Last May I attended the Treffen in Germany. Most of the people had 991S's but I got stuck with a 991 Cab. I had very little problem staying with the S's on the autobahn at speeds in the 250-260kph range. The S did not run away and hide at all.

Having said that I ordered a 991S Cab with the X51 in October.

John in Vancouver

 

There are too many variables in deciding buying a base vs S, here's my random thoughts.
1. Anyone who can afford a base can also afford an S. It is just a matter of how much he wants to spend. (I bought a V6 Panamera for my wife as she does not need the speed. Don't feel like spending more for an S or turbo for her)
2. Base 991 should be as fast, if not faster than a 997.1S. That means it is a very fast car. The argument to pay more for an S for faster speed is not very logical unless you are driving 10/10 at the track.
3. I can see why people are willing to pay more for the S as it is a toy to treat themselves. Why not spend a little bit more on yourself? Also, an S comes with some options that the base doesn't have. Checking all those boxes and the price differences between base and S is much smaller.
4. If a lightly loaded S costs the same as a heavily optioned base, then I, and I think almost everyone, will buy the S for the same money. As the S will cost more in trade-in down the road.
5. If the base that are not selling is because they are manual transmission, then I feel really bad for sport cars. As one day, Porsche will also stop making true manual.

 

I have the 991S manual and came from a 997.1 Manual (non-S) ... I always felt my 997.1 was VERY fast and while I love my 991S there is very little difference in the real world.

if comparing the every day driving experience between an 'S' and non 'S' I would say the difference is Zero and yes I do drive my 991S at least 3 to 4 days a week ...

I was originally going to get a 991 (non-S) but I was waiting and waiting for the allocations for the manual transmission to become available (this is back in Jan/Feb 2012) so when the manual finally became available the allocation available from the dealer was an 'S' so I went with it.

I ended up with the first manual delivered to my dealer but now since it has been out for a long time I am sure this would be a non issue and again if I went with the non -S I would be just as happy.

I bet if a non S and I were next to each other and either of us floored it .. it would come down to the driver that floored it first... they are both just soooo fast.