A PERFECT DAY WITH THE NEW PORSCHE 911 IN SINGAPORE
The Fullerton Hotel overlooks the Singapore River on one side, and affords a view of the picturesque Marina Bay on another. While providing excellent hospitality to tourists, the edifice (originally conceived as an office building) is a historical landmark in itself – named after the first governor of the Straits Settlements, Robert Fullerton, who served from 1826 to 1829.
Its past incarnations are colorful. At one time, the site housed Fort Fullerton which stood guard to defend the settlement from naval invasions and attacks. Then the property was home to the territory’s first general post office and a sundry of public agencies.
Today, the building has escaped declining into disrepair and ignominy that is too often the fate of aging structures. On the contrary, the Fullerton continues to stand as a hub of activity lending prestige and pomp to its longtime Singaporean perch. Commanding the aforementioned excellent views, it is a magnet for the well-heeled and those aspiring to a taste of a good life. Appropriately, the hotel’s rather limited parking space is a precious commodity that even at first glance shows a predilection for rarefied rides.
Lava Orange skin glinting in the warm Singapore sunshine, the car wins not a few admiring looks in its place of honor. Despite being surrounded by other premium European cars, it still stands out unmistakably.
Ah, the benefits of being a Porsche 911.
And today, the beauty on wheels is our veritable key to the kingdom. We do not need to call dibs because it is all ours – for the day, at least. It’s a Carrera S, and like all its brethren in the considerable 911 stable, is turbocharged. Yes, Porsche waves
auf wiedersehen to natural aspiration; surely, a bold move in the midst of purists and turbo lag. But we’ll get to that later.
Suffice it to say at the outset that the Stuttgart-based carmaker has trotted out a significant re-imagination of its most famous and iconic vehicle. In fact, the internal code 992 which refers to the present generation, has been so thoroughly reworked that honestly, 992.2 doesn’t do it justice.
The Carrera exemplifies the paradigm perfectly: heightened efficiency and performance lay-manized thus: Having your cake and eating it, too.
It starts with a lower-displacement 3.0- liter, flat-six engine that offers more frugal fuel consumption even as it gains 20hp over its bigger-displacement predecessors. This is made possible by two turbochargers with “one charge-air cooling for each cylinder bank,” according to the company.
So what of the “real” 911 Turbos? Well, the main difference today between the erstwhile non- turbos versus the proper Turbos is the size of the turbine wheel. Those with “turbo” in their nomenclature will boast a bigger fan.
Porsche is willing to risk dispensing with NA engines because it has evolved its turbos into virtually lag-free exemplars of forced induction. Indeed, the lag is imperceptible and you get to access performance even at lower rpm – tapping easily into 420 horses and 500Nm from 1,700 on the tach. Redline occurs at 7,500 revs. Translated into performance, with PDK and Sport Chrono, the S model becomes the first 911 Carrera to break the four-second barrier – taking but 3.9 ticks to reach 100kph from standstill.
Unbelievably, the fuel consumption per 100 kilometers is 12 percent lower because of advanced turbocharging technology. Porsche says to expect peak economy of
around 13 kilometers per liter from the S with PDK. This sterling figure is also a result of improved aerodynamics.
Within, Porsche banners its new intuitive, easy-touse communication management system with touchscreen. There’s a slew of new features: Traffic information in real time, Google Earth and Google Street View. It’s a cinch to tether with a smartphone – providing access to even more nifty applications.
All the technology does not detract the rear-wheel-drive Carrera’s proclivity for fun. After all, you don’t get a 911 because it’s a practical A-to-B point and shooter, right? With a mindful eye on speed limits and safety, we push and prod the car with extremely gratifying results. “Remember,” our instructor/minder Tony had opined before sending us off on our merry way, “you can enjoy the acceleration from 40 to 90kph, too.”
In limited doses, we do exactly that – gripping the beautiful steering wheel swiped from the exotic 918 Spyder. For the first time, drivers can cycle through four performance modes (Normal, Sport, Sport Plus, and Individual) through a wheel-mounted dial. At the center of it is a small button that you push to engage the greatest power from the 911. The Sport Response function “primes the engine and transmission for the fastest possible unleashing of power” for a maximum of about 20 seconds.
With Singapore as our sandbox, the almighty 911 is a potent, smooth-performing toy shovel that turns heads and drops jaws. Remember the toy that everyone wanted? Of course you do. Well, here you go.