2013 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S brings all wheel drive to the party

As autumn follows summer and traffic crashes follow starlets, so too must come the inevitable variations of a new Porsche 911, which wil soon grow to include the all-wheel-drive Porsche 911 Carrera 4, in coupe, convertible and uprated S flavors, all lighter, faster and likely more expensive than their predecessors. Progress always carries a price tag.

Adding four-wheel power to the regular 911 -- just named Motor Trend's "Best Driver's Car" and rightly acclaimed as a world-beating sports car -- may seem like overcomplicating to add heaviness, but the new edition of the 911 Carrera 4 is up to 143 lbs. lighter than previous models, thanks to Porsche's battle of the bulge. The regular versions get 350 hp engines and can crack 62 mph in 4.5 seconds (4.7 seconds for those topless versions); the S models add an extra 50 hp and shave 0.2 seconds off the run to 62 mph.