Four wheels of fury
*There’s a good reason so many potential sports-car buyers dream of owning a 911. Actually, many reasons. You could point to its history, its racing success, its design, its everyday useability-or simply its amazingly well-rounded performance. No other sports car can claim to be as widely and universally appealing.
Nor can any other single sports car model claim to offer so many variants, so much optional equipment and as many different driving experiences. Want a turbo? Natural aspiration? Want a convertible? A targa top? A two-plus-two? A two-seater? An out-of-the-box racecar capable of performing at the highest level? Porsche 911 variants offer all of these and more.
So hot on the trail of the recently refreshed Carrera 2, the second-generation all-wheel-drive Carrera 4 is now reality. Chief on its list of updates is a brand-new all-wheel power distribution system derived from the 997 Turbo. Its Porsche Traction Management (PTM) employs an electronically controlled multi-plate clutch programmed to feed an optimum share of power and torque to the front axle. The system continually monitors and adapts to current conditions, offering split-second adjustments and intervening for wheel slip, understeer and oversteer, and taking steering angle, wheel speeds, and various dynamic signals into account.
PTM can direct up to 100 percent of current output in either direction. The system also features a standard limited-slip differential on the rear axle for dynamic at-the-limit driving. And speaking of dynamic, PTM also offers three-stage functionality, where the second stage feeds power forward less readily, or a third stage where the system is defeated entirely.
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