Wheels Petrolhead survival guide!

GLOBAL PANDEMICS REALLY CAN PUT THE BRAKES ON THINGS MOTORING ENTHUSIASTS LOVE. BUT BEING STUCK IN ISOLATION DOESN’T HAVE TO BE A COMPLETE PASSION KILLER. JUST FOLLOW SOME FRIENDLY ADVICE…

- CAMERON KIRBY, TRENT GIUNCO & TONYO ’KANE

WHAT WAS I expecting of this new-generation 911 Turbo? I had just blasted up the Angeles Crest Highway and arrived at a turnout in a Porsche 992 Carrera 4S, grinning and giggling the whole way up.

Climbing into the Turbo S, I was anticipating that same C4S hand-in-glove experience. They’re both 911s, after all. But with 147 extra kilowatts, the Turbo provides an added urgency that simply erases straights. And there’s so much more to a Turbo S than mere squirt-between corners acceleration. It’s as if during its development, the Turbo spent time with the team in Flacht before being released to the wild. I wasn’t expecting that.

Flacht is the state-of-the-art motorsport complex adjacent to the main Porsche development centre in Weissach. It’s where every Porsche race car is born, and also where the hardcore, lightweight, track-intended versions of the 911, the GT2 RS and GT3 RS, are conceived.

My instincts turn out to be correct. Frank-Steffen Walliser, who was responsible for GT racing at Porsche, became head of the 911 and 718 model lines in 2019. In an interview, Walliser explained the balancing act and ultimate priority of the 911 Turbo: “Day-to-day usability, for sure. This quality distinguishes the 911 Turbo from all other high-performance sports cars. At the same time – and this was the second development goal – it has to render you speechless from time to time.” Mission accomplished, Herr Doktor Walliser.