Porsche 911 Turbo S (2010) CAR review

It’s a numbers game with the new Porsche 911 Turbo S. For an extra £17,309 (or £17,324 in you opt for the convertible) you get an extra 30bhp, 37lb ft and lots of standard items that would otherwise be extra on the ‘regular’ 493bhp Turbo.

S stands for Sport and Porsche’s marketing team would have you believe this new S model is the most sporting 911 Turbo variant yet, with everything from ceramic brakes, a torque vectoring system and active engine mounts as standard, though you can’t have a manual gearbox. All in – and until the new GT2 arrives later this year – it’s the most expensive 911 you can buy: £123,263 for the coupe (tested here) and £130,791 for the cabriolet.

And despite the hefty price, as 90% of Turbos are sold with the PDK ‘box, Porsche expects 70-80% of customers to cough up the extra for the S. Read on for CAR’s review of the new Porsche 911 Turbo S.

What puts the S in the Porsche 911 Turbo S?

The direct-injection, twin-turbo 3.8-litre flat six is essentially unchanged, but the gains come courtesy of revised intake valve timing, a new carbon airbox and a boost in turbo pressure to 1.2bar. Power goes up from 493bhp at 6000rpm to 523bhp at 6250-6750rpm, the same headline figure as the Mk1 997 GT2. The torque peak is the same as a regular Turbo equipped with the optional Sport Chrono overboost function, but the S has the full 516lb ft whenever you like it, rather than needing a Sport button to be pressed to access the extra oomph. Fuel consumption and CO2 emissions remain unchanged

Porsche’s PDK gearbox is standard, as is the Sport Chrono Pack, which includes a launch control function. And with the extra grunt from the engine, all three elements combine to send the Turbo S to 62mph in 3.3 seconds (3.6 for a regular Turbo, 3.4 for one with the Sport Chrono Pack). More impressive is the 0-124mph time, which drops from 11.6 to 10.8 seconds.

And just how does it feel when you launch a Porsche 911 Turbo S to 124mph in 10.8 seconds?

It’s addictive, but oh so simple. Come to halt, press the Sport Plus button, put your left foot firmly on the brake, then stamp the other on the accelerator. The electronics build the revs up, at which point you side step the brake and hold on. There’s a momentary pause while the wheelspin is dealt with (we drove the Turbo S on a very wet day in Stuttgart) and then you’re pinned into your seat as the PDK ‘box bangs through its gears and hurls you down the road.

Unfortunately there’s no GT3-style flat-six song to accompany your exploits, but instead you get an angry gargling and whooshing noise from over your shoulder, mixed with a muted pschttt when you lift off.

But although the Turbo S intimidates on paper, driving it around town or on the autobahn is easy. In the city it’s still a little nimble 911 that’s easy to place in traffic, and the PDK’ box means you haven’t got to deal with the manual Turbo’s heavy clutch and stiff shift. Leave the urban areas behind, find a decent bit of derestricted motorway and suddenly you’re doing silly speeds. Barely 15 minutes after climbing into the Turbo S I’d set my own public road PB of 170mph, and with absolute ease. It’s probably best you don’t have a Turbo S in the UK – you’ll lose your licence in the first week of ownership. 

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