Porsche 911 Turbo S (2011)

The two turbochargers with variable turbine geometry (VTG) are absolutely unique in the market, used only by Porsche on petrol engines. Again exclusive to the 911 Turbo and the 911 Turbo S, this charge technology with variable turbine blades enables the engine to run at a maximum exhaust temperature of approximately 1,000° C or 1,830° F. And last but certainly not least in this context, the performance potential of the new Porsche 911 Turbo S is accentuated in particular by the very sporting sound of the engine.

This sporting sound is generated above all with the Sport and/or Sport Plus button pressed down to modify the adjustable blades on the turbochargers as well as the ignition angle. A clear visual sign of the enhanced power and performance offered by the new model is the upgraded design of the engine compartment with the air filter housing made of carbon and bearing an aluminium trim cover with the proud designation "turbo S".

Transmission of power by double-clutch gearbox and all-wheel drive

The power of the engine in the new Porsche 911 Turbo S is conveyed as standard by a seven-speed Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK Porsche Double-Clutch Gearbox). Likewise as a standard feature, the gearbox is controlled manually by gearshift paddles on the three-spoke sports steering wheel.

This trendsetting transmission technology first developed by Porsche back in the '80s and originally conceived for motorsport, allows an extremely fast gearshift without the slightest interruption of traction for significantly improved acceleration. The feeling the driver enjoys in the process is even more agile and dynamic.

Gears 1-6 are set for extra-sporting performance, with the car reaching its top speed in sixth gear. Seventh gear comes with a longer ratio, reducing both engine speed and fuel consumption and at the same time enhancing the sound of the engine and noise comfort particularly on long distances.

Active PTM Porsche Traction Management with a particularly dynamic set-up ensures an efficient split of engine power to the four wheels. In practice, therefore, PTM combines the driving pleasure so typical of a Porsche with its engine at the rear and rear-wheel drive with even greater driving stability, traction and agile handling. To provide this effect, PTM feeds the appropriate share of engine power in each situation through a multiple-plate clutch to the front wheels. As soon as the driver presses the Sport button, on the other hand, the share of power conveyed to the front wheels decreases accordingly, the Turbo S behaving even more like a rear-wheel-drive model and therefore offering a particularly sporting set-up.

Making the necessary adjustments within 100 milliseconds at the very most, PTM is faster than the response of the engine to any change in load as well as the perception of the driver. As a result, Porsche all-wheel-drive virtually looks ahead, ensuring precise agility on narrow country roads, excellent traction and superior driving safety even in extreme manoeuvres at very high speeds.

Given these qualities, Porsche Traction Management is one of the most efficient, high-performance and lightest all-wheel-drive systems in the market.

Porsche Torque Vectoring for even more precise behaviour in bends

The Porsche 911 Turbo S also comes as standard with PTV Porsche Torque Vectoring made up of a mechanical rear axle differential and variable division of engine torque at the rear through appropriate intervention of the brakes on the inner rear wheel.

Using these features, PTV improves both driving dynamics and agility not only when entering, but also when driving round a bend, particularly on wet and snowbound surfaces.

Another advantage of PTV again in bends is that the driver is able to take a bend even faster and in superior style.

The mechanical rear axle differential included in the Porsche Torque Vectoring Package comes with an asymmetric locking effect (22 per cent under power, 27 per cent in overrun). Particularly when driving to the limit, this ensures higher traction on changing surfaces, enhanced driving stability under load change in a bend, and greater agility in bends when driving with a high level of lateral acceleration.

All these qualities make PTV the ideal match for PSM Porsche Stability Management. For while PSM intervenes in the brakes to stabilise the car, PTV intervenes in the brakes to actively increase driving dynamics. Accordingly, PTV still intervenes in the brakes when Porsche Stability Management is deactivated (PSM OFF), ensuring agile and dynamic driving behaviour also under such circumstances.

Sports Chrono Package Turbo with dynamic engine mounts

Featuring the Sports Chrono Package Turbo as standard together with dynamic engine mounts, the new 911 Turbo S is able to offer an even higher level of performance. This unique package, through the Sport and Sport Plus settings, allows the driver of Porsche's new top-of-the-range sports car to choose even more sporting gearshift strategies for PTM, PSM, PASM, the dynamic engine mounts, and PDK. At the same time the Launch Control function enables the driver to accelerate from a standstill with full power for supreme per-formance, the process of acceleration being controlled both through the slip on the drive wheels and through controlled torque management on the clutch. And last but not least, the package also includes an analogue stopwatch on the instrument panel, a Performance Display in the PCM Porsche Communication Management, as well as an individual memory.

The Sports Chrono Package Turbo is rounded off by dynamic engine mounts. Using a magnetisable fluid and an electrically modified magnetic field, the variable engine mounts enhance both driving performance as well as driving and vibration comfort. To provide this effect, they automatically change their stiffness and damping as a function of driving conditions. When accelerating fast or in a rapid succession of bends, for example, the dynamic engine mounts connect the power unit and the car to one another in a very stiff set-up largely eliminating any unwanted forces generated by the engine moving. When driving straight-ahead under relaxed conditions, on the other hand, the engine mounts largely separate the power unit from the body of the car in the interest of even greater driving control and noise comfort.

Active suspension with ceramic brakes and wheels with central locking

The suspension of the new Porsche 911 Turbo S is largely the same as on the 911 Turbo, offering the complete range from particularly sporting and dynamic to a most comfortable set-up provided by variable PASM Porsche Active Suspension Management.

The wheel mounts on the front axle have been modified on the new model, with the pivot point on the tie rod raised up by 4.5 millimetres or 0.18" to reduce any kinematic change in front-wheel castor with the wheel moving up and down in the inbound and rebound stroke. This further improves both the car's agility and steering precision and ensures even greater driving stability when braking on a rough surface.

The new Porsche 911 Turbo S comes as standard with PCCB Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes. Featuring this high-tech material, the brakes respond even faster than otherwise, ensure supreme stability to fading through a consistent frictional coefficient, and are largely immune to corrosion.

Despite their larger brake discs, the PCCB brakes weight approximately 19 kg or 42 lb less than the grey-cast iron brake discs featured as standard on the 911 Turbo.

The PCCB brakes are clearly recognisable through their brake callipers finished in yellow and are easy to identify through the19-inch RS Spyder wheels with central locking likewise featured as standard on this outstanding model.

Top equipment with bending lights and adaptive sports seats

With its wide range of features and equipment, the new Porsche 911 Turbo S is based on the sophisticated features already offered on the 911 Turbo, with a number of additional functional and exclusive components. As an example, the new S-model comes as standard with dynamic bending lights featuring Porsche's striking interior styling within the headlights and a dual lens projector. Adjusting to the course of the road ahead as of a speed of approximately 10 km/h or 6 mph, the headlights improve the level of illumination and allow the driver to recognise the course of the road and possible obstacles in the dark particularly on winding roads.

To ensure a broad light footprint in an upcoming bend, the inner headlight in a bend adjusts by 15°, the outer headlight by 7°.

It almost goes without saying that the new Porsche 911 Turbo S comes with adaptive sports seats providing even better side stability and, over and above the adjustment of all seat functions as well as adjustment of the lumbar support, allowing additional electrical adjustment of the side support around the driver's and passenger's upper and lower legs.

Likewise featured as standard, the memory function on the driver's seat includes both exterior mirrors as well as all settings on the driver's seat with the exception of the side supports. Further highlights are cruise control as well as a six-CD/DVD-changer integrated as standard in PCM Porsche Communication Management.

Exclusive range of colours within the interior

The range of leather upholstery featured as standard in the new Porsche 911 Turbo S comes in two twin-tone colour combinations: Black/Crema and Black/Titanium Blue, both combined with Black as the basic colour.

On these new colour combinations, both the door panels and the centre sections of the seats both front and rear come in Crema and, respectively, Titanium Blue.

These particularly attractive colour schemes have been developed specifically for the new Porsche 911 Turbo S and are rounded off by stitching and seams in a matching colour. And last but certainly not least, the 911 Turbo S is naturally available with virtually all options, which also come on the 911 Turbo.

The History of the Porsche 911 Turbo S

Ever since the early days of the Porsche 911, the letter "S" (Sport) behind the model designation has highlighted a particularly sporting high-performance version of this outstanding sports car.

At the 1992 Geneva Motor Show Porsche for the first time presented a turbocharged model bearing this coveted letter: the 911 Turbo S in the 964 model series. With its 381-horsepower engine, this outstanding sports car marked the top level of performance on all versions of the 911 Turbo with their 3.3-litre power unit. In technical terms it was based on the 911 Turbo raced successfully in 1991 by Hurley Haywood in the Supercar Series.

The road version was to be recognised on the outside through its side air intakes at the rear and the flatter rear wing. Through its level of equipment and special modifications, the Porsche 911 Turbo S at the time was a substantial 180 kg or 396 lb lighter than the "regular" Turbo.

A modified camshaft, upgraded intake ducts, a slight increase in charge pressure and the optimised ignition and injection system increased engine power to no less than 381 hp, accelerating the car from a standstill to 100 km/ in 4.6 seconds and allowing a top speed of 290 km/h or 180 mph. The only "drawback" in this small production series of just 86 units was the price of the car amounting to DM 295,000.-.

In 1993 Porsche offered the 911 Turbo S Le Mans GT as a genuine racing model for long-distance races based on GT regulations. Built by the Racing Department in Weissach, this very special car was sold to customer teams entering the new GT class in long-distance races.

As the pioneer in turbo technology, Porsche opted at the time for a biturbo power unit displacing 3.16 litres and delivering maximum output of 474 hp despite its air restrictor. A particular highlight versus former 911 racing cars was the intake of fresh air through the outer edges of the rear wing.

This new GT racing car made its debut and passed its first test in the 12 Hours of Sebring, Walter Röhrl, Hans-Joachim Stuck, and Hurley Haywood at the wheel of the 911 Turbo S Le Mans GT not only bringing home class victory, but also finishing seventh overall against numerous competitors in the C-class.

It was not until August 1997 that the Plant's Exclusive Department offered a new 450-hp top model as the Turbo S version of the 993 version of the 911. Selling at a price of over DM 300,000.-, this high-performance sports car boasted an Aerokit with a modified front and rear spoiler as well as side air intakes at the rear.

Within the interior, full leather and carbon clearly symbolised the exclusivity of this Turbo S built only 345 times.

Jeff Zwart, the US racing driver, clearly proved at the wheel of this car that exclusivity and sporting performance need not preclude each other, winning the legendary Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado, USA, at the wheel of his Porsche 911 Turbo S in 1998.

In May 2004 - introduction of the new 997 series of the 911 was just around the corner - Porsche enhanced the 996 model series through the introduction of the Turbo S. This S-version was characterised in particular by the even greater power of the engine as well as PCCB brakes featured as standard.

Larger turbochargers and an intercooler as well as upgraded engine electronics gave this outstanding model maximum output of 450 hp and a top speed of 307 km/h (190 mph). Selling at a price of Euro 142,250.-, the Porsche 911 Turbo S was referred to by AutoBild, the German car journal, as a genuine "bargain", since the premium of Euro 13,572 over the regular Turbo included not only an extra 30 horsepower, but also PCCB brakes featured as standard as well as a CD changer.

Specifications Porsche 911 Turbo S Coupé

• Capacity: 3800 cc
• Bore: 102 mm/4.02"
• Stroke: 77.5 mm/3.05"
• Compression Ratio: 9.8:1
• Engine Output: 390 kW (530 bhp) at 6250-6750 rpm
• Max Torque: 700 Nm/516 lb-ft from 2100-4250 rpm
• Output per Litre: 102.6 kW/139.5 bhp
• Max Engine Speed: 7000 rpm
• Fuel Grade: Premium Plus
• Dimensions
  • Length 4450 mm/175.2"
  • Width: 1852 mm/72.9"
  • Height: 1300 mm/51.2"
  • Wheelbase: 2350 mm/92.5"
  • Track
    • front: 1490 mm/58.7"
    • rear: 1548 mm/60.9"
  • Luggage capacity
    • front: 105 ltr/3.7 cu ft
    • rear: 190 ltr/6.7 cu ft
  • Tank capacity: 67 ltr/14.7 imp gals
• Unladen weight, DIN: 1585 kg
• Max permissible weight: 1950 kg
• Performance
  • Top speed: 315 km/h/195 mph
  • 0-100 km/h: 3.3 sec
  • 0-200 km/h: 10.8 sec
• Fuel Consumption (NEDC)
  • Urban: 16.5 ltr/100 km
  • Extra-urban: 8.1 ltr/100 km
  • Combined: 11.4 ltr/100 km
• CO2 Emissions: 268 g/km
• Emission Rating: Euro 5