Porsche 911 TURBO COUPE
Porsche's Latest 911 Turbo Is So Competent At Speed Youll Want To Live Near An Autobahn. Jonathan Crouch Reports...
Put a four wheel drive Porsche 911 Carrera on steroids, then place it in the hands of a personal trainer in Stuttgarts finest gym and the result is the latest Turbo.
Unless youre a Porsche fan, you can be forgiven for mistaking lesser 3.2-litre 911s for their Boxter siblings front-on. But when the 3.6-litre Turbo looms up in your rear view mirror therell be no mistaking the distinctive lights, flared nostrils, burly shoulders and low stance of this ultimate Porsche.
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The twin turbocharger flat six engine punches out 420bhp, 12bhp up on the previous Turbo. It launches the latest version to 60mph in an eye-watering four seconds, to 100mph in just nine seconds and carries on to 189mph. And probably jail if you try that anywhere other than an autobahn or racetrack. To ensure the Turbo is just as happy in cruise or pose modes, a mighty 405lb/ft of torque on tap between 2,700rpm and 4,600rpm ensures you dont have to keep changing gear if you dont want to.
This is thanks to all sorts of clever modifications including variable intake valve timing, nickel and silicon cylinder liners, shortened intake and exhaust manifolds and, of course, those two turbochargers and intercoolers. Not surprisingly, the radiators have been enlarged by 50% to cope with all the extra heat generated.
"The twin turbocharger flat six engine punches out 420bhp, 12bhp up on the previous Turbo."
Drive the Turbo hard and youll be lucky to see 14mpg but
Porsche reckons it can manage around 22mpg on the EC combined cycle. But will fuel economy worry owners who can afford £87,250 for this car in the first place? By the way, theres also a Cabriolet version on offer for £96,130. Suspension has been revised to suit the extra urge but apart from a wider rear track, lower ride height and stiffer spring, damper and stabiliser bar settings its pretty much the same beautifully controllable and stable set-up as the 911 Carrera. The Turbo has been acclaimed for its amazing brakes, which haul the car down quickly from high speeds without fuss or drama.
Based on the Carreras stoppers, the Turbo brakes have larger discs and calipers and inspire such confidence that you can lean on the pedal later and later as familiarity with the car increases. You can even specify the Turbo with optional ceramic brake discs which improve braking performance in a number of areas. At over £3,000, theyre certainly not cheap, however. Like the Carrera, the Turbo has 'Porsche Stability Management' PSM in Stuttgart-speak. Its task is to brake any of the four driven wheels to keep the car doing what it thinks you want it to do. Or at least as close as it can get within the laws of physics. The ABS sensors on each wheel monitor the situation constantly, as do additional sensors for sideways g-force, steering and yaw angle.
If the collective opinion is that mere braking will not be enough to rectify the situation, the throttle opening is simultaneously reduced. From the driver's
seat, the result is almost like an unseen hand pinning the car to the tarmac. All of which would make spirited driving rather dull if PSM cut in every time you were about to have some fun: thankfully it doesn't, preferring to activate only in conditions so extreme that on a dry road, you'd probably never need it. It's certainly far less intrusive than either of the similar systems used by Mercedes or
BMW. Anyway, if the technology all gets too much, you can always turn it off. Even then however, the protection of this electronic guardian angel is never far away. Stamp on the brakes in a critical situation and the electronics show mercy: the PSM takes over and does its best to regain control. All of the other computer driving-aids work in conjunction with this stability system and there are plenty of them. Traction control (ASR in Porsche) and ABS you would expect, of course, and existing Carrera 4 owners trading up will already be familiar with ABD, the Automatic Braking Differential system that distributes the torque between the wheels. Perhaps mindful that all this might take some familiarisation, Porsche is offering Turbo owners a full days driving tuition on road and racetrack.
From the outside, you wont miss a 911 Turbo. Three huge air intakes in the front bumper and unique headlamps show that this car means business while the supporting cast of modifications includes huge 18-inch alloy wheels, flared sills, bulging rear guards with air scoops for the intercoolers plus a reshaped engine cover with tail spoiler that pops up at 75mph (handy in front of a police car, that). Lots of items that are extra on lesser 911s are included in the price tag. Leather seats and Alcantara roof trim provide an attractive wrapping for a package that includes electric seats with memory, four airbags, climate control and a trip computer but surely a CD autochanger and satellite navigation could have been included? Criticisms are otherwise limited to the effects of the packaging necessary to accommodate the 4-wheel drive hardware.
The front boot holds very little apart from the odd soft bag and the fuel tank is a range-restricting 16 gallons. On the plus side, Porsche has widened the choice available to Turbo customers with, for the first time, the option of a five-speed Tiptronic automatic gearbox that enables you to change gear F1-style via fingertip controls of the steering wheel. In fact, some say this is more fun to use than the standard six-speed manual. And ideal in traffic.
It all adds up the ultimate Porsche, arguably the best road car of any available today. And not least because its as easy to drive in the city as at full blast on the autobahn.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Porsche 911 Turbo Coupe
PRICE: £87,250 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 20
CO2 EMISSIONS: 309-339g/km
PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 4.2s / Max Speed 189mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (average) 21.8mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front and side airbags, ABS
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height, 4245/1735/1300mm
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