The 992 Porsche 911 Turbo S is the most capable 911 Turbo ever
The current 992-generation 911 is arguably the most useable 911 ever made. It’s damned fast, too. But that doesn’t mean more power and more speed wouldn’t be entirely welcome. Enter the new 992 911 Turbo S.
Making the already turbocharged 992 911 even faster wouldn’t be a particularly task, as a simple tune would likely yield a few hundred more horsepower. But Porsche hasn’t just turned the turbo up a few notches. Oh no.
First of all, the engine. It’s a 3.8-litre, twin-turbo flat-six based on that of the standard 992 Carrera. It has 650PS (640bhp) and 800Nm (592lb ft) of torque, the same torque as the new McLaren 765LT. Those gains come thanks to a redesigned charge-air cooling system, where radiators water-cool the air after it has passed through the turbos but before it heads into the engine, a larger, more efficient intake system (there are now four intakes…), and new, larger variable turbine geometry turbos (the turbine wheels measure 55mm, an increase of five millimetres). What’s more, all of that torque is permanently available from 2,500-4,500rpm, whereas max torque for the 991 Turbo S came during an ‘overboost’ function.
The result is a 0-62mph sprint time of 2.7 seconds, 0.2 seconds faster than the 991 Turbo S, and a top speed of 205mph.
The straight-line performance is impressive, but so are all of the changes Porsche has made elsewhere. The Carrera S body has been widened by 20mm, with all the aero tweaks combining to give 15 per cent more downforce, whilst the front axle has been stretched by 42mm and the rear axle by 10mm.
The front and rear wheel and tyres size are different for the first time, too, with 20-inch 255/35 tyres up front and 21-inch 315/30 tyres at the rear.
It’s all-wheel-drive, of course (one day there will be a stripped-out, rear-wheel-drive only 992 GT2 RS), and Porsche include carbon ceramic brakes as standard. The disks are larger than those of the Carrera S, and use 10-piston calipers at the front.
Porsche’s ‘PASM’ system, or ‘Porsche Active Suspension Management’, has had a going-over as well, with Porsche saying the adaptive dampers react more quickly and more precisely, reducing body roll.
Alongside the refreshed, muscular look on the outside, the interior is absolutely loaded with kit. There are 18-way adjustable sports seats, a full leather interior, carbon trim, a 10.9-inch central touchscreen, a BOSE sound system, Porsche’s Sport Chrono Package and the Porsche Track Precision App.
The price? £155,970 for the Turbo S, and £165,127 for the Turbo S Cabriolet. Considering what the Turbo S is capable of, that’s an awful lot of performance for the money. And now we wait for the standard Turbo…
Porsche
911
Geneva Motor Show
Geneva 2020
