Tested: 1999 Porsche 911 Carrera 4

From the May 1999 issue of Car and Driver.The most committed of Porsche enthusiasts must be those owners of the 911 Carrera 4. They’ve spent thousands of dollars for the optional four-wheel-drive system that buys them no additional speed (Carrera 4s are the slowest-accelerating 911s) or increased cachet (do you think Joe Six-Pack has a clue what “Carrera 4” on the trunk means?). What it does buy them is increased stability at the high-speed hairy edges of their car’s handling. We figure these are the guys who are driving their 911s hard. Porsche has produced another Carrera 4 model, based on the rear-wheel-drive 1999 Carrera that was available last year. This C4 is probably the most goof-proof 911 ever, and not just because of its four-wheel drive. The 1999 C4 also heralds Porsche’s first stability-control system, called Porsche Stability Management, or PSM. Like the Active Handling system on the Chevy Corvette, PSM reins in oversteer or understeer before it can produce a spin. Unlike active handling, it won’t slow you down on a dry racetrack. In fact, it may even make you faster, but more on that in a moment. As we described in some detail in our February preview of this car, the Carrera 4’s drive system is new. As with the pre­vious design, at its heart is a viscous cou­pling that directs torque to the front wheels when slip occurs between the front and rear wheels. The viscous clutch of the new system has been relocated to the front of the car and integrated with the front dif­ferential. This move, along with the improved stiffness of the current 911 body, allowed engineers to eliminate the torque tube that tied the front axle to the trans­mission and engine in back. HIGHS: Steamy performance, confidence-inspiring four-wheel drive, a stability-control system you can actually use to drive faster.These changes allow Porsche to offer the Carrera 4 with a Tiptronic S automatic transmission for the first time. They also shave the weight penalty of the four­-wheel-drive system by 12 pounds, to just 121. The weight distribution is no better than in the previous-generation C4, but it’s still better than the rear-drive Carrera’s. Our test car’s distribution was 40/60 percent, versus 37/63 for the Carrera. To work its magic, the PSM system employs a bat­tery of sensors worthy of an NSA surveillance. Those include a steering-wheel­-angle sensor, wheel-speed sensors, a yaw sensor (which checks how quickly the car’s body is rotating), and brake­-pedal, clutch, and gear sen­sors. There’s also E-Gas, a drive-by-wire throttle exclu­sive to the C4 that monitors both throttle position and the rate at which it’s applied. A computer monitors signals from these devices and steps in by braking a wheel or manipulating engine power if it decides that you are about to throw away your 911. More 911 Carrera 4 Reviews From the ArchivePSM is far more tolerant of extreme driving maneuvers than your typical law­-enforcement officer. At Road Atlanta race­track, for example, the PSM’ s intervention was obvious only when we drove moron­ically. Try to hang the tail out around a curve, for example, and the system adroitly steps in to clean up your line. Blast smoothly from corner to corner, on the other hand, and PSM’s helpful nudges are almost imperceptible. In slaloms, the system allows you to nip past cones with astonishing consistency. “PSM can do what no expert driver can do—control the braking of a single wheel,” said a Porsche engineer.PSM is standard on the Carrera 4. We’re curious to know how the ruling bodies of autocross and club racing will react to this car and its nifty driving aid. The system can be turned off with a dash switch, but it comes back on for the duration of any braking. Porsche isn’t saying now, but PSM will likely show up on other Porsche models. LOWS: Even more expensive than the rear-wheel-drive Carrera.The stability system’s omnipresence makes it harder to evaluate the four-wheel­-drive system. On dry pavement, the Carrera 4 feels as agile as its rear-wheel-drive progenitor, but when things turn slippery, the Carrera 4 is less prone to power oversteer. The drive system seemed to be of little help back in the Michigan snow, at least when coupled with the optional 18-inch Pirellis our test car used. After an overnight snow of three inches, editor-in-chief Csaba Csere nearly looped the Carrera 4 simply coasting down his steep driveway. Most of the time, the four-wheel drive is transparent except in tight, low-­speed turns where the viscous coupling causes some tire slip.Performance is just slightly affected. The Carrera 4, at five seconds flat to 60 mph, is just 0.2 second behind the last rear­-drive 911 we tested. The quarter-mile zips past in 13.5 seconds at 104 mph, versus 13.4 seconds at the same speed for the rear-­driver. Our C4 could stop from 70 mph in 160 feet, 10 shorter than our last Carrera. That could be due to the C4’s optional wheels and tires (the Carrera had 17-inchers), which would also explain its jowl-pulling 0.95-g cornering capability. With the PSM off, cornering dropped to 0.94 g—another testament to the stability system. Inside, the C4 is the same cozy two­-plus-two cockpit found in other new 911s, but ours smelled better—it had $3215 worth of leather enhancements. Other options, including the 18-inch wheels, Litronic high-intensity-discharge head­lamps, and metallic paint, helped push the window sticker of our test car north of $83,000. Pass up the fancy stuff, and a Carrera 4 six-speed can be yours for $73,360. That’s $5777 more than a base Carrera. That not-so-insignificant sum buys you some very helpful hardware and software, but is it worth it? Porsche Cars North America president and CEO Fred Schwab says the Carrera 4’s technology will make you a better driver than you thought you were. We say it will make you a faster driver than you thought you were, but you’re not going to learn from your driving mistakes if technology keeps stepping in to cover for them. VERDICT: The 911 for control freaks who like to push the limit.Of course, even a small mistake in this car could be very expensive. Perhaps Carrera 4 owners aren’t harder drivers. Maybe they’re just smarter Porsche buyers. CounterpointsYou know it’s a great car, so let me just tell a story. As I was driving to work on a freeway at, oh, 10 over in this Carrera 4, a suit in a black AMG-badged Benz S-class blew past me, cell phone at his ear, impervious to the threat of cops. He gave the Porsche the once-over as he whizzed by, then gave me the equivalent of the secret handshake (a thumbs up in his rearview mirror). You get a lot of that with a 911—you’re in a secret society of rich guys. Cops even respect your money. After a rushed drive cross-town to a market, a cop pulled alongside and said, “How about going a little slower?” You bet, Officer. But no ticket. —Steve SpenceI’ve heard a good many Porsche hard-cores lamenting the near-absence of oversteer in the new 911 Carrera. Not manly enough for them, I guess. Well listen up, guys, if you think the standard Carrera is too tame, you’re gonna hate the C4. It’s got the grip of an insurance salesman, providing the pavement is dry, and with the new stability-management system, provoking oversteer requires self-destructive tendencies of a high order. Call me fainthearted, but I don’t find oversteer entertaining unless I’m familiar with every corner. When I find myself bending into a decreasing-radius turn at warp speed, I’ll take all the help I can enlist. Hold the drama. —Tony SwanGradually, the ’99 Porsche 911 is growing on me, and a weekend in this Carrera 4 gave my lagging appreciation for the 911 a substantial kick in the butt. For no good reason, it just seemed more buttoned-down than the Carrera 2 that visited 2002 Hogback Road a few months ago. Aside from the general goodness of all-wheel drive (although unless you swap the 18-inch Pirelli P Zero Asimmetrico radials for winter tires, the car is lousy in the snow), this Carrera 4 had the smoothest-shifting manual I’ve driven in a Porsche, and plenty of midrange punch. I’m not sure it’s worth the price of two Boxsters, but I wouldn’t try to talk you out of buying one. —Steven Cole SmithSpecificationsSpecifications
1999 Porsche 911 Carrera 4
Vehicle Type: rear-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 2+2-passenger, 2-door coupe
PRICE

Base/As Tested: $73,360/$83,066
Options: full-leather interior, $3215; 18-inch alloy wheels, $1190; digital sound package, $1175; Litronic headlights, $1070; Exclusive Options package (consists of black-letter floor mats and stainless-steel exhaust pipes), $857; metallic paint, $805; AM/FM-stereo radio/CD player, $345; trip computer, $275; headlight washers, $225; luxury tax on options, $54
ENGINE
DOHC 24-valve flat-6, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injection
Displacement: 207 in3, 3387 cm3
Power: 296 hp @ 6800 rpm
Torque: 258 lb-ft @ 4600 rpm 
TRANSMISSION
6-speed manual
CHASSIS

Suspension, F/R: struts/multilink
Brakes, F/R: 12.5-in vented, cross-drilled disc/11.8-in vented, cross-drilled disc
Tires: Pirelli P Zero Asimmetrico
F: 225/40ZR-18
R: 265/35ZR-18
DIMENSIONS

Wheelbase: 92.5 in
Length: 174.4 in
Width: 69.5 in
Height: 51.4 in
Passenger Volume, F/R: 48/16 ft3
Cargo Volume: 5 ft3
Curb Weight: 3263 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS

60 mph: 5.0 sec
100 mph: 12.6 sec
1/4-Mile: 13.5 sec @ 104 mph
130 mph: 23.2 sec
150 mph: 40.7 sec
Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 5.8 sec
Top Gear, 30–50 mph: 9.6 sec
Top Gear, 50–70 mph: 9.6 sec
Top Speed (drag ltd): 162 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 160 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.95 g 
C/D FUEL ECONOMY

Observed: 16 mpg
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
City/Highway: 17/24 mpg 
C/D TESTING EXPLAINED
Source: caranddriver.com