The thrust on tap up the circuit's
double-crested hill is mega and seemingly insatiable with the PDK holding on to
ratios right to the engine's 7,200rpm maximum, especially around the first half
of the track. Actual gear changes are brutally quick, firing home with a thud
on occasion. It's frenzied stuff. When it's all over and time for a cool down
lap, I disengage Sport Plus and it's as if someone has hit the PLAY button
cancelling out F/FWD. It's hard not to appreciate the duality of this car. One
minute you're a race car driver tearing around a track spitting fire and fury,
and the next you're a retired gentleman cruising the German countryside in an
automatic coupe.
Cabin
instruments still arrayed around a central tachometer as per the original.
Standard kit includes carbon-look trim on the doors and centre console and
Porsche's Sport design steering wheel with aluminium shift paddles
Just trundling through town, the slight
steering play around centre feels out of character but eliminates twitchiness
at higher speeds and is never a hindrance to fast accurate positioning on or
off the track. How much of that agility can be attributed to the rear wheel
steering I can't say, but I can testify to the car's unflappable stability as
well as its sense of low speed wieldiness - it turns on a pretzel when parking.
Below 50kph, those rears wheels pivot 2.8 degrees in the opposite direction to
the fronts, enabling a very un-supercar-like turning circle of just 10.6
metres. Also cleverly enhanced is the stop/start system with added coasting
mode and the ability to tum the engine off below 7kph. The result, along with
weight reduction measures, improved aerodynamics and engine management tweaks,
is a combined cycle fuel consumption 9.7 litres/100km, which is a 16%
reduction.
The
rear seats are best reserved for bags and packages
Parked back at the hotel, I give the new
Turbo's visual package a close inspection. Its best view is from the rear
three-quarter where the 100mm longer wheelbase and increased width harmonise
the proportions. Judged against the old car, the integration of the intercooler
outlets behind the wheels is neater, while the adaptive aero bits mean the
car's ground clearance goes up by 17mm to 156mm, vastly improving the approach
angle at the same time. The nose itself is pretty and clean, though hardly
dramatic. But then 911 Turbos have never featured much front end drama. It has
always been about the whale tail, the swollen rear 'arches and, more recently,
the intercooler intakes. Apart from the bionic spoiler, the other distinctive
elements are the quasi-military sci-fi headlamps.
Over-boost
increases the engine’s nominal 1.2 bar of turbocharger boost pressure to 1.4
bar
Optional on Turbo and standard on S, they
feature a DRL outer ring - punctuated by four LEDs encompassing two
articulated, LED-fired main lamp housings. Rounding off the aesthetics is a set
of two-tone 20-inch forged alloys with Porsche-crested hub locks.
So just how good is this new Turbo? In a
word-brilliant. It's a display of automotive genius with an IQ that is off the
charts. There's 40 years of honed heritage here and it shows in every area,
from handling to drivetrain to aerodynamics to clinical interior and exterior
design. It's one of those cars that is able to elevate the driving experience
from ordinary to sublime, generously sharing its genius with the driver. And
who doesn't like to look clever behind the wheel?
