Here's Why This 992 Carrera S Is A Budget Turbo S In Disguise

The stock 992.1 Carrera S is no slouch

While Porsche has faced some criticism for adopting turbocharging across the 911 range (leaving out the GT3 models), those who have experienced the 992 firsthand may find themselves less concerned.

Bone stock, the Carrera S’s twin-turbo 3.0-liter flat-six engine pushes out a healthy 443 horsepower and 390 pound-feet of torque, which is 64 horsepower and 59 pound-feet more than the base Carrera. The engine revs eagerly to a 7,500-rpm redline, accompanied by a satisfying exhaust sound that gets enhanced if you open the valves of the sports exhaust system. The abundance of torque across the rev range makes for pretty aggressive acceleration - Porsche claims a 3.5-second 0-60 mph with the eight-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic transmission.

If you opt for the seven-speed manual gearbox, that time could be slower by a second. However, with the stick, the Carrera S should feel more energetic and deliver satisfying drives all the time. Regardless of your transmission choices, the Carrera S only drives the rear wheels by default. If you want all-wheel drive, you’ll need to upgrade to the Carrera 4S model.

Subtle performance upgrades offer near Turbo S numbers

It’s not that Porsches aren’t tunable. You can spend some money and get some really good numbers out of those flat sixes. The owner of this particular 2022 Carrera S manual did the same thing, and the results are spectacular. Suki, the owner of this beautiful machine, added the following mods:

• Kline exhaust with sports cats (catalytic converters)

• Stage 2 tune from M-Engineering

• Numeric short-shift kit with a sport-shifter knob

• GT3-Style side skirts

The setup helps the stock engine produce close to 600 horsepower, which is an increase in power of close to 30% over the stock car.! Of course, we don’t have the actual numbers or even the torque figures. We suspect that the torque should be close to 500 pound-feet or more since M-Engineering’s Stage 1 can boost torque to 475 pound-feet on 91 octane gas.

So, with such modifications made to the Carrera S, you can harness power close to that of the 911 Turbo S for a relatively cheap plug-and-play action. Also, the aftermarket Kline exhaust system sounds heavenly in the video, and the system could provide a few extra horses as well.

Now it is worth noting that installing these mods will end up voiding Porsche’s two-year warranty on a brand-new car, so if you choose to go with a low-mileage used Carrera S, that will still set you back somewhere in the ballpark of $135,000, you’re still not paying Turbo S money which is close to $200,000 for near Turbo S levels of power. These tuner kits cost anywhere between $2,500 to $5,000 and stand to offer big performance gains for the budget-conscious enthusiast. On the other hand, if already own a Carrera