For all its ability to do the everyday
driver role, however, l imagine most people don't just buy a Turbo as a
convenient means of transport. Or perhaps most do, but some don't. Either way,
it's capable of more. Press the Sport Plus button and rather like a Veyron (or
Christian Bale's Batmobile) it enters what feels like 'attack mode'. A graphic
warns you that ground clearance is reduced because the car's chin has now
sprouted a previously hidden front spoiler. The rear wing also deploys fully
and the suspension tightens considerably. The Turbo is actually stiffer and
shorter on travel than I was expecting even in normal mode. It's in no way
uncomfortable, because the damping is simply brilliantly controlled, but it's
certainly firm, and over sharper humps and ridges you can feel the wheels
leaving the ground.
Strong
horizontal bars help to clean the airflow on the way into the radiators and add
some visual beef to the Turbo's front end
Grip seems unfathomably strong,
particularly with the roll-killing Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control fitted to
this car ($3,710). The system has managed to rid itself of the turn-in
uncertainty that we felt in early iterations, which is good, but in full sport
chassis mode it still robs the 991 of almost every last tangible shred of
rear-engined balance. That's obviously the intention, and in some ways it's
hugely impressive, but I prefer the marginally more loose-limbed feeling when
the suspension and PDCC are in their default setting and I suspect I'd like it
even more if it was devoid of PDCC entirely.
It
isn't just the wings that are further widened on the Turbo; so too are the
lights set closer to the edge
I could be even more antiquated and say
that I'd like to have a manual gearbox (I remain a big fan of the 997 gen1 Turbo
with a manual 'box), but realistically the current car is simply too fast for a
manual and in a time when the GT3 is PDK-only, the Turbo was never
realistically going to be available with three pedals. The Turbo's PDK hasn't
got the fist-tight intensity of the GT3 'box, but it is extremely impressive
nonetheless, whether shifting for itself or being paddled by you. Do you notice
the new 'virtual' intermediate gears (whereby the PDK slips the clutches on two
gears simultaneously in low-rev situations, with no added wear)? Not really,
although in its normal setting it does shuffle up to sixth or seventh at
incredibly low speeds.
The
engine benefits from direct injection, twin turbochargers and an aluminium
block and heads
Below 30mph is where you notice the
rear-wheel steering, too. Turn in hard to a side road (or hairpin) and it feels
like someone's lopped a foot out of the wheelbase, such is the speed and
agility with which it scoots round. The steering is a problem down a B-road,
though, because while it's beautifully accurate it definitely lacks in feel and
feedback, which is sometimes a bit unnerving at the speeds the Turbo is capable
of turning into a corner.
Ultimately, if going fast for East's sake
is what you enjoy then the Turbo is your sort of car. As Jethro Bovingdon
observed when he drove the S on the launch in Germany, it feels like it could
be interesting in the corners but you need a track and a wildly ambitious entry
speed if you're going to find the limit of grip. On the road, even under ridiculous
provocation out of tight bends, the Turbo simply digs in and fires you round
with mind-scrambling traction and lateral load. It's an amazing car for 'making
progress' as a result, but unlike the GT3, no matter how fast you go it never
feels like you can get under the Turbo's skin and get involved on a B-road.
Instead you find you're reduced to the role of guidance system or, as the
engineers probably view you, the weakest link.
A
911 Turbo isn't a 911 Turbo without a rear wing. It has three positions:
retracted, out, and out-and-tilted for maximum attack
For most of my few days with the Turbo l
loved it. To live with day to day, it is a sublime package if you can afford
it, and having that thrust of torque instantly and cleanly available in any situation
is addictive. It really is an everyday supercar. However, when you want to
escape the day-to-day and just enjoy a drive, although the Turbo will certainly
blow the cobwebs away, it feels too dynamically standoffish to be really
enjoyable. It might be a good choice of car to try and outrun the apocalypse,
but if it was likely to be my last tank of fuel I'd pick something else.
