2023 Porsche 911 Sport Classic Review: Playful, Rare And Painfully Priced

The Porsche 911 Sport Classic is the easiest hard sell. Slower and less powerful than the 911 Turbo on which it's based — not to mention significantly more expensive — the Sport Classic nevertheless charms with an on-road demeanor that's exciting and engaging. Where the 911 Turbo is a sharp and unflappable grand tourer, the 911 Sport Classic is more playful. A lot more playful.

Where does the Sport Classic stand in the 911 hierarchy? Oh, it's right up near the top. At $274,750, including $1,495 for destination, the Sport Classic eclipses every 911 except the holy-grail S/T — and even that's just a suggested starting price. Optioned up with lots of niceties, the car you see here stickers for $282,810. Sheesh.

The 911 Sport Classic is part of Porsche's Heritage Design series, with cues that link it to the original Carrera RS 2.7 — unarguably one of the best Porsches of all time — as well as the 997-generation 911 Sport Classic. The five-spoke Fuchs-style wheels are a majorly cool throwback touch, as are the fixed ducktail spoiler and double-bubble roof. You don't have to get the Sport Classic with the numerical livery on the side, but I think it's kind of fun and gives this 911 added personality. You do you, of course.

There's more coolness inside the Sport Classic; check out the fantastic Pepita houndstooth fabric on the seats, saddle brown leather, and natural wood trim. There's a good-looking badge on the passenger side of the dashboard, too, and it matches the gold script on the back of the 911. I'm not normally one for frilly flourishes, but man, this car is a treat for the eyes.

Most of the 911 Sport Classic's mechanical bits are shared with the 911 Turbo, including the 3.7-liter twin-turbo flat-6 engine. However, while the 911 Turbo makes 572 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque, the Sport Classic has quite a bit less: 543 hp and 442 lb-ft.

Why the shortage? The Sport Classic comes with something you can't get in the 911 Turbo: a seven-speed manual transmission. The Sport Classic also uses rear-wheel drive, compared to the Turbo's all-wheel drive. Engineering the Sport Classic this way meant having to detune the engine, which makes the Sport Classic notably slower in the all-important 0-to-60-mph spec: 3.9 seconds, compared to 2.7 for the Turbo. That said, the rear-drive/manual combo is a boon for driver engagement. More on that shortly.

The Sport Classic's fuel economy is no worse for the wear, with this coupe earning the same EPA ratings as the 911 Turbo. Not that 15 mpg city, 21 mpg highway and 17 mpg combined are stellar numbers, of course, and you probably won't hit them, anyway, considering this thing loves to be driven hard.

But, like, how could you not drive the doors off this thing? Fire up the flat-6 and it howls to live, barking out of a standard sport exhaust system. Power builds progressively as you snick through the seven-speed manual gearbox, the automatic rev-matching perfectly smoothing out even the most aggressive of downshifts. The steering is beautiful; the balance is just about perfect. Every single 911 is a treat to drive, but this one – well, it's especially so.

By switching from all-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive, the Sport Classic adds an element of playfulness you wouldn't normally get in a 911 Turbo. There's less weight over the front axle — the Sport Classic is about 199 pounds lighter overall — and this makes the coupe a little more eager to turn in. Similarly, the rear end livens up appreciably, with the occasional little kick-out during a hairpin turn.

The Sport Classic shares its staggered 255/35ZR20 front and 315/30ZR21 rear tires with the 911 Turbo, and the Pirelli P-Zero summer tires have an absolute ton of grip. The Sport Classic also has rear-axle steering borrowed from the 911 Turbo S, and large carbon-ceramic brakes aren't prone to fade after a long day of fast driving on good roads.

People get way too hung up on 0-to-60 times these days, and the 911 Sport Classic is proof that this spec isn't everything. Sure, the 911 Turbo is 1.2 seconds quicker than this car, but the Sport Classic is just so much more alive and entertaining. Good as the Turbo is, it's almost too scalpel-like for its own good: a sharp, well-honed tool that aces its performance tests. The Sport Classic allows the Turbo to loosen its collar a bit, and it's a vibe that really befits the 992-generation 911.

My one complaint about this car is that the manual transmission isn't perfect. Should I expect perfection? From Porsche, I'd argue, yes. The six-speed manual this company fits in its 718 models is a mechanical delight, but the seven-speed — borrowed from the Carrera S and GTS – is a little rubbery. I still love working this stick, don't get me wrong; I just wish Porsche put a bit more effort into the tactile experience.

Aside from the houndstooth fabric, snazzy leather, and gold badges, the Sport Classic's cabin is the same as other 911s. Fit and finish is superb, the controls are all easy to locate while driving, and the rear seats are just as useless here as they are in other Carreras. Go on and throw a backpack back there, but my apologies in advance to anyone who's forced to ride in those rear seats — including kids.

An updated version of Porsche's Communication Management infotainment system is housed in the dash, with a menu structure that's slightly easier to navigate than before. I love this multimedia interface for its quick responses to inputs, and the fact that both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are now supported means just about any driver can enjoy the benefits of smartphone mirroring.

On top of the $274,750 starting price, this test car has a whole bunch of add-ons that hike up the price. Power folding mirrors ($370), lane-change assist ($1,060), a surround-view camera ($1,430), lane-keeping assist ($1,220), and a Burmester stereo ($3,980) bring the as-tested price of this Sport Classic up to $282,810. That includes $1,450 for destination and a mandatory $1,000 gas guzzler tax, by the way.

Will any prospective buyers be turned off by this MSRP? Absolutely not. Porsche's limited-production models sell like hotcakes, with well-heeled collectors scooping them up in no time. Porsche only plans to build 1,250 examples of this 911 Sport Classic, and considering how stinkin' good it is, it surely won't be long before the entire order sheet is filled.