Porsche first revealed the 992.2 facelift for the Porsche 911 last year in base Carrera and hybrid Carrera GTS guises, with the mid-range Carrera S and manual-only Carrera T following months later. Now Porsche is further filling out the updated 911 lineup with the all-wheel-drive Carrera 4S and Targa 4S models. While you can get AWD on the GTS, there’s no base Carrera 4 model (at least not yet), so if you want your 911 with all-wheel drive but you don’t want a hybrid or something as intense as the GTS, the 4S is the 911 for you.
And people really do want all-wheel-drive 911s. Porsche says that almost half of 911 Carrera S customers in the U.S. go for the 4S, likely a reflection of the varying climates in our country and peoples’ desires to actually daily drive their 911s — as they should. The Carrera 4S will be available in both coupe and cabriolet guises, plus there’s the Targa 4S, only the second Targa in the 992.2 lineup after the Targa 4 GTS.
Nearly as quick as a GTS T-Hybrid
The 2026 Carrera 4S’ twin-turbo 3.0-liter flat-6 engine makes 473 horsepower and 390 pound-feet, 30 hp more than the outgoing 4S and 85 hp and 59 lb-ft up from a lowly Carrera, and the only transmission option is an 8-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic. With the optional Sport Chrono package Porsche says the Carrera 4S coupe will launch from 0 to 60 mph in 3.1 seconds, two-tenths quicker than a Carrera S and two-tenths slower than a Carrera 4 GTS, and it has a top speed of 191 mph, the same as the Carrera S.
Its torque split defaults to a rear bias with torque only being sent to the front axle as needed, and the front diff is water-cooled with an electromechanically controlled clutch. New standard equipment includes larger brakes from the 992.1 Carrera GTS, uprated dampers with more responsive hydraulics, and a sport exhaust system; like with the outgoing 4S the new one has Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus as standard, too. The Targa 4S comes with rear-axle steering, which is optional on the coupe and cabrio, and you can also option them with carbon-ceramic brakes and a PASM Sport suspension with a lower ride height.
On sale late this year
Like other 992.2 coupes the new 4S coupe comes as a two-seater that has the option to add a pair of back seats for no extra cost, while the cabrio and Targa are all four-seaters. Compared to the 992.1, the Carrera 4S now has extended leather on the dashboard, door panels, seats and headrests, and matrix design LED headlights and a wireless phone charger are also standard. Pricing has yet to be announced, but the Carrera 4S should carry a premium of around $7,000 versus a rear-drive Carrera S
The Carrera 4S and Targa 4S will reach U.S. dealers in the fourth quarter of this year, bringing the total number of all-wheel-drive 992.2 variants to six. But soon Porsche will be unveiling the 992.2 Turbo models, which will likely gain a similar T-Hybrid setup to the GTS that will give the AWD-only Turbos absurd power and acceleration. The forthcoming GT2 RS may go all-wheel drive, too.
