Configurator Challenge: 2022 Porsche 911 range

Customisation is in vogue at the moment, but choice can be seriously confusing. In our configurator challenge, we let the CarAdvice and Drive team loose on a manufacturer’s website to create their ideal combination for a certain model.

Few cars offer more customisation options than the subject of this week's challenge, the Porsche 911. With 21 different variants on offer as of publishing, there's an option for 'everyone' – including our team.

Let us know your ideal 911 in the comments, and which cars you'd like to see us configure next.

Click any of the images in this story to view the full image gallery.

Asking to choose from any 911 would always eventuate in a GT3. I have to admit, I was torn between the iconic Guards Red and the new Gentian Blue paint, but I felt Gentian balanced really well with the 'Aurum' gold wheels and matching decals.

Inside, I've added plenty of red highlights (perhaps further supporting the selection of blue paint) with the Clubsport package (a must-have), Chrono stopwatch (also a must) and a manual transmission finishing it out.

For me, a GT3 needs to have a bit of a 'wow' factor to it, and as history has shown, bold-specification Porsches tend to command higher resale value down the line – if you were to sell it that is. Which, to be clear, I wouldn't.

Standing at the buffet of all-you-can-Porsche, the call of a Turbo S or GT3 is hard to ignore, and a base 911 just looks too simple. Call it configurator overload, perhaps, but this sudden outlandish retro vibe took hold of me, and wouldn't let go.

This won't be the spec that pleases everyone (actually if it pleases anyone I'll be stunned) but this hair metal '80s vibe shook me all night long and just wouldn't let go.

The car I've chosen is a 911 Targa 4S, with 331kW and 530Nm of twin-turbo flat-six rustling the eight-speed PDK transmission via all four wheels. Just a little something extra over the 283kW/450Nm entry-level Targa 4. Porsche convertibles never look quite right to my eyes, but the Targa is iconic, looks fantastic, and is the ideal way to let the outside in.

Peak Targa, for me, occurred with widebody '80s models, but if I were to run something wild down the line today, it would be Guards Red, with colour-matched wheels. Something for the bold.

While you can get some interesting interior colours, none are really loud enough. The available Mojave beige feels just the right amount of uncomfortable to go with the exterior though, so Mojave it is.

Somehow, this car is simple, with a super-low $3750 of options, but on top of the $318,500 (before on-road costs) ask for a Targa 4S probably isn't for the budget conscious – or the timid, really.

I couldn't go past the new 911 GT3, and love that you can go crazy with options! My selections came to a very conservative total of $58,520 over the base car's $369,700 before on-road costs price.

I specified mine in Carrara White Metallic with 20-inch front and 21-inch rear GT3 wheels in satin black, with a lot of coin going towards the Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes (almost $20,000).

I decked out the interior with an extended package in Carbon matte, plus the Bose surround system, and race bucket seats with matching seatbelts (in yellow, naturally to match the brake calipers).

One can only dream!

Give me a choice of anything in the 911 range and it'll almost always be a GT car, more specifically a GT3. There's a lot of hype around the GT3 Touring at the moment - and why wouldn't there be, it's stunning - but if given the choice I want my GT3 to look like a bonafide race car. Which is why I've opted for a manual 911 GT3 with the Clubsport package.

Even though it's make-believe I agonised over my colour choice. I would love a bright colour on my GT3 such as Carmine Red or the new Shark Blue, but in the end I wound up with GT Silver which looks gorgeous in the metal. It doesn't have the outright shock value of a flashy, bright colour, but this is a car that I'd likely keep for the rest of my life and I don't think I'd ever get bored of GT Silver.

My full-on 918-style bucket seats are upholstered in regular leather with Race-Tex suede inserts, while the rest of the interior features the Clubsport roll cage, Chrono package, carbon-fibre accenting, red dials, aluminium pedals, a Bose sound system, and red seat belts. I've also picked the carbon ceramic brake package with black brake calipers and tinted matrix LED headlights.

Though it feels like a conservative spec, it still equated to $62,530 in over Porsche's list price. I suspect my box-ticking would be a little more judicious if I was spending my own money.

My response to this challenge started with a 911 Carrera GTS coupe. There's a reason why the GTS variants are often dubbed the 'sweet spot' of the 911 range: plenty of power, a sharp chassis and extensive standard equipment. And as much as I love the Targa body style, the coupe represents the only non-GT 2021 911 to offer a manual transmission – meaning it was a must-have.

But after watching all of my colleagues specify wings with their GT3s – and that a well-optioned GTS matched a base GT3 on price, despite the latter's superior driving experience – I thought I'd balance the aerodynamic ledger and opt for the Touring spec.

(Accidentally) channeling my inner Chris Harris, I've opted for Racing Yellow exterior paint over 'Darksilver' grey centre-locking alloy wheels and contrasting red brake calipers – not unlike my Lotus Emira build a fortnight ago.

I've selected $25,430 worth of extras – chump change, in the world of Porsche options – including the no-cost black exterior pack, GT Silver and black leather interior package, 18-way electric seats (with optional seat heating, for a rather rude $1020), red tachometer and Chrono dials, and a Bose sound system.

And to explain the image below – I'm not completely sold on the Touring's body-coloured lower front fascia. In less flashy colours it's tolerable, but in brighter hues it doesn't do it for me – so I thought I'd swap the bewinged GT3's front end back on in Photoshop.

MORE: All Configurator Challenges