From 0 to 100 km/h in just 2.9 seconds … This data turns me on the head while I’m going to the Porsche Centre of Padova, to pick up the top of the existing Porsche 911 range, the Turbo S. I have never driven anything that manages to break through the wall of 3s from 0 to 100 and I’m quite curious to hear what’s the effect. There are few cars in production today that are able to give you such performances and they are all supercar and hypercars of the highest level.

Let’s think about the fact that 10 years ago performances like that were only a dream for manufacturers, I only remember the Saleen S7 to do something similar, a monstrous American supercar delivering 760 hp in a Twinturbo version. It was a very rare car. This Porsche 911 Turbo S can give you this kind of emotion thanks to his 580 HP engine. In my opinion there’s no car that have the traction of a Porsche 911.

Also the style fits the behaviour of this car. While I look at it from the outside I remain impressed by the width of the wheel arches, wider than a Carrera 4 by 28 mm, by the monstrous disks of the carbon-ceramic brakes of 410 mm at the front and the large side air intakes that once on board continue to make their appearance in the mirrors. It does not go unnoticed even in the Rhodium Silver painting.

But how to reach so much traction? The engine on the back gives to the Porsche 911 Turbo S a distribution on the rear of about the 60% of the total weight on the drive wheels. Since the early 70s, in rallies on snow, when most of the cars were struggling to find traction, the Porsche 911 through the heavy tail could make better times. Today, on the Porsche 911 Turbo S, the weight distribution is not changed, there’s 580 HP and if the rear-wheels are spinning, the all wheel drive is used.

Obviously I can not resist, I will immediately try it from a standing start. I’ll give a short stroll to to heat the engine during which I can notice a great comfort at low speeds with the six-cylinder that is so quiet in Comfort Mode. In city traffic you move quickly enough keeping the engine between 900 and 1000 revolutions per minute, without the slightest jerk or jolt. Ready to fly out with 700 Nm of torque if necessary. I spend these minutes to take a look at the interiors.

Inside the usual atmosphere of perfection that is found in every Porsche reigns. Everything is covered in high-quality material. Leather, Alcantara and carbon cover all the interiors. The steering wheel is a work of art by 360 mm equipped with metal paddles for manual gear changes. The seat is able to contain people of any stature and you can adjust it in various positions electrically. Virtually impossible to find issues, burrs or defects. If you want to complain about something maybe this Porsche 911 Turbo S, being the top model, deserve a dedicated interior. No particular detail sets it apart from “normal” 911.

Meanwhile, the oil temperature has settled to an acceptable value. So I select the command in the steering wheel to Sport + mode. The engine sound becomes deeper and metal. Ready to launch.. The flat six starts to roar.

The tachometer rises dramatically stopping at an altitude of 7000 rpm and then the PDK gearbox shifts. The driver remains in a mixture of awe and excitement. The “victim” passenger who instead does not expect such a slingshots remains breathless. The sound is almost more aeronautical than from a car.

You can really feel that all the massive torque comes from the turbos. The effect of the two turbos is a constant presence throughout the acceleration and, unlike what you would expect from a turbo engine, never seems to end. You will be really impress about how much speed this car is able to deliver.

The brakes are on the same level of performance too, the braking distance is very short thanks to the huge carbon-ceramics system. The real problem is that this car accelerates at the same way it brakes. Typically, on a car everyday, the space for stopping by an “x” to zero speed is much less compared to that necessary to reach it. Not in this case, the performances of this Porsche 911 Turbo S deserves a lot of respect from the driver.

I’m searching for a twisty road, what it takes to enjoy the qualities of a sports car and put her at ease in the path that will surely prefer. Unfortunately I have to deal with before a boring highway. Hard not to keep paces from autobahn without using the cruise control. With each caress accelerator corresponds to a substantial forward thrust at any speed. At the highest speeds the comfort is always high, the rustlings are imperceptible and the warm voice of the six-cylinder engine is a good company. After the highway the real fun begins. Awesome the ease with which you successfully drive a car with 580 HP.

The chassis is so well done that despite the power, unless you provoke it voluntarily, you can not tell the difference with the electronic controls connected and disconnected. Driving clean is advisable whit this particular weight distribution. The engine is amazing, the brakes are perfect and they allow you to enter in the corners finely modulating the brake pedal while steering witch communicates everything that happens under the wheels. To complete this peace of art I must talk you about the rear-wheel steering.

Require you to get used from the first kilometres, but when you get used to it you will discover how much agile in the corners this car is. It’s time to compare it with the less extreme 911 4S that we tried. The Turbo S is a perfect car, amazing from the performance point of view and able to keep up, and perhaps being even better, with the current supercar on the market.

The 4S is more “civilized”, the performance are very high but far by the exuberance of the Turbo S. The sporty driving behaviour remains more or less similar, the Turbo S gives the impression of being more planted on the ground and the four wheel steering gives it great agility. The real deciding factor is the price. With EUR 211308 which rise to more than 216000 in the test model is so much more the 83000 EUR for a 4S. Of course, the Turbo S is full of options, but the difference remains large. In my opinion for a road usage the 4S has everything you need and perhaps is even more balanced. But certainly you will get a more exlusive car with the Porsche 911 Turbo S. So if you love the excitement of supersonic aircraft the Turbo S will be your ideal choice.

A special thanks to Parco di Migliarino, San Rossore, Massaciuccoli for letting us to do this photoshoot.

Text: Leonardo Stefani

Photos: Edoardo Mascalchi

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