992 Turbo S
RS. Their notable presence is a visual reminder that this is the first time a 911 Turbo comes with optional Sports exhaust. Excited to hear its timbres, I jump in the 992 and start the engine, letting it settle and warm up slightly before toggling the dash-mounted PSE switch. There’s a definitive difference in audio when PSE is deployed: its tone switches to a bassy thrum, reverberating beautifully into my ears. Next we’d better find out how it sounds – and drives – on the road.
We’re driving the Cabriolet today, which takes its roof system from its 992 Carrera counterparts – it provides a neat silhouette which perfectly mimics the Coupe’s line, though that roof system (and the required chassis strengthening) means the 992 Turbo S Cabriolet weighs in at more than 1,700kg. Portly.
Devouring the country roads of Berkshire today, the Turbo S is quick to impress: a firm press of the accelerator sees the 992 duly deliver its party trick of an almighty, inertia-induced whack in the gut.
With only very minor delay, it shoots forward with a ferocity I’ve not felt in a road car before, the Turbo showing its eagerness to get going immediately – though the way it delivers its savage performance is what’s most impressive. There is, of course, some weight transfer, but the Turbo S doesn’t launch backwards onto its rear haunches and power down the road in a daze of tyre smoke as you might expect from a car utilising 800Nm torque. The Turbo makes rapid progress, but there’s sophistication to its ability to move, helped no doubt by that AWD system.
Peak power is delivered between 2,500-4,000rpm, but the pull of the 992 Turbo S is so savage it feels relentless from pretty much anywhere above idle engine speeds. So savage, in fact, that Porsche has ditched the Overboost function present on the Turbo since the 997 era. Porsche says this generation simply doesn’t need it, and on evidence I can only agree.
It goes without saying, the additional power of those uprated PCCBS are dearly needed in curtailing the Turbo S’s velocity when called upon. Just as efficient and relentless as the performance of the engine, I am as impressed by the car’s ability to stop as I am with its forward impetus.
Carving through Berkshire’s country lanes, the 992 is serving up the modern Turbo’s usual, astonishing levels of performance. So balanced and capable is the car, its grip levels so astounding, that it’s simply point and squirt on the accelerator from me, all the while flicking up and down through the PDK transmission’s eight-speed gearbox, its gear ratios revised over Carrera specification. A wider front track, a hallmark of the 992, allows the Turbo to corner so flat, and Sports chassis, part of the Turbo arsenal for the first time, keeps the 911 planted and gives the ride a dialled-in focus that’s possibly been missing on Turbos previously. It is, however, very bumpy, and that’s without switching the damping into its firm setting. Sport chassis also reduces the ride height by 10mm, though ground clearance is never an issue, so there’s no real need to spec a front lift system.
PDCC and its active anti-roll bars – a standard feature on the Turbo S – remains a wonderful ally for balancing the Turbo’s weight transfer as it pivots through a bend, while Porsche Torque Vectoring
Plus (also standard on the Turbo S) is sensational at keeping traction at the back of the car. Rear axle steering helps to allay the Turbo’s sheer size in tighter corners, completing the Turbo’s chassis weaponry.
It’s clear the capabilities of this Turbo S (and indeed, many Turbos before it) lay far north of a public road’s limitations, though I’m pushing this Turbo hard: storming into a corner, braking much, much later than I’d dare do in, say, a 992 C4S,
balancing the Turbo’s front and rear-end grip through the corner and then monstering clear with a firm yet judicious press of the accelerator. I have to be careful not to take the mickey on a public road, but the Turbo S is neverthelss capable of peeling back my eyelids time and again, so startling is its ability to move.
Perhaps the major triumph of the 992 Turbo S is its sound. That PSE makes all the difference, giving the Turbo S (in Sport mode) an exhaust note not too dissimilar to the 991 GT2 RS, in tone if not volume. On acceleration, there’s an almost Mezger-like rumble to it, providing a neat bass to the high-pitched whistling of those two turbochargers. Come off the gas and the Turbo S will pop and bang delightfully on the overrun, so much so that it’s easy to forget I’m in the presence of gasoline particulate filters.
It’s the noisiest Turbo of the modern era, which does beg the question, why hasn’t Porsche been able to replicate such a soundtrack – or any notable soundtrack, for that matter – on 992 Carrera derivatives? Finally the Turbo has a soundtrack to match its character. It’s a revelation, and any Turbo specced without PSE will now be missing the point.
As you’re beginning to see, the 992 model is still very much in possession of the traits associated with a modern-day Turbo: this thrilling supercar is also comfortable and useable everyday. However, it also retains some ‘Turbo’ traits which could really do with further development.
The first is its steering. Sure, the 992’s front axle is massively improved over the 991 generation, its nose sharper, the feel through the wheel more evident, but the system on this latest Turbo still leaves me cold. It’s simply not as good as it can be, and I’m certain it lacks the fluidity of the 992 C4S, for want of a comparison with another new, AWD 911.
My other gripe is its size. At over two metres wide including mirrors, the 992 feels like a giant on the road, particularly in the UK, where our best blacktop is of the squiggly, narrow variety cutting through our landscape. In the 992, its size means
I’m having to position the Turbo S over towards the centre of the road more in order to avoid hedgerows (or worse), but the fallout means I’m frequently riding over cats eyes. There’s a practical element to consider too, as the Turbo is intended as an everyday supercar: just how on earth is it going to fit into a conventional car parking space, with enough room for you to get out of the car, assuming vehicles are parked either side? It just feels an absolute world away from what the 911 always was: a dainty sports car that consistently over-achieved against its rivals. Sure, the mantra was changed with the 930 Turbo in 1975, but even comparing this latest iteration to a modern classic Turbo such as a 996 or 997 gives food for thought: those models were also wide-bodied, but manageably so from a practicality point of view.
Lastly, there are issues with its ride quality. Buoyed by the accomplishment of the 992-generation’s damping – it really is the best yet in melding both comfort and precision – I wasn’t expecting the ride to be so crashy. Perhaps its mass is just too great even for the 992’s polished setup. Sure, the 992 Turbo S has the edge over its 991.2 predecessor in terms of dynamic chassis response, but the 991 is superior in the comfort stakes. Worryingly, I think I’d struggle to live with the 992’s Sport chassis setup day-to-day.
Overall though, we’re looking at another Turbo triumph here. This is a 200mph supercar that’s as big on opulence as it is performance. It’ll humble a GT3 RS on track, give Carrera levels of grandeur on the road, and excite you with a GT2 Rs-like shove in the gut every time you feel like burying your right foot.
The real excellency of this modern-day Turbo though is the fact Porsche is bringing further efficiency and sophistication to its repertoire, which I think is really going to future-proof and even save the model going forwards. It might be at odds with Porsche’s electric ambitions elsewhere, but the 911 Turbo is still the benchmark super sports car – and it’s only getting better…