I drove a $224,000 Porsche 911 Turbo S to find out if the greatest sport car ever made could set a new standard.
Greetings, Porsche 911 Turbo S! $224,000 worth of glorious-ness from Stuttgart, in a blue metallic paint job. Base price before extras was about $204,000.
I've been busy with the 992 installment of the 911 — prior to the Turbo S, I sampled the less expensive but extremely compelling 4S.
The 911's unmistakable design has been more or less unchanged since the early 1960s. Over the decades, however, the styling has become sleeker and more aggressive.
Longer, wider, but in the 2020s, flowing lines and none of the over-the-top touches that distinguished the 911 in the 1970s and 1980s.
For example, here's a 1979 911 that belonged to football great Walter Payton. More spoiler!
So the new Porsche 911 Turbo S doesn't lack for wing-age ...
... but this classic 911 feature is a high-tech wing. It can adjust to better manage the dynamic airflow over the vehicle, enhancing downforce.
A closer look.
Peek below the wing and you learn all you need to know about this beast and its nameplate.
The rear wing combines with a variable front spoiler lip and active cooling vents. In all, the Turbo S has been engineered to make maximum use of the torrents it generates from its impressive speed.
I was sort of amused by the European plate: "S GO!" And indeed, I did make this Turbo S go in the short time I had to test it.
Th 911 might have been continuously improved since 1963, but it remains a bug-eyed wonder. There's no getting around those signature headlights — it's a love 'em or hate 'em kind of deal.
I love 'em. And to their credit, these are lamps of staggering sophistication.
They're called "LED Matrix" headlamps, and the have a super-cool four-point running-light configuration. At night, they provide breathtaking illumination. (My tester also had a $2,400 night-vision feature as an option.)
As with all Porsches, while the front end is predictable, the rear end does not present a good angle.
The powerful haunches and the fastback roofline add some dynamic character, but they also exaggerate the sheer amount of back end that the 911 has.
On the plus side, the tail lights are scant daggers — incredibly crisp and sharp.
The dual sport exhaust ports are ... $3,400 extra.
Side vents are just for show.
Up front, we have 20-inch wheels, with 10-piston aluminum calipers and vented discs — a serious upgrade from the 911 4S's brakes.
Out back, we have 21-inch wheels, with 4-piston calipers and vented discs. The rubber for my tester was a sticky set of Pirelli P Zeroes.
The most annoying feature of the new 911 is the self-presenting door handle.
One of the world's top automotive badges.
911s aren't noted for cargo capacity. The front trunk can handle — maybe — a pair of overnight bags.
Emergency equipment is included and stowed.
I must report that, in one aspect, the 911 Turbo S is no different from any 911 we've reviewed: We can't show you the legendary boxer engine.
So trust me that an incredibly potent 640-horsepower, twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter flat-six lives under there, making 590 pound-feet of torque. Both numbers are significant increases on the previous-generation Turbo S: 60 more horses and 37 more pound-feet.
The power is sent to the Turbo S's all-wheel-drive system though an eight-speed dual clutch transmission. The shifter is a bit tricky to get used to. There's also a manual mode, with paddle shifters behind the steering wheel.
Let's slip inside!
The car invites you into its sanctum.
The slate-gray leather interior is rather minimalist for a car this expensive. Other tones are limited to brushed metal and piano-black surfaces, as well as some Alcantara.
Legroom isn't bad for the passenger but ...
... you can forget about comfort if you're in the 911's nominal back seat. This car has long been a 2+2 in theory more than practice.
The front seats are heated.
The interior details are almost studiously restrained.
Here's where all the action happens for the driver.
The combination digital-analog instrument cluster should be familiar to any Porsche enthusiast.
The tachometer is front-and-center.
An analog speedometer is off to the left.
The right-hand cluster can be customized to display various kinds of information, using a thumbwheel.
Here's night vision, for example.
And GPS navigation.
The chronograph is a cool feature. You can clock 0-60 times, or time laps.
It syncs to the famous stopwatch that's located in the middle of the dashboard.
Drive modes are Normal, Sport, Sport-Plus, and Individual. Punch the center button and you get a timed boost — but the max turbo output in the Turbo S is now available at all times, not just when the boost is activated.
Paddle shifters are solid, yet subdued.
In Sport-Plus, you can really hammer the Turbo S, and you'd better be prepared for some serious kicks in the spine.
The starter is still on the left side, but Porsche has dispensed with using the key fob as an ignition key.
The fob is 911-shaped!
Storage? Ha! That's what the back seats are for!
The HVAC controls are all straightforward.
What's this?
Yes, it's the worst cupholder in the automotive world.
My tester car came with a $4,000 Burmester premium audio system that ... didn't actually sound that great. I don't have an explanation — this is among the finest audio setups money can buy.
Infotainment runs off a central touchscreen that's bright and responsive.
In my limited time with the Turbo S, I had no issues. The infotainment system offers Bluetooth pairing, USB device connectivity, and navigation.
So what's the verdict?
In the 911 hierarchy, the Turbo S is the top dog, sitting atop the Carrera and GTS ranges. The $200,000-plus price tag is daunting, but for the most serious drivers, the Turbo and Turbo S are the pinnacle of Porsche-ness.
You already know that the new 911 Carrera 4S is the best 911 I've ever driven. Obvious next question: Is the Turbo S better?
Hard one to answer. The 4S is about as much car as I want on civilian roadways. The Turbo S is, to be honest, is too much. This car wants a race track in the worst possible way.
As you make your way up the 911 ladder, you go from sublime motoring to something approaching a brutal subduing of the asphalt beneath your Pirellis. In the Turbo S, it's a hell of a ride.
When you lay it down, it's a mighty hammer — but with no muscle-car feeling about it. The whole fiery affair is just ... so ... balanced. This is and always has been 911's thing: so much fury, yet controlled. I mean, I absolutely blasted into some tight corners, hit the brakes hard, then got right back on the throttle as I input some intense steering and the Turbo S simply absorbed it and stuck its nose back into the wall of air that it was slicing through.
A pro driver could unsettle the 911 Turbo S. Probably. I couldn't. Definitely.
The insanely stable 4S comes off as downright tossable by comparison with the Turbo S. You are, in a word, stuck to the pavement in the Turbo, despite the wail of the boxer six behind you and persistent sense that there must be somehow, some way to get the rear tires to surrender adhesion. But no, the grip is endless.
The speed is staggering: o-60 mph in 2.6 seconds, according to Porsche, and possibly 2.5, according to me. The top speed is 205 mph, but passing the legal speed limit, however briefly, might make you think you've bent time.
As with the 4s, the Turbo S has quite a workable punch. You have excellent torque command in all eight gears, although the action happens in three-through-five. The burbles and gurgles are present, sonically augmented, and at their nastiest in Sport-Plus. But a Lamborghini this isn't; the power is visceral rather than auditory.
The 911 has become a platform for incredibly wide experimentation at Porsche. It's remarkable that a "bad" design — Who puts and engine over the back wheels? — has been so compellingly evolved to the sort of objective magnificence that the Turbo S offers.
It's much too much for daily life. But if you want to be impressed, impressed, impressed — stunned, even, into stupefied admiration — then the 2020 Porsche 911 Turbo S is your chariot.
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