

The comparison is not entirely without a base – what does the perfect-since-inception profile of a 911 (pick a generation at random) remind you of? Exactly, that slow reptile that’s famous for two things: its shell and its proverbial lack of agility. And that’s precisely what the old 911 Carrera GTS seems to do when pitted against its successor to the throne, the recently released hybrid 911 Carrera GTS.

Mat Watson raced both (not at the same time), and the results were beyond argument: Porsche will never get tired of its own personal quest for self-elevation. However, a race requires at least two cars and a corresponding number of drivers.

The highly popular YouTuber MW got his popularity handed to him on a silver plate from an acronym sake of his. The other MW in this all-Porsche 911 comparison is none other than the famous former Formula One racing driver and current Porsche brand ambassador Mark Weber.

The Australian icon of speed is renowned the world over for (among other things) his 1999 historic take-off at Le Mans in the Mercedes CLR-GT1. He’s also extremely good behind the wheel, and the following video is solid proof of this statement. Due to his high-speed background, he’s been delegated to race the previous generation of the 911 GTS, while Mat Watson had to settle for the hybrid.

The latest 911 Carrera GTS is one fast car (I believe this phrase was used in conjunction with every single Porsche automobile), but watch how much of a difference a simple driver change can make. The 532 hp and 449 lb-ft (541 PS, 610 Nm) is the peak output of the three-liter, single electric-turbo six-cylinder boxer engine and its electric motor mounted in the dual-clutch gearbox.

Combustion delivery alone sits at 478 hp and 420 lb-ft (485 PS, 570 Nm), which is nearly identical to the old Carrera GTS (474 hp /480 PS, 420 lb-ft /570 Nm). Because of the added electric gizmos, the new model is ever so slightly heavier, with 110 lb (50 kg) of extra body mass (1,595 kg / 3,516 lb on the newcomer, 1,545 kg / 3,406 lb on the predecessor).

Both cars are rear-wheel driven and have an eight-speed Porsche Doppelkupplung (Porsche DualClutch) automatic box. The brand's signature powertrain architecture is an advantage for the RWD system, with the extra weight over the pushing wheels. 306 bhp/ton in the older Carrera GTS, 333.54 bhp/ton in the latest—it’s really a no-brainer here, but we know a car is only as good as its driver.

However, both MWs are well accustomed to racing cars, albeit from different perspectives, so this is anyone’s race. Not really – the new GTS, with Mat Watson at the helm, pulls ahead and puts two car lengths over Mark Webber’s Porsche. With the second run yielding a similar result (but with one extra car length for the winner), the two drivers exchange cars.

Here’s where the Formula One-honed skills come into full play: with the Australian master in charge, the 911 GTS hybrid gains a big enough advantage at the far end of the quarter-mile to be measured with a solar dial. Unfortunately, the race was gratified with an overcast, so the old-fashioned stopwatch had to be used, and it showed a 10.9-second score for the young blood, as opposed to the 11.4-second personal best of the stage-exiting model.

In fact, Mark Webber even dropped below Porsche's official 440-yard claim of 11 seconds flat, which shouldn’t be a surprise – the Formula One reflex of always beating the clock has not faded one bit. Five car lengths ahead of Mat Watson in the same 1,320-foot sprint is no small feat, and it’s not the car that’s doing all the work here. Porsche knows how to make quick and fast cars, and it takes a really good driver to pull off such a feat. It’s like comparing a cruise ship to a cruise missile that’s been retrofitted with scramjet engines.