Just like 964, there’s much shorter throw across the gate
when changing gears to the earlier classics, but the G64 gearbox is the perfect
companion to the reworked M64/60 engine. The Turbo pulls with aplomb through
every gear, including sixth, the new ratio added to improve the 911 Turbo’s
emissions.
996 Turbo 2000 –
2005 engine
The 993 is a generation of Turbo that, for many, is the
best. The supercar represented the zenith of technology for the air-cooled
generation while still retaining much of that inherent 911 DNA that some argue
was lost by the turn of the 996.
Water-cooling, though, was nothing new at Porsche by the
time the 996 Turbo was released in 2000. Weissach had developed the
water-cooled Type 935 engine in 1978 for the 935 ‘Moby Dick’ race car before
moving onto the water-cooled head/air cooled block layout that dominated Le
Mans during the Eighties thanks to the 956 and 962.
997.1 Turbo 2006 -
2009
In the year of the 996 Carrera’s release, Porsche achieved
victory once again at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, this time using the water-cooled
911 GT1-98. Its 3.2-litre, twin turbocharged, Hans Mezger designed power plant
would form the basis of the 996 Turbo’s motor, giving it some serious racing
pedigree. 14 of Weissach’s 16 Le Mans victories were achieved with a
turbocharged engine, with 12 of those engines utilising some form of
water-cooling. Despite all this, the 996 Turbo’s arrival spelt the end of a
glorious era in the eyes of some 911 fanatics.
Much of this can be put down to that move to water-cooling,
yet the 996’s divisive styling (sculpted by Harm Lagaay and Pinky Lai), with
smooth front wings and ‘fried egg’ headlights, marked a major step away from
Butzi Porsche’s original concept. To appease the onslaught, the 996 Turbo was
the first of the ‘Gen2’ cars, benefitting from sharper edges on the headlights.
Aesthetically, the 996 Turbo was more aggressive-looking
than its Carrera siblings. Over two inches wider than the base car, its stance
was overtly muscular, especially when coupled with the deep front chin. Behind
each door sat an imposing air intake that fed air to the two intercoolers (a
first for any Turbo), while out back was another new development: active
aerodynamics. Gone was the ‘whale tail’ or ‘tea tray’, in their place a two-part
wing with an electrically activated top section, raising at over 75mph to
increase down force.
997.1 Turbo 2006 –
2009 engine
Despite the plethora of vents, grilles and down force-generating
devices, this was still one slippery Turbo, enjoying a drag coefficient of
0.31Cd, an improvement over the outgoing 993. When combined with a 3,600cc,
420bhp engine and an ever-improving four-wheel-drive system, this was the
fastest Turbo yet, hitting 62mph in 4.2 seconds before topping out at 189mph.
At the time it was the fastest production 911 ever produced and, thanks to the
Vario Cam Plus, the most tractable too. Between 2,700-4,600rpm, you could enjoy
the engine’s full compliment of torque as Porsche began to exploit the benefits
of turbocharging on a modern road-going 911.
You would think that with stats as fearsome as those, the
996 was the most brutish 911 Turbo since the original 930 3.0. If so, you would
be wrong. Its twin parallel KKK turbochargers, coupled with that flat torque
curve, mean that turbo lag is virtually non-existent. After the slightest of
delays, the 996 Turbo thrusts forwards with a continual shove that sets it
apart from its predecessors, and with the 996’s more spacious, leather-clad
interior, the 911 Turbo for the new millennium became even more versatile and
usable than ever before.
With the feel-some, hydraulically assisted steering, the 996
Turbo’s 1,540 kilogram mass is barely noticeable. If you do get things out of
shape, the car was the first 911 to feature Porsche Stability Management as
standard. It was truly a 911 Turbo for the 21st Century, only superseded upon
the release of the 997 Turbo at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show. Bigger, faster,
better was the mantra during the 997 Turbo era, although it could quite rightly
be applied to the entire 40-year spectrum of forced - induction 911s too.
