You won't notice the nanny

The all-wheel-drive system on the Porsche 991 Carrera 4S allows you to corner with a swagger - and keep all your parts intact

Money can't buy talent. Especially when it comes to driving. And I don't care if you own expensive, go-faster gear like the latest Red Bull Racing jacket or a Tag Heuer Monaco watch.

 Contrary to popular belief, a millionaire's bank balance doesn't guarantee Stig-like superpowers behind the wheel. Which is why we see so many totalled supercars on websites like Wrecked Exotics.

And read about late-night smashes on Joburg drag strips like Oxford Road and William Nicol Drive. It seems whenever the well-moneyed playboy and over-powered machinery mix, bad things happen.

Especially when the machinery in question takes the shape of something like a Koenigsegg CCX, Lamborghini Diablo, or, believe it or not, Porsche 911.

Ah yes, the 911. It looks fairly innocuous and understated. To the casual observer it might even resemble a new VW Beetle that's been stretched, lowered and force-fed a mild course of steroids. But don't let this fool you. The Porsche 911 is something the uninitiated should never take lightly. Because its flat-six engine sits behind the rear axle.

I won't bore you with physics or some convoluted technical explanation on why this is. Just know that bolting an engine to the back of a car usually endows it with pretty hairy handling characteristics.

Especially through corners. Like if you are going through a bend and for some reason you suddenly get The Fear and come off the gas, the sudden weight transfer will cause the back end to swing around like a pendulum.

 Depending on how fast you're going this will either result in an embarrassing spin or a violent and spectacular rendezvous with the roadside furniture.

This has given the 911 something of a mean reputation. Especially when the first Turbo came to the fore in the 1980s. Nicknamed "the Widowmaker", it is rumoured to have killed more stockbrokers than its Ferrari and Maserati counterparts put together.

Good thing Gordon Gekko didn't own one because if he had, the man probably wouldn't have lived long enough to enthrall us with his classic "greed is good" speech.

Realising that New York's Wall Street elite didn't have the mad skills of Jacky Ickx, Porsche has set about making the 911 a little more forgiving with each new generation. The wheelbase has been extended, the track widened and that engine inch-wormed closer to the tiny back seats.

 But the real eureka moment came in 1989 when the Stuttgart giants stole a leaf from Audi's Quattro book and equipped their icon with a proper all-wheel-drive system.

This is a feature that usually endows a vehicle with a lot more grip and stability. While the purists retched in disgust, those who sought a safer and more civilised 911 experience had reason to celebrate.

Fast-forward to the present and most Porsche traditionalists are still pulling their noses up at the idea of an all-wheel-drive 911. I should know, because I was one of them.

I say "was" because a week ago, I sampled the brand new 991 Carrera 4S - an event that brought about a personal mind shift. Not least for the way it looks. The 4S lays claim to a wider (+22mm) set of rear wheel arches, and there is a thin luminescent panel between the taillight clusters. Hit the brakes and it illuminates like Darth Vader's light sabre.

This, coupled with an aggressive new front apron design, gives the 4S a subtle but wicked edge in the sex appeal stakes. Dita Von Teese to the standard Carrera's Reese Witherspoon.

Mine also came with the optional sports exhaust. And my gosh, what an option it is. Finger a button on the centre console and that 3.8-litre engine grows an extra lung: a chamber of respiratory anger that clears its throat and screams blue murder somewhere after 5000rpm.

Come off the accelerator and you'll hear those six cylinders breathing in unison; spitting and snarling like some mythical beast. It makes the 4S sound like a bona fide racing car and I can't see why you'd ever want to switch it off.

But enhanced overall presence is not why this Porsche left such an impression on me. Everything has a unique selling point and with the Carrera 4S it was, believe it or not, the all-wheel-drive system. Controlled by a microprocessor that's smarter than our average government official, it sends torque to the front wheels only when needed. Like if you brake halfway through a corner.

Or hit a slippery patch of tarmac. Or suddenly realise that Steve McQueen Persol sunglasses do not an expert driver make. Then it kicks in seamlessly and gives you an instant stab of traction; a safety net that greatly reduces the chance of vehicular destruction.

Other than in these scenarios, however, you don't really notice the all-wheel nanny is there. The steering is still as feelsome as it has always been. Fuel consumption remains more or less the same. And despite a slight increase in kerb weight (50kg), the acceleration is nothing short of choke-on-your-gob fast. No joke.

Fitted with the seven-speed PDK gearbox and Sport Chrono package, mine could hit 100km/h in under four seconds.

So there you go, all you millionaires with illusions of motoring grandeur. Money might never buy you talent. But what it can buy is the brilliantly anti-purist Porsche 991 Carrera 4S - the ultimate everyday sports car that gives you all that legendary 911 sting, just not in the tail.

FAST FACTS: PORSCHE 991 CARRERA 4S

Engine: 3800cc flat-six

Power: 294kW @ 7400rpm

Torque: 440Nm @ 5600rpm

Transmission: Seven-speed PDK

0-100km/h: 3.9 seconds (claimed)

Top speed: 297km/h (claimed)

Fuel: 12.7l/100km (achieved combined)

CO2: 215g/km

Price: From R1347000

We Like:

Enhanced looks

Devastating performance

All-wheel-drive safety net

We Don't:

Purists will judge you

Cluttered switchgear

Uh, not much else