911 Turbo: Porsche goes public
Newswheel staff :: 13 February 2006 :: Filed under Four wheel drive, Mid / rear engine sportscar, Porsche, Porsche 911, Europe & UK, US
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Probably quite nippy…
While Porsche’s plumbers grapple with the GT3 leak, it’s first official pics-and-details day for the new 997-vintage 911 Turbo. The showbiz numbers are 480bhp, 62mph in under four seconds and a top whack of 193mph. Read on for the full nitty gritty…
In time-honoured 911 fashion, the new Turbo is more incremental upgrade than all round revolution: a 60bhp power boost (compared with the outgoing 996 turbo) for a grand total of 480bhp. Hardly dramatic. After all, you can lob a copy of Top Marques over your shoulder in most big cities and hit half a dozen 500bhp monsters. But the 911 Turbo has always delivered more in practice than on paper. In that respect at least, the new model surely ain’t gonna be any different.
Fussy looker or mean machine? Cosmetic addenda include LED indicators integrated into the lateral air inlets of the front end, the usual big bumper and fat air scoop upgrades and the now-obligatory bi-plane active rear wing. The classic flared rear wheel arches are 22mm wider than the outgoing 996 Turbo’s haunches
Probably the most significant upgrade on the new 3.6-litre flat-six powerplant is the addition of variable geometry turbos. They no doubt contribute to the bombastic 457lb/ft torque total, and even more significantly, the engine’s ability to hold that peak output throughout a frankly ridiculous 1,950 to 5,000rpm rev range. This thing is going to crush your kidneys at almost any engine speed.
It’s also impressive to see Porsche has kept the car’s kerb weight fully in check. At 1,590kg, it’s a dead ringer for the outgoing model, thanks to the use of aluminium for the door and front boot skins, as well as fibre-glass for the engine cover.
Needless to say, the chassis has also been thoroughly worked over. Out goes the old viscous-clutch four-wheel drive system. In comes a new electronically controlled multi-plate clutch with Porsche Traction Management (PTM) which doles out drive to front and rear axles depending on available grip. Reining in all this forward motive technology is a set of predictably even more powerful stoppers. With six pistons up front, four at the rear and a 350mm diameter (up 20mm over the 996 Turbo), the standard steel disc setup will no doubt separate your eyes from their sockets. But if even that’s not enough, Porsche’s carbon-ceramic brakes are of course an option. Apart from the completely fade-free performance, they reduce unsprung mass by a very handy 17kg.
The usual subtle but utterly comprehensive overhaul for Porsche’s flagship, then? Yup. Which leaves just one question. What will she do? Intriguingly, Porsche says the Tiptronic S is actually quicker than the six-speed manual. 3.7 seconds to 62mph and 12.2 to 125mph for the auto plays 3.9 and 12.8 seconds for the stick twiddler. Although the press material made available to Newswheel wasn’t specific, there was no mention of any new-fangled twin-clutch DSG auto gearbox tech. So, we’ll assume we’re looking at the most impressive conventional torque-converter gearbox, ever. Whatever, both cars are claimed to hit 193mph.
And then there are “those” wheels. We’d seen them before adorning several test mules and we’d prayed assumed they wouldn’t make it into production. Add in the rather tacky glued-on look of the air intakes ahead of the rear wheel arches and the new Turbo won’t win prizes for its subtle aesthetics. Not with the sexy new GT3 around, anyway…
And what of that ultimate measure of Porsche Performance, the Nurburgring thrape? It’s down to under 7m50s – around seven seconds quicker than the 996. Safe to say, therefore, the new Turbo is likely to be a brain-bendingly effective real world driving tool. Lest ye forget, the current 996 Turbo remains one of, if not the, quickest point-to-point methods of road transport ever built.
Sales start in Germany on June 24th with prices kicking off at €115,000 before tax. We’ll update with UK pricing and availability info as soon as poss.
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