Porsche 911 Carrera 4 (996, 3.4 litre) ~ 1998-2001

Hot on the heels of the all-new 996-model 911 Carrera came the all-wheel-drive Carrera 4 version. By this time, a ���4��� was an essential part of the 911 line-up and the new car was eagerly awaited.

The four-wheel-drive system was what Porsche called ���intelligent���. It responded to the driving conditions and distributed power to the front and rear wheels as required, via a viscous coupling. During normal driving, only 5 percent of the power went to the front wheels, thus ensuring the car felt like a true rear-drive 911. However, if the system detected that a wheel was slipping then up to 40 percent of power would be transferred to the front, to give excellent traction and handling.

The Carrera 4 came as standard with PSM (Porsche Stability Management ��� which was optional on the standard Carrera). This electronic system combined traction control, anti-slip control (ASR) and Automatic Braking Differential (ABD) to enhance the car���s handling. Sensors measured direction, speed, yaw and lateral acceleration, and a computer used this information to determine the direction of travel. If the car over- or understeered, the system would apply the brakes to an individual wheel to get the car back on line. And if that wasn���t sufficient, the engine speed would be altered to stabilise the car, as could the percentage of power transferred to the front wheels. PSM could be turned off if it wasn���t required; for instance, for track use.

What���s more, the Carrera 4 was the first Porsche to feature E-Gas; effectively a ���drive-by-wire��� electronic throttle control instead of a traditional cable linkage between the accelerator pedal and the engine. It really was the most technologically advanced 911 to date.

Although the Carrera 4 was more expensive than the Carrera when new, as the cars came onto the secondhand market, the price differential reduced, making a Carrera 4 excellent value as a used car.

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