The Porsche 911 is a legendary sports car that has been around for over 60 years. During this time it has grown significantly in size, become much more luxurious and much more expensive to buy, especially if you like the higher performance variants like the 911 Turbo and GT3.
The target Porsche 911 will be the standard, entry-level 2026 911 Carrera Coupe, which comes in at $135,500 plus a $2,350 delivery, processing and handling fee for a total of $137,850. This gives you a basic 911 in black or white exterior paint with a basic black leather interior, automatic transmission and no options. If you prefer a stick, the 911 Carrera T can be yours for $12,500 more. Our review of the Carrera T deemed it perhaps the best new Porsche, period. In Porsche World, that’s the price of entry, the sky’s the limit. It’s possible to add nearly $100,000 worth of options to the base car.
The competition will consist of comparable sports cars that have the performance to be considered worthy of being on the shopping list that also features the Porsche 911. Some may be less expensive, while others will be more expensive. Since a car like the Porsche 911 is more of a want than a need, the average buyer’s budget can be more flexible if their emotions are as moved as their bodies by these vehicles.
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2026 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe – the pointer
Rear 3/4 view of gray Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe on road with wall in background – Porsche
Let’s start by establishing the bona fide performance of the 2026 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe, which holds its value better than any other, and then measure the performance of the other cars against it. But be aware that the Porsche 911 lost its tendency to wag its tail and run unsuspecting drivers off the road a long, long time ago. Today’s Porsche 911s, even the rear-wheel drive ones, handle themselves very well in all driving circumstances.
The 911 Carrera Coupe features a 3.0-liter, twin-turbocharged engine in its traditional rear location, mated to an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission that drives the rear wheels on this particular model. It produces 388 horsepower, and in Car and Driver testing, it clocked a 0-60 time of 3.1 seconds, a 0-100 mph time of 7.8 seconds, and a quarter-mile time of 11.4 seconds at 121 mph. The 911 also recorded a roadholding number of 1.09 g. Porsche claims the 911 Carrera Coupe’s top speed is 183 mph.
The list of standard equipment on the 2026 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe is quite short. It includes silver-painted 19-inch front and 20-inch rear wheels, four-way sport seats and HomeLink. Everything else is optional, but between paint-to-sample exterior colors that range up to $32,940 extra, exclusive leather interior for $16,300, wheel upgrades for up to $8,140, titanium sport exhaust for $4,270 and more, Porsche makes it very easy to customize your 911.
2026 Chevrolet Corvette C8 Z06
3/4 Front View of Orange Z06 Corvette in Track Setting – Chevrolet
For those who don’t think a Corvette can take on a Porsche, we humbly present the 2026 Chevrolet Corvette Z06, which in its base form undercuts the 911 Carrera Coupe a bit. In coupe form, it has an MSRP of $120,195, totaling $136,345 after destination tax and gas charges are added.
The Corvette Z06 comes with a 670-horsepower, flat-plane crank, naturally aspirated 5.5-liter V8 that drives the rear wheels after sending power through an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission similar to Porsche’s. Car and Driver’s performance testing of the Corvette Z06 achieved a 0-60 mph time of 2.7 seconds, 0-100 mph in 6.1 seconds, a quarter mile in 10.7 seconds at 129 mph, and a top speed of 189 mph. All are faster/taller than the 911. The Corvette Z06’s roadholding was also higher at 1.12g.
This is quite an achievement for the Chevrolet Corvette Z06, which is an expensive vehicle for many reasons. Not only does the Z06 outperform the Porsche, it does so at a lower price. It’s a testament to the team that created the Corvette Z06 that last year won a prestigious award from a German publication – the Auto Bild Sportscar of the Year Award for cars priced up to €250,000, equal to $295,543. The Corvette Z06 has also won awards in its home country, including Road and Track’s 2023 Performance Car of the Year and Motor Trend’s 2023 Performance Vehicle of the Year.
2026 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 Coupe
Front 3/4 view of Mercedes-AMG GT 63 Coupe on road with mountains in background – Mercedes-Benz
The 2026 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 Coupe is the Mercedes-AMG coupe that surpasses the performance of the entry-level 911. The GT 63 Coupe is powered by a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 engine that produces 577 horsepower and is one of the largest Mercedes AMG engines ever produced. Power is delivered through a nine-speed AMG Speedshift MCT automatic transmission, after which it is sent to all four wheels.
In testing by Car and Driver, the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 Coupe sprinted from 0-60 mph in just 2.7 seconds, beating the Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe by .4 seconds. It does 0-100 mph in 6.8 seconds, an improvement of 0.7 seconds. Its quarter mile comes in at 10.9 seconds at 125 mph, 0.2 seconds faster. Its top speed, according to Mercedes-AMG, is 196 mph, 13 mph faster than the Porsche. Only roadholding on the skid plate is a short skosh, with a 1.06g number compared to the Porsche’s 1.09g. That’s likely due to the Mercedes-AMG GT 63’s hefty 4,245-pound curb weight, compared to the 911 Carrera Coupe’s slimmer 3,472-pound curb weight. Weight has consequences when it comes to handling.
The Mercedes-AMG GT 63 Coupe costs $181,350 plus a $1,350 destination charge, for a total of $182,700 before options. Even higher-performance Mercedes-AMG GT models are available as your budget allows, with the GT63 SE Performance electric motor and its astonishing 805 horsepower offered at an additional cost of around $21,000.
McLaren 750S
3/4 front view of McLaren 750S on the road – McLaren
The McLaren 750S Coupe, which our review proved to be faster, but that’s not the point, is the McLaren supercar that eclipses the performance of the Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe. Not only is it the most powerful production McLaren, but it’s also the lightest, with a curb weight of 3,206 pounds, making it 266 pounds lighter than the Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe.
The McLaren 750S Coupe uses a carbon fiber monocoque construction to keep its weight as low as possible. The McLaren 750S is a mid-engine two-seater coupe powered by a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 producing 740 horsepower, channeled through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission that drives the rear wheels. The McLaren 750S Coupe also features an active rear wing that provides additional downforce during hard braking, then flattens out to reduce drag during acceleration.
Performance statistics published by Car and Driver show that the McLaren 750S can accelerate from 0-60 mph in 2.3 seconds, 0-100 mph in 4.8 seconds, a quarter mile time of 9.8 seconds at 145 mph and a top speed of 206 mph. The McLaren 750S also achieved 1.19g of roadholding on the skidpad. All of this is an order of magnitude above the Porsche, but that shouldn’t come as a surprise given that it’s priced well above the Porsche. The McLaren 750S Coupe has a base price of $365,100 including destination taxes, which is more than double the Porsche. As the old saying goes, “Speed costs money. How fast do you want to go?”
Methodology
View of 911 Carrera Coupe through open front door with rocky, mountainous background – Porsche
We looked at a group of three sports cars that top the Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe in its base configuration, the 2026 911 Carrera Coupe, which is priced at $137,850. Car and driver testing is the benchmark that was used to determine each vehicle’s performance, with a primary focus on each car’s acceleration from 0-60 mph, 0-100 mph, its quarter-mile time and manufacturer-calculated top speed. We also compared each of these sportscars’ car and driver drag numbers, with two of the three cars beating the Porsche, with the Mercedes-AMG Coupe coming in slightly behind, with 1.09g for the Porsche and 1.06g for the Mercedes-AMG. This could be attributed to the added weight of the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 Coupe, or could be due to minute variations in test conditions on different days.
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Read the original article on SlashGear.