Car of the Year Awards 2026: Sports Car of the Year
More than anything, sports cars need to thrill you. Acceleration is important, but it’s finesse and feel through corners that matter most...
Porsche 911 Carrera T
Look through the viewfinder, focus the lens and compose the shot. Choose and set the exposure and shutter timing – with film speed in mind – to achieve the depth of field you’re looking for. And then press the shutter release to capture a memorable shot. The all-manual world of vintage photography has parallels with the Porsche 911 Carrera T – a sports car that promises analogue involvement in a digital world.
Although it sits near the bottom of the current 911 line-up and employs the least powerful of the engine options available, the Carrera T has one big advantage over most other 911s (and almost all of its rivals), in that it comes exclusively with a manual gearbox. This might seem like a small detail, but it means that you have absolute control of the 389bhp that bursts out of the howling 3.0-litre flat six engine at the back of the car.
You get the pleasure of snicking a tactile walnut gearknob around the slick six-speed ’box to select each gear, and the satisfaction of timing your clutch movement just so to minimise the interruption in the power delivery to the rear wheels. This is driving in as undiluted a form as any 911 not produced by Porsche’s specialist GT division can offer.
The Carrera T is lighter than most other 911s, with weightsaving measures that include no rear seats (although they can optionally be reinstated for no fee), thinner glass and less sound deadening. It also comes with a number of desirable features that you’d have to pay extra for on some other versions, including agility-enhancing four-wheel steering, lowered PASM adaptive suspension and torque vectoring (which distributes power to individual rear wheels). So, while the Carrera T isn’t a quiet cruiser, it handles even more sweetly than its non-GT brethren – not to mention the rival Mercedes-AMG GT.
The steering bombards you with information about what the front wheels are up to, and its weighting is perfectly judged. Meanwhile, body control is sublime; you’d need a much pricier Ferrari 296 GTB to better the 911 in terms of cornering finesse.
Yet the Carrera T achieves all of this without being harsh. Yes, it’s firm, but the adaptive suspension takes the edge off urban potholes nicely in its softest mode, while the Sport setting keeps things tied down at higher speeds.
The driver reclines in a supportive sports seat that lines up perfectly with the ideally placed steering wheel and pedals, behind a configurable digital instrument panel that’s a paragon of clarity. Visibility is good by sports car standards, and as with any Porsche, the interior is classy and features high-quality materials.
With enough space under the bonnet for a few soft bags, the Carrera T is even relatively practical and easy to live with. Refit the (admittedly small) rear seats and it could serve as an everyday car if you need to run the kids to school. And that means the best sports car you can buy comes remarkably close to being sensible.
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