The 8th generation of the Porsche 911, known as the 992, is the fitting continuation of the legacy of the 911 that first arrived almost 60 years ago.

One doesn’t really get into the driver’s seat of a Porsche 911 as much as the driver wears it like a bespoke suit. The combination of machine and driver into one entity that controls the road, rather than being controlled is evident from the first moments of climbing in. The driver is low, enveloped by the car indicating a clear approach to driving that is centered around sensory feedback and absolute precision.

The Porsche 911 comes in many flavors progressing through the models with increasing options, drivetrain configurations, and power outputs. Visit the Porsche configurator and one could spend many glorious hours configuring the dream 911. From Carrera, to Turbo S, to the track car for the road, the GT2RS, the 911 comes in 15 variants.

The version we tested is the “base” 911 Carerra with the Sport Chrono Package and the 821 watt Burmester sound system. The standard engine is the understated on paper, but absolute rocket on the road, 3.0-liter twin-turbo flat-six and the seven-speed dual-clutch PDK transmission. With the Sport Chrono Package, 0-60mph time is 3.8 secs, only .8 slower than the Porsche GT3RS. Of course, manufacturer disclosed times are typically a little slower than what can be achieved with the right driver, properly heated tires and a closed course.

The Sport Chrono Package provides for tuning of the chassis, engine and transmission, and settings are chosen by a mode switch on the steering wheel, derived from the 918 Spyder. It includes four settings, Normal, Sport, Sport Plus, and Individual. In the middle of the selection dial, is a button that when depressed unleashes maximum attack from the engine and transmission for 20 seconds. Another element of the package are dynamic engine mounts which according to Porsche, “minimizes the perceptible oscillations and vibrations of the entire drivetrain, particularly the engine, and combines the benefits of a hard or soft engine mounting arrangement. In short, it enhances both driving stability and driving comfort.” Another goody is launch control, sadly not tested during our drives. Finally, the Sport Chrono Package includes the Porsche Track Precision App which enables the clocking of lap times, and driving stats,

The Sport Chrono Package also includes this clock.

If you don’t have the cheddar to buy into the pinnacle of the Porsche 911 line-up (at $293,200 MSRP) you may want to consider the “base” 911 Carrera. It’s easy to chuckle when using the term “base” because the 911 Carrera demonstrates that it may be among the best “base” models of any sports-car on the market today. Of course, no one is going to get out of the dealership for the $97,400 MSRP as the addition of a few options and mark-up pushes the prices closer to the $120,000 mark.

The transmission. No neck-breaking shifts here. The 911 Carrera comes standard with the 8 Speed PDK (Porsche Doppelkupplung) which roughly translates into “the most buttery smooth shifting you’ll ever experience” whether cruising in traffic or pushing the redline on a mountain road. Gears 1 to 6 have a sports ratio and top speed is reached in 6th gear. In any scenario, pull the steering-mounted paddle shifters and watch the number change without the slightest notice that the transmission has changed gears.

Everything is fast nowadays. Performance cars are measured by their 0-60mph times and in the last decade manufacturers of all types have pushed every limit to get close to the holy grail of sub-three second times to 60mph while the hypercars of the modern age push for 2.0 seconds and lower. Those numbers are well and good, and help ensure that those cars live in the imagination and for a lucky few in the garages of gear heads and petrol sniffers around the world. The speed to 60mph, like quarter-mile times for American muscle cars, help sell magazines (those that are left), help social media types get more views, and ultimately help with car sales. Yet, it’s an incomplete summary of what that speed really means. Is it comfortable to drive? Is it controllable by mere mortals? Can it go over a speed bump without a crew of engineers and plywood? Not likely on all counts. We are in a Golden Age of performance cars where engines get smaller (or electric) and power gets bigger, but Porsche has been there the whole time steadily advancing with each generation outdoing itself and its competitors. The fact is few of those cars in the sub 3.0-second category will ever be pushed anywhere near their limits, nor even near the limits that are safe for public roads.

Three days of carving up Northern California’s best curved roads demonstrated that’s the Porsche 911 Carrera is built for pure driving enjoyment. Whether taking it slow and steady through rural California towns, or pushing the revs on twisty mountain roads, it handles everything like it's reading the driver’s mind. Think about it and the car is already doing it making it the seem the car has the muscle memory of the driver.

The 911 Carrera punches way above its weight class. The 379 standard horsepower feels a lot more like 400hp and beyond. Coupled with the PDK transmission the blink of eye shifts are pure driving pleasure without limits. Depressing the throttle doesn’t just send the 911 rocketing down the road, but leaves the driver with a giant grin on their face. Porsche could name it an “instant happiness” lever and charge for it as an option. It is more car than most will ever need to fulfill their speed desires and enjoy an unparalleled driving experience. No need to splurge for have an S or GTS logo attached unless money is no object, and you really know what to do with the extra horsepower...which most do not.

The appeal of the Porsche flat 6 twin turbo is all the more attractive to Porsche addicts and automotive enthusiasts as Porsche, like most all automakers are moving toward an electrified future where the growl and bubble of high revs will be replaced by the whirring sound of electrified powertrains. How many more generations of combustion-engined 911s will be produced? Likely, not many thus making the 992 perhaps one of the last of its kind.

Are Porsche’s subject to breathless hype and almost cultist-like allegiance from Porschephiles? Yes, and once you have driven one, even a “base” model you immediately understand that the hype and allegiance are well deserved and maybe even understated.