2002 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S

Driving a new Porsche 911 Carrera 4S (C4S) quenches an enthusiast's thirst like nothing else can. It is a sports car, a supercar in every respect, yet it's also a perfectly practical car for all those days and nights when you're not tearing through the mountains. However, if you've ever been really thirsty-so thirsty that you could chug an entire glass of water without coming up for breath until the last drop is drained-that's the feeling this new C4S imparts to its first-time driver. In the mountains, or on the way to work, it ravenously consumes thevisible landscape at an alarming rate, as if by the mouthful. You just can't get enough.

The '02 Porsche C4S may be the best Porsche 911 of the current crop of eight variants, which would then suggest that it's the best 911 in almost 40 years of 911s. Yes, there are two 911 models that accelerate harder, but one costs nearly twice as much. The C4S fully communicates to us a clear and dedicated understanding of what Porsche means, yet it's one of those great ideas, like dropping a Ford V-8 into an AC Ace and calling it a Shelby Cobra, that makes you smack your forehead and wonder why you didn't think of that. The C4S is, in simple terms, the mating of a standard 911's new 3.6L/320-hp flat-six engine, with the architecture of the Turbo (including its viscous-coupled all-wheel drive, suspension, brakes, and modified sheetmetal) at a price somewhere between the two. It looks like a Turbo, and it drives like a Turbo-just at a fractionally slower pace.

The same rules of engagement apply to this car: instinctual steering, brakes with German insistence, and a suspension that'll deliver a firm, visceral ride. Despite sharing the same displacement as the Turbo's 3.6L F-6, you'll hardly notice or care that this engine isn't as powerful. In fact, the C4S' boxer is from a different engine family. The new LEV-spec 3.6L is equipped with Porsche's version of variable intake valve timing called VarioCam Plus that was initially developed for the '01 Turbo, but now provides the same high-torque/low-emissions benefits to the naturally aspirated motor. The overall result is that, at any rpm, the car feels as fast as the numbers suggest.

Mockery of fellow motorists will become a sport that C4S drivers will find hard to resist. Porsche's estimates claim a 5.1-sec 0-62-mph acceleration for the six-speed manual (and 5.6 sec for the optional five-speed Tiptronic S automatic). We guess a six-speed will go under 5.0 sec 0-60-that's what the previous 296-hp C4 did when we tested it. In our brief first drive, we were able to approach 90 percent of the quoted top speed of 173 mph and test the AWD system on serpentine mountain roads, some with ice and snow.

As we expected, the C4S never faltered, surprised, or made us feel anything but confident. Also, the standard Porsche Stability Management system is one of the least intrusive in the business. With all four wheels engaged, PSM is hardly ever enticed or needed.

The Carrera 4S just might be the supercar value story of the year. So the only question becomes "Why spend 40 percent more on a Turbo when you can enjoy 90 percent of its performance with a Carrera 4S?" We'll be happy to contemplate that again when we can put our test instruments to use. By the way, there's one new feature found on the C4S that was previously absent: a cupholder.