Driving to find the history and meaning of Porsche’s GTS line

Article content

weightStretched out in front of me like spilled Skittles is a line of candy-coloured Porsches. They include two crossovers, two open-top sports cars, and two sedans — one of which is electric. They have engines in three different places, and at first glance they might seem completely unrelated, save for three capital letters stamped on each one: GTS.

The first Porsche to wear the badge was the 1964 904 GTS. The 904 GTS was an out-and-out race car, but one that was available to the public for $7,245 and could be equipped with license plates that ostensibly made it a street car. Due to an obscure trademark issue with Peugeot, Porsche was not allowed to sell it as the 904 and instead it was officially labelled a Carrera GTS. The GTS stood for Grand Touring Sport, and described the car’s purpose: to race in the FIA GT class.

Article content

The GTS name may have been born from racing, but today its italicized script can be found on any Porsche model from the Taycan to the Cayenne. In Porsche land, the GTS slots above an S but below a Turbo and the GT variants (GT2, GT3, GT4). The GTS includes a power increase, unique sound (even on the Taycan), black wheels, black accented headlights and tail lights, and an overall elevated sporting character compared to the S models.

From the buffet of Porsches available to drive, I chose to review three cars that I feel best represent what GTS is all about. I chose a Panamera GTS to represent the Grand part of the badge. I thought the 911 represented the Touring side of GTS quite well with its classic sports car silhouette and famous flat-six engine. And for the Sport portion I chose the 1981 Porsche 924 GTS, a homologation racecar that takes the GTS badge back to its very origins. Let’s get driving!

Article content

2022 Porsche Panamera GTS

Weighing around 2,000 kg, the Panamera GTS is grand in almost every sense of the word. Nestled inside its grandiose 5,053-mm length is a 4.0L twin-turbo V8 making 473 hp. With the aid of launch control it can rocket to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds. The Panamera excels on the road. It has acoustic glass, an excellent stereo, and lots of stretch-out room in the interior. The steering feels more sports car than sedan, and the suspension strikes the perfect balance between body control and ride quality. The Panamera is one of those cars with the magical ability to drive smaller than it really is. The car seems to just bend itself around the curves on narrow Italian roads in the countryside. The Panamera GTS is really one car that can do it all from track days to road trips and everything in between short of a cottage road.

Article content

All Porsche GTS models get similar upgrades over the S, whether it’s the 911 or a Cayenne. Externally, a GTS model gets back wheels, black window trim, tinted tail lights, and red brake calipers. Inside a GTS you’ll find loads of alcantara on the shifter, steering wheel, and more locations; sport seats special instruments; and a GT sport steering wheel. In terms of performance, every GTS model gets a power bump over the corresponding S. You’ll also get the Sport Chrono package as standard, which is optional on S and lower Porsche models. The Sport Chrono package also includes launch control for better acceleration times.

One interesting note is that all GTS models get a GTS-specific “sport sound”. In the gasoline models this is achieved with special exhaust systems, and in the Taycan you get a unique sound set played through the speakers as you accelerate. The Taycan sound is rather subtle and I didn’t find it annoying. It also lets you hear when the two-speed transmission shifts into high gear when accelerating, which is pretty cool.

Article content

2022 Porsche 911 GTS

The 911 is Porsche’s definitive model, and the 911 GTS may be the most Porsche Porsche it sells. Sure the GT3 variants are more hardcore, but to me the essence of a Porsche has always been a sports car that you can live with every day and in that aspect, the 911 GTS handily delivers. Like all non-GT 911 models, the 911 GTS utilizes a rear-mounted twin-turbo flat-six engine. It gets a very Germanic 30-point increase in both horsepower and torque over the Carrera S model to 473 hp and 420 lb-ft.

On track in the 911, the Porsche PDK remains the gold standard for performance automatic transmissions. I didn’t even put the paddle shifters to use as the electronic intuition of the PDK box would put me in the gear I wanted to be in 95% of the time. It would even hold a gear through a corner so as not to upset the car. At the Vallelunga circuit, the 911 was the perfect middle ground between the light and raw 718 GTS 4.0 and the heavy V8 Panamera. The best of both worlds, if you ask me.

Article content

1981 Porsche 924 GTS

While today’s GTS model range serves as the middle ground between Porsche’s S and GT models, it used to stand for one thing: racing. To show us how race-bred the GTS used to be, Porsche brought out an excessively red 1981 Porsche 924 GTS straight from their Stuttgart museum. Just 50 were built and of those, only 15 were produced in “road going” specification like our test car. And I was going to drive one.

The 924 GTS shakes and rattles at idle in an impatient way that only race cars do. It was not built to sit. The sounds from the 2.0L turbocharged inline-4 careen around the cabin. They bounce off the hollowed-out aluminum doors and face little resistance from the car’s plastic windows. Those four cylinders have a lot to shout about too. Those molecules unlucky enough to be swallowed into the 924 GTS will be puréed by a side-mounted KK&K turbocharger, then pushed through a nosed-mounted intercooler before being rammed down the throat of the special GTS intake and turned into speed via the addition of fuel. The 924 GTS drinks so much fuel at wide open throttle that it uses the fuel regulator from the 4.5L V8 928!

Article content

Pulling out onto the pit lane, the revs slowly inch up the tach. I brace my shoulders against the racing seat and slam my foot to the floor. Nothing happens. The revs climb lazily to 3,500 rpm and then all hell breaks loose. The boost gauge swings wildly and all of the boost comes in one giant surge. The tach swings to 5,000 and I feed it the next gear, which the turbocharger devours with similar appetite. This engine is only happy at full throttle and high rpms.

Compared to standard 924, the 924 GTS feels like a high-speed camping tent. It rattles and whistles at speed. The driving dynamics are flawless and very un-tent-like. The rear mounted transaxle has additional cooling for the increased output, and its rearward location helps balance weight distribution. One bugaboo is the dogleg shift pattern which has first gear down and to the left instead of your usual top left location. That little switch means none of the gears are where you first think they are, and that coupled with the incredible value of the 924 GTS made it rather intimidating to drive.

Article content

The 924 GTS is a workout. No climate control at all and manual steering made it good exercise and good fun to hustle around the circuit. The brakes are pieces adapted from the Porsche 930 Turbo, and feel very strong.

Whereas the modern GTS cars were great all-rounders that you could drive every day, the classic 924 GTS is like knocking back ten 5-Hour Energy drinks at once. Hopping out after my two-lap stint I found myself vibrating like the car did at idle from the exertion and the adrenaline.

The GTS name, like the Porsche brand, was born from racing. The GTS badge no longer designates a purebred racer, but the GT3 and GT2 variants have taken up that mantle. Where the GTS models of old were decidedly singular in their focus, today’s modern GTS represents the best a Porsche can be in all disciplines at once.