2023 Porsche 911 Carrera T revealed, priced for Australia

The 2023 Porsche 911 Carrera T has been revealed, ahead of first Australian deliveries in mid 2023, priced from $280,600 plus on-road costs.

The T (for Touring) badge is said to signify a "models that offer a purist driving experience", Porsche says, and in the 911 blends the entry-level Carrera's engine with new lightweight parts and the fitment of various performance options as standard equipment.

Power comes from a 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged flat six-cylinder engine with 283kW and 450Nm – shared with the 911 Carrera – good for a 4.5-second 0-100km/h sprint time and a 291km/h top speed. It's rear-wheel drive.

A seven-speed manual transmission is standard in Australia – one of three 911s available with a manual in Australia, alongside the turbo GTS and naturally-aspired GT3 – with an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission available as an option.

Compared to the standard Carrera, the Carrera T can be had without its rear seats to save weight, plus lightweight glass, reduced sound insulation and a lightweight battery for a claimed weight of 1470kg, said to be 35kg lighter than an auto Carrera overseas.

Newly standard are 20-inch front and 21-inch rear Carrera S alloy wheels in Titanium Grey (with 245/35 front and 305/30 rear tyres), adaptive sports suspension (with a 10mm-lower ride height), a sports exhaust, and the Sport Chrono package.

Manual cars also receive torque vectoring and a rear differential lock, while both gearboxes can be optioned with rear-wheel steering – a feature typically available only on the Carrera S and up.

Visual differences on the outside include Dark Grey accents on the mirror caps, rear badges and new side stripes, Agate Grey rear engine cover accents, a grey top tint for the windscreen, and black tailpipes.

Inside, there are four-way power-adjustable 'Sports Seats Plus' as standard, with 18-way adaptive versions available as an option, along with the full lightweight bucket seats from models such as the 911 GT3.

They're trimmed in a mix of leather, fabric or suede depending on the option boxes ticked, with an extended leather interior package adding leather trim for the door panels, centre console and upper dashboard.

The optional Carrera T interior package adds seat belts, contrast stitching, seat stripes and floor mat accents in Lizard Green or Slate Grey.

Available exterior colours include four solid hues (Black, White, Guards Red and Racing Yellow), four metallic colours (Jet Black, Gentian Blue, GT Silver, and from November production, Ice Grey).

Also available are Crayon (grey), Ruby Star Neo (from November), Carmine Red, Shark Blue and Python Green – or more than 110 bespoke colours through the paint-to-sample program.

Compared to models sold overseas, Australian Carrera Ts will be fitted with matrix LED headlights, auto-dimming and power-folding side mirrors, metallic paint, front and rear parking sensors, a 360-degree camera, blind-spot monitoring, a heated GT sports steering wheel, heated seats, keyless entry, a tyre repair kit, Bose surround sound system, and digital radio.

Only available on automatic models is autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and adaptive cruise control. No manual Porsche is equipped with these features, despite even the country's cheapest manual cars coming with AEB as standard.

The 2023 Porsche 911 Carrera T is now available to order, priced from $280,600 plus on-road costs – $21,500 more than the entry-level Carrera it's based on. First deliveries are due in mid 2023.

The T badge was first used on the original 911, between 1968 and 1973 – before making a comeback in 2017 on the previous-generation 911 Carrera, and being applied on the 718 Cayman/Boxster sports cars and Macan SUV.