---

The new 2020 Porsche 911 Carrera S and 4S are here, debuting on the eve of the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show at an event at the Porsche Experience Center in Los Angeles. The 992 is both a replacement and an evolution of the 991-generation 911 that made its debut at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. The pair pack updated (though undoubtedly 911) styling, more power from a turbocharged flat-six and a new interior that borrows heavily from the new Porsche Panamera and Porsche Cayenne. The car will hit U.S. dealers in summer 2019.

At the heart of every 911 is a rear-mounted flat-six engine. These days, in every model save for the GT3 and GT3 RS, the engine is assisted by a pair of turbochargers. The 2020 Carrera S and all-wheel-drive Carrera 4S use an updated version of the 3.0-liter flat six from the 991.2. The engine makes 443 horsepower and 390 pound-feet of torque, up 23 horsepower and 22 pound-feet over the outgoing model. Improvements include larger turbos, a new intercooler and new injectors. Standard equipment includes a new eight-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission (one more than the 991). A manual will be offered sometime later for those who still prefer to row their own.

Extra power means improved performance. With the PDK, a Carrera S Coupe hits 60 mph in just 3.5 seconds. The Carrera 4S drops that by a tenth. That's 0.4 seconds quicker than the outgoing model. Cars with the optional Sport Chrono package are even quicker, with 0-to-60 times dropping to 3.3 seconds in the Carrera S and 3.2 seconds in the Carrera 4S. The Carrera S has a top speed of 191 mph, with the 4S topping out at 190.

Visually, the 992 doesn't depart much from its predecessor. That said, it was never going to look like anything else. The car's all aluminum bodywork is wider than before, with the front growing by 1.77 inches. The rear of the Carrera S is now as wide as the Carrera 4, 4S and GTS models. 20-inch wheels are available up front, while rear wheels increase to 21 inches. The 992's door handles now sit flush with the bodywork. As we've seen in spy photos, the front fenders now extend all the way to the bumper, fully encompassing the headlights like on the old air-cooled models. All models (not just those with all-wheel drive) come with a full-width LED taillight.

The interior is significantly different than the outgoing model. A center stack filled with buttons is replaced by a slick, clickable panel like the one on the Panamera. The shifter is smaller and more of a stalk than a large handle. The dash is taller and houses a wider infotainment screen. The center-mounted tachometer is flanked by two large digital displays that can be customized to display a variety of information. The 992 comes with 12 months of Porsche Connect Plus, an internet-based system that uses swarm data to display traffic.

Other updates include a new Wet Mode that detects water on the road and adjusts the ABS and stability control accordingly. The 911 will also pack automatic emergency braking, a night-vision camera and adaptive cruise control.

The Carrera S and 4S Coupe go on sale next year and will inevitably be followed by variants like the 911 Turboand 911 GT3. Prices start at $114,250 for the S and $121,660 for the 4S.

---

---

---

---

We all know Porsche is capable of building powerful, naturally aspirated screamers like the 520-hp engine in the GT3 RS. And Porsche engineers have demonstrated plenty of forced-induction proficiency with the twin-turbo flat-six in the 690-hp GT2 RS. Our question has to do with the turbocharged, water-cooled lump sitting over the rear axle of the new 992-generation 911 Carrera S; how much power is it really making?

We took a Racing Yellow 2020 911 Carrera S to a dyno to find out. Porsche claims 443 hp and 390 lb-ft of torque from the twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter flat-six, but keep in mind, those numbers are rated at the crank. Those specs won't directly translate to the numbers this Porsche will put down on the dyno. A dynamometer measures how much power and torque make it to the ground, or in this case, the cylindrical drums on which the car is driving during dyno testing.

Some of the power and torque produced at the crank is used to spin the transmission, driveshaft, differential, and half shafts before it gets to the wheels. For that reason, wheel horsepower and wheel torque will always be lower than the numbers measured at the crankshaft. The percent losses are extremely difficult to measure and vary from car to car, but a 15 percent drivetrain loss is a usable approximation.

So here are the numbers: the 2019 Porsche 911 Carrera S produced an average of 414 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque at the wheels over three dyno runs in fourth gear. The last time we measured the 520-hp GT3 RS on a dyno, it made 430 hp at the wheels—just 4 percent more than this comparatively pedestrian Carrera S.

Also, look at that torque figure for a moment. This 911 is putting down more torque at the wheels than Porsche is claiming it produces at the crank. Taking into account a 15-percent drivetrain loss, these numbers translate to 487 horses and 478 lb-ft at the crank, increases of 44 hp and 88 lb-ft over Porsche's estimates.

The shape of the power and torque curves are representative of the engine's forced induction. There's a huge spike in torque between 2,000 and 2,500 rpm, which is much earlier in the rev range than what you'd typically see from a small-ish-displacement engine. Horsepower builds as the engine spins faster and faster, only peaking right up against the engine's 7,200-rpm redline.

As this car is an early build, it's hard to say if its dyno performance is representative of the standard-production 992 Carrera S. But if so, you'll be getting a lot more power and torque than you bargained for. We don't expect to hear many 911 buyers complaining

---