THE BEST TURBO EVER?

HYPERBOLE ASIDE, WE WEREN’T EXPECTING THIS

- CHRIS WALTON

“So, back and to the left, as Jonny does. He had just driven the 992-generation 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S to our photo location on Los Angeles’ favorite twisty bit, Angeles Crest Highway. He lives a few miles from the base of the hill, so he knows this stretch of road by heart.

“Unreal! How did they do that? It’s a blend of what the 991.2 Turbo S was and a GT3 RS,” I said. “It’s sharp, delicate, precise, talkative, but fast, too. I wasn’t expecting this at all. This is a driver’s car.”

“Yeah,” Jonny said. “This car should definitely be headed to our 2020 Best Driver’s Car.” What was I expecting? Before driving the new Turbo S, I had blasted up ACH and arrived at that turnout in a 992 Carrera 4S, grinning and giggling the whole way up. That version of the 911 has a fluidity and sense of always being there for you. It’s a lovely driving partner, cornering as fast as you dare and able to build and shed speed with confidence. The C4S and Turbo S both come armed with carbon-ceramic brakes, rear-steering axles (both optional on the Carrera), and all-wheel drive, but that’s where the similarities end.

Climbing into the Turbo S, I was expecting that same C4S hand-in-glove experience. But with 200 more hp (197, if you want to get technical), the Turbo provides an added urgency that erases straightaways. But there’s so much more to a Turbo S than squirt-between-corners acceleration. It’s as if during its development, the Turbo spent time in Flacht before being released into the wild.

Flacht, for those who don’t know, is the state-of-the-art motorsport complex adjacent to the main Porsche development center in Weissach, Germany. It’s where every Porsche race car and also the hardcore, lightweight, track-intended GT2 RS and GT3 RS versions of the 911 are born.