Porsche’s New 911 Turbo Packs a 480 hp Punch
To ensure that all of the power and torque doesn’t convert the rear tires into a cloud of costly smoke and melted rubber, the 911 Turbo features a new all-wheel drive system evolved from the Carrera 4S. Called Porsche Traction Management (PTM), the system uses a beefier version of the electronically-controlled multi-plate disc clutch to divide the power and send it to the appropriate wheel, resulting in the most hair-raising, pulse-rising drive of your life. The 911 Turbo’s PTM also happens to be one of the lightest and most powerful AWD systems in the world, which is good since this latest 911 Turbo has put on an additional 40 kg (88 lbs) of curb weight.
With this impressive new drivetrain package, the 911 Turbo once again delivers supercar-shaming performance. With the standard six-speed manual gearbox, the car rockets to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds and hits 200 km/h in 12.8 seconds. It’s also fast under real world conditions, taking just 3.8 seconds to blast to 120 from 80 km/h in top gear. And while this performance is certainly impressive, the real surprise is that the Tiptronic automatic version is even faster! 100 km/h is blitzed in just 3.7 seconds, and the gap widens as the target speed increases. 200 km/h from a stand still takes 12.2 seconds, a whole 0.6 seconds quicker, while the flexibility dash (80-120 km/h) is dispatched in 3.5 seconds. Both the manual and automatic cars have a top speed of 310 km/h (192.6 mph).
Like most new Porsches, the 911 Turbo gets the dash-top mounted stopwatch and a button that when pressed firms up the dampers, sharpens the throttle and other performance-honing alterations. Push the same sports button, and the Sport Chrono Package Turbo is activated, which puts the Turbo in berserk mode: the turbocharger’s boost gets bumped up by 0.2 bar (2.9 psi) for a ten second window, which increases torque by 45 lb-ft to 502 lb-ft, allowing a manual 911 Turbo to leap from 80 to 120 km/h in a lightning quick 3.5 seconds, making it as fast as… a 911 Turbo automatic. But the Turbo isn’t all about time-warping acceleration forces; it’s excellent at shedding speed thanks to an upgraded brake system that features six-piston calipers up front and four-piston ones in back. If you’re really serious about stopping in a hurry, Porsche’s very light but very expensive fade-free 380 mm diameter ceramic brakes can be had.
The 2007 911 Turbo is slated to arrive in dealerships this July, however, obtaining one won’t be as simple as walking in, dumping a bag of money on a sales associate’s desk and walking out with a set of keys; it’s going to be a scramble of deposits and agonizingly long waiting lists, even though the car carries a pricetag of $122,900 USD (equivalent to $141,250 CAD, but Porsche will ‘adjust’ it accordingly, no doubt - the 996-based 911 Turbo last sold for more than $170K in Canada). And while every car enthusiast young or old would have been elated with the Turbo’s introduction, Porsche has been working overtime and will debut a second, and perhaps even more important car at Geneva, the ‘race car for the road’ 911 GT3. All we can say is stay tuned for more info.
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