Photo: Cory Wolfe
While the online debut of the 2017 Porsche 911 Turbo took place over one month ago and a real-world photo has already shown us the supercar, the time has come to meet the 991.2 Turbos on the Detroit Floor.
While last year Porsche brought the Targa GTS and the 8-minute (Nurburgring) Cayenne Turbo S to Cobo Hall, this year's story is all about the most powerful incarnations of the Neunelfer.
Porsche has been kind enough not to gift the Grey coupe with the optional centerlock wheels, so we can easily distinguish between this and the White 911 Turbo S Cabriolet.
Yes, that is correct - the two are the financial extremes of the Turbo line-up, with the first starting at $159,200 and the second coming with an MSRP of $200,400, not including the $995 destination charge.
Sure, Porsche may have boosted the price by $5,400 for the Turbo S and by an even more painful $8,100 for the Turbo, but the mid-cycle revamp brings plenty of tech goodies to talk about. The most important new feature comes in the form of an anti-lag system that brings the all-important instant response.
As opposed to the aggressive, turbocharger-consuming setup seen on rally cars, Porsche engineers went for a milder approach, basically turning the engine into an air pump during the overrun phase.
Take your foot off the gas in one of these Turbos and air will continue to flow into the cylinders. Since the air is compressed by the cylinders, this maintains the turbo's spinning state, thus minimizing lag.
Since the system's effect is more noticeable on the Sport and Sport Plus driving modes, your 911 won't deliver unexpected boost surprises during busy traffic moments.
In terms of numbers, the revised 3.8-liter flat-sixes at the back of these supercars now produce 540 hp and 523 lb-ft (710 Nm) for the Turbo, while delivering 580 hp and 553 lb-ft (750 Nm) for the Turbo S (there's an Overboost function ensuring the maximum torque values mentioned above are delivered).
With the Turbo S now sprinting to 60 mph (96 km/h) in 2.8s (0.1 seconds quicker than before), you can expect the real world times to be even better, so you should brace yourselves for a 2.6s sprint time.
When it comes to the maximum velocity, the supercar status is also fully covered, thanks to the 205 mph (330 km/h) value, which represents a 7 mph improvement. If you happen to skip the "S" when ordering the car, your Turbo will hit 60 mph in 2.9 seconds, while being able to hit a top speed of 198 mph (320 km/h).
The electronic aids that harness the power have also been updated, following similar moves introduced on the now-turbo 911 Carrera and Carrera S.
The most important change is the addition of a Sport Response button on the steering wheel, reminding us of the 918 Spyder. This makes the most out of the machine's sprinting potential for 20 seconds.
As for those drivers who felt the Sport Plus driving mode of the pre-revamp 911 Turbo was restrictive in terms of slip angle moves, the new Sport Mode of the Porsche Stability Management (PSM) allows for more serious drifting.
Other tech upgrades include a revised PASM that offers a greater spread between the Sport and Comfort settings, as well as standard Turbo S-sized wheels for the Turbo (the Turbo rims are now half an inch wider).
While the exterior changes are as limited as always in terms of Porsche "facelifts," the most notable cabin change targets the infotainment area. The new Porsche Communication Management (PCM) offers a 7-inch touchscreen display with features such as handwriting recognition and Wi-Fi connectivity.
Smartphone aficionados will have to get used to the idea that, while Apple CarPlay is now offered, Porsche has refused to include Android Auto, reportedly due to Google asking for too much information on the vehicle's side.
If you are one of the lucky customers, you should know the 2017 Porsche 911 Turbo is set to hit dealers across the US in April.
Porsche has been kind enough not to gift the Grey coupe with the optional centerlock wheels, so we can easily distinguish between this and the White 911 Turbo S Cabriolet.
Yes, that is correct - the two are the financial extremes of the Turbo line-up, with the first starting at $159,200 and the second coming with an MSRP of $200,400, not including the $995 destination charge.
Sure, Porsche may have boosted the price by $5,400 for the Turbo S and by an even more painful $8,100 for the Turbo, but the mid-cycle revamp brings plenty of tech goodies to talk about. The most important new feature comes in the form of an anti-lag system that brings the all-important instant response.
As opposed to the aggressive, turbocharger-consuming setup seen on rally cars, Porsche engineers went for a milder approach, basically turning the engine into an air pump during the overrun phase.
Take your foot off the gas in one of these Turbos and air will continue to flow into the cylinders. Since the air is compressed by the cylinders, this maintains the turbo's spinning state, thus minimizing lag.
Since the system's effect is more noticeable on the Sport and Sport Plus driving modes, your 911 won't deliver unexpected boost surprises during busy traffic moments.
In terms of numbers, the revised 3.8-liter flat-sixes at the back of these supercars now produce 540 hp and 523 lb-ft (710 Nm) for the Turbo, while delivering 580 hp and 553 lb-ft (750 Nm) for the Turbo S (there's an Overboost function ensuring the maximum torque values mentioned above are delivered).
With the Turbo S now sprinting to 60 mph (96 km/h) in 2.8s (0.1 seconds quicker than before), you can expect the real world times to be even better, so you should brace yourselves for a 2.6s sprint time.
When it comes to the maximum velocity, the supercar status is also fully covered, thanks to the 205 mph (330 km/h) value, which represents a 7 mph improvement. If you happen to skip the "S" when ordering the car, your Turbo will hit 60 mph in 2.9 seconds, while being able to hit a top speed of 198 mph (320 km/h).
The electronic aids that harness the power have also been updated, following similar moves introduced on the now-turbo 911 Carrera and Carrera S.
The most important change is the addition of a Sport Response button on the steering wheel, reminding us of the 918 Spyder. This makes the most out of the machine's sprinting potential for 20 seconds.
As for those drivers who felt the Sport Plus driving mode of the pre-revamp 911 Turbo was restrictive in terms of slip angle moves, the new Sport Mode of the Porsche Stability Management (PSM) allows for more serious drifting.
Other tech upgrades include a revised PASM that offers a greater spread between the Sport and Comfort settings, as well as standard Turbo S-sized wheels for the Turbo (the Turbo rims are now half an inch wider).
While the exterior changes are as limited as always in terms of Porsche "facelifts," the most notable cabin change targets the infotainment area. The new Porsche Communication Management (PCM) offers a 7-inch touchscreen display with features such as handwriting recognition and Wi-Fi connectivity.
Smartphone aficionados will have to get used to the idea that, while Apple CarPlay is now offered, Porsche has refused to include Android Auto, reportedly due to Google asking for too much information on the vehicle's side.
If you are one of the lucky customers, you should know the 2017 Porsche 911 Turbo is set to hit dealers across the US in April.
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