AN UNTAMED RIDE
This reborn supercar offers a driving experience that is both challenging and rewarding, David Booth writes.
I’m going to apologize in advance for this review of the new Porsche 911 Turbo S. If you’re expecting tales of derring-do, of off-ramps boogied and rubber burnt, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.
Alas, you’ll have to make do with a normal road test with only the slightest hint of silliness. Even with minimal madness involved, however, it’s easy to tell this new 911 Turbo S is a different animal. Every previous all-wheel-drive version of the bi-turboed 911 has been a little, let’s call it, gentrified. Yes, it was fast; with 580 horsepower, the previous 991 Turbo was hardly slow. But it was — or at least felt — tame.
Admirers (and I would be one of them) of Porsche’s ability to make so much speed and power so easily handled would call it accessible. Its detractors — usually a hoary old lot with aviator sunglasses and way-too-expensive driving gloves — thought it homogenized, a supercar softened for the masses. They desired something that allowed to seek that hallowed “edge.” More difficult to drive, to be sure, but ultimately more rewarding to drive.
The 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S is that car.
Yes, the animal is back and it will bite hard. Much of that is the result of the new engine. Credit larger turbocharger — the turbine wheel is up five millimetres in diameter and the compressor 2.5 mm — for the extra power, but you can get the new Turbo S all kinds of sideways even with the traction control system on.
The vehicle stability nanny will eventually bring things back, but sometimes the Porsche’s 640-horsepower, 3.8-litre flat six can get wheels spinning quicker than electrons can tame them. Where you could often just mash previous 911 Turbos and let the combination of all-wheel drive and Porsche Traction Management handle the wheel spin, you now have to be more than a little judicious with your right foot.
Like I said, the new Turbo will bite: all you dilettantes who bought a Porsche 911 Turbo because you could be stupid and safe at the same time have been forewarned.
Thanks to Launch Control and seemingly bottomless torque, the 911 Turbo S will churn stomachs as well as Porsche’s Taycan or a Tesla Model S in “Ludicrous” mode would. Officially, it can hit 100 km/h in just 2.7 seconds. That sounds about right; my stomach starts doing backflips right around 2.8 seconds.
The 911 Turbo S isn’t all launch and no top speed. Indeed, the other amazing thing is how quickly the car responds to throttle. Previous versions were often described as being able to pass long eighteen-wheelers “in the blink of an eye.” Be prepared to blink faster; this one makes even the 750-horsepower Taycan Turbo S seem a tad lethargic. To be clear, the 2021 version of the Turbo S is clearly more powerful than those that have gone before it. It will, however, be more demanding of respect.
That’s probably why my second favourite feature — beyond the power, of course — are the acoustic rain sensors built into the wheel wells. Essentially, as soon as all the Pirellis start flinging water, the new 911’s sensors can “hear” the droplets hitting the inner fenders and inform you that you have to pay even more attention. Specifically, a little red warning light will appear in the driver mode section, alerting you to switch to the new Wet mode. It doesn’t automatically switch into tamer driving parameters — the low-end torque is reduced and the PDK transmission shifts slower, yet smoother — but it is an advisory best heeded. I attempted a little wet road Sport mode heroics; it is not recommended. This one bites back.
Other notable improvements are an interior made yet more civil and a touch more modern. The electronic transmission selector looks positively modern while retaining the real, relative Spartanism a sports car deserves. A noticeable difference between the 911 and a Porsche Panamera, for instance, is the latter is literally festooned with buttons and switches. The former? Not so much. There’s less distraction so that when bitten, you’ll at least be looking in the right direction.