FIRST DRIVE | Porsche 911 Turbo S combines devastating pace with everyday usability

Industrial-toned Porsches are clearly in vogue, judging by all the silver and grey cars dominating Porsche’s Cape Town showroom.

Among the monochromatic herd, I almost didn’t recognise the car I’d come to test drive: the new 911 Turbo S. The coupé looked unassuming in its silver coat, which I found difficult to relate to the fiery performance figures Porsche quotes for it.

Sure, the Turbo S has a wider body and track than a 911 Carrera, ventilation openings on the rear wheel arches, an active front diffuser, and an extendable rear wing to boost its street presence, but compared to some flamboyant sports cars, it looks positively demure.

Like the exterior, the cabin is subtly spruced up with contrasting elements finished in Turbonite, a colour reserved for Porsche Turbo variants, but the overall vibe is reserved and businesslike. No garishness here. Its toned-down styling reveals little about its performance potential, such that errant Lamborghini or Ferrari drivers might mistakenly see this Porsche as an easy target in a traffic-light duel.

But the latest Turbo S is the most powerful road legal 911 to date. It is moved along by a 3.6l twin-turbo petrol flat-six (boxer) engine that produces 471kW on its own, paired with an electric motor that contributes an extra 52kW of immediate electric boost and assists with seamless power-filling during gear shifts.

Total outputs from this T-Hybrid system are 523kW and 800Nm of torque, giving the Turbo S a quoted top speed of 322km/h and a 0-100km/h time of 2.5 seconds — the latter playfully displayed on the test car’s personalised plate. An eight-speed PDK transmission with an integrated electric motor sends power to Porsche’s Traction Management (PTM) all-wheel-drive system.

Exiting the dealership into the busy urban bustle, the relatively unassuming styling was matched by a civilised nature. This is no firm-riding Porsche GT3 that seems to always strain at the leash to be set loose like a fox terrier after a rabbit. The 911 Turbo S has a compliant, comfortable ride with its active suspension set to normal, while its smooth throttle action makes it easy to guide through stop-start traffic.

It even has a front-axle lift system that can store locations using the navigation system, automatically raising the front end when the car approaches a memorised spot to prevent scraping. It is a docile and well-mannered sports car you can commute with day to day, but it’s capable of searing performance.

When we cleared the city and hit the accelerator hard for the first time, the surge was instant and brutal. With the petrol-electric powertrain working in harmony, there’s no hesitation as the Porsche flies out the starting blocks like a racehorse.

On a quiet, flat road in the countryside, we conducted an acceleration run using a Vbox, and the car posted a 0-100km/h time of 2.52 seconds, matching Porsche’s claim. We conducted a few runs, and they all delivered similar times, helped by all-wheel-drive traction and a launch control system that’s easy to use.

Switching off the aircon to conduct the 0-100 runs evoked my only real criticism of the car. It took a minute or so to work out how to switch it off, as the function is buried in the infotainment system. Porsche has made some everyday functions unnecessarily dependent on the touchscreen.

Those minor irritations are quickly forgotten when you experience what the car can do.

The intensity of the acceleration makes the 911 Turbo S an exhilarating drive. The tractable engine delivers heaps of torque without needing to chase the redline, and the PDK transmission snicks through gears with seamless precision.

The car is fitted with 325/30 ZR21 tyres at the rear and 255/35 ZR20s at the front, and the wide rubber whooshing over the tar is the most prominent sound as you drive. A titanium sports exhaust raises the engine’s aural charisma, but the car isn’t outrageously vocal like the normally aspirated GT3. For a sports car, the sound is relatively restrained, but it fits the Turbo S’s character of offering immense pace without sacrificing civility.

The 911 Turbo S is armed for twisty roads with an electro-hydraulically controlled Dynamic Chassis Control to reduce body roll, and it carved through a snaking mountain pass with grip and poise.

Active front cooling air flaps and an active front diffuser work with an active front spoiler and an extendable, tilting rear wing to reduce drag or lift as driving conditions demand. This reduces the drag coefficient of the coupé by up to 10% compared to its predecessor.

Impressive traction and direct steering allow the 911 Turbo S to be placed with precision, yet it does all this without a spine-jarringly hard ride or twitchy steering on imperfect roads. Its ability to remain agile while soaking up bumps again underlines its Jekyll-and-Hyde nature.

Ceramic composite brakes on 420mm front and 410mm rear discs come standard and provide fade-free stopping power after repeated hard braking.

The hybrid system adds 85kg, but a hike in power and improvements to the driving dynamics compensate for the extra weight, resulting in the new 911 Turbo S lapping the Nürburgring Nordschleife in a time of 7:03.92 minutes — 14 seconds faster than its predecessor.

The new 911 Turbo S isn’t as viscerally exciting as a GT3, and that wasn’t Porsche’s intention. As a flagship of the 992.2 generation, it’s a car that sets the bar in blending performance, comfort and everyday usability.

The 911 Turbo S coupé comes standard as a two-seater priced at R5,722,000, with rear seats optionally available at no cost. The Cabriolet, priced at R5,991,000, is only offered in a 2+2 seat configuration.

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