Living with the Porsche 911 Turbo

Introduction

When the original 911 Turbo was introduced in the 1970s it was a terrifyingly fast and tricky car to drive. The current car couldn't be more different.

What are its rivals?

With a 0-62mph time of 3.9 seconds the Porsche 911 Turbo lines up alongside some of the world's most exotic and fastest cars. Ferraris, Aston Martins and Lamborghinis are all fair game for the 911 Turbo. The addition of a pair of variable-vane turbos (a first in a petrol car) allows the 911 Turbo to deliver a thumping 480bhp from its 3.6-litre flat-six engine. At a few pounds under £100,000 the 911 Turbo is relatively cheap, undercutting the Ferrari F430 by nearly £30,000. Impressive, particularly as, if you happen to line up alongside the Italian at the traffic lights you'll get to 62mph 0.1 seconds quicker. Ferrari claims a higher top speed, but we reckon Porsche is being conservative with its quoted 193mph.

How does it drive?

Key to the appeal of the 911 Turbo is the ease of driving it. The Porsche proves that owning a supercar needn't necessarily be about high-rev antics, heavy clutches, tricky manual transmissions or hopeless paddle-shifters. The Turbo has all the day-to-day appeal of its less powerful, naturally aspirated relatives. The cabin is surprisingly useful; those rear seats can be used for short trips, while folding them allows you to get larger loads than you'd consider in any of the 911 Turbo's rivals. If equipped with the Sport Chrono pack, pressing the Sport button gives access to overboost torque for the engine, increasing the output from an already high 457lb.ft to 501lb.ft between 2,100-4,000rpm. It also sharpens up the throttle response, making the Turbo even more sensitive to your right foot's input. Although the variable vane turbochargers give the 3.6-litre unit real tractability at low revs the Turbo is at its best above 3,000rpm, where it gathers pace with real ferocity.

You need to be quick with the gears to keep up; the shift, while initially reluctant when the gearbox oil is cool, eases up and moves with precision. It's a shame then that the clutch is so difficult to judge, its high bite and lack of feel sometimes resulting in sloppy shifts. The steering is sharp and quick, though the Turbo is keen to understeer unless provoked to do otherwise. The Turbo's four-wheel drive gives it remarkable traction, while the high grip levels make it about the most sensible, useable supercar you can buy.

What's impressive?

The huge performance is the most impressive thing about the 911 Turbo; that, and the ease with which its performance can be exploited. It's not intimidating, the surge of power when you push the pedal to the floor instead being hugely thrilling. However, don't get too carried away, as third gear will quickly see you break into three figures and it wouldn't take long to be testing Porsche's claims of its near 200mph top speed. Hugely stable, the four-wheel drive system means the Turbo can put all its power down even when conditions are less than perfect; it'd leave a F430 Ferrari for dead on a wet country road. As ever the driving position is spot on and the relatively spacious interior and surprisingly deep front luggage compartment make it a rather sensible choice. Fuel consumption isn't too shocking either, the official combined cycle figure of 22.1mpg not that unrealistic.

What's not?

The 911 Turbo's phenomenally polished performance is perhaps its downfall. If anything, keener drivers might find it a bit too easy, a bit too clinical and efficient about how it drives. Certainly, it's nothing like as rewarding or as challenging to drive as its GT3 relatives; even the standard Carrera and Carrera S models are arguably more involving to drive. The Turbo's powertrain dominates, the searing pace being its defining feature. There's fun to be had, but you need to push through the understeer to really enjoy it, and to do so you need to be on a track. Like all 911s there's a good deal of road noise, the Porsche Active Suspension Management's second setting too firm for anything other than super-smooth surfaces - of the type you'll simply not find in the UK. The forced induction engine isn't as vocal in its nature as its non-turbo relatives, so it's lacking the sort of rousing accompaniment you'd expect with such amazing performance. Equipment levels could be better too, as could the interior trim, which isn't really up to scratch in a car that's within a tank full of fuel off £100,000 on the price lists.

Should I buy one?

If you're after a super-fast 911 with the security of four-wheel drive then the Turbo is a compelling choice. Those wanting a more involving Turbo driving experience might want to go for the insanely quick GT2 - a Turbo with the dials turned up to eleven and rear-wheel drive only. For most though a standard 911 Carrera or Carrera S will be just as entertaining and a good bit cheaper too. A hugely impressive car, particularly given how much cheaper it is compared to its rivals, but the money it costs over its 4S or GT3 rivals is pretty difficult to justify, even for the scintillating additional performance the Turbo brings.

Kyle Fortune