Vehicle Profile: The 2010 Porsche 911 Turbo

October 18, 2010

Overview

The 911 Turbo is evolution defined.

There is perhaps no car that clearly illustrates the benefits of the concept of continuous improvement than the Porsche 911, and in particular, the Turbo. Nearly 50 years after the debut of the original 911 and 35 years on from the first Turbo, the 2010 edition is the fastest and most powerful street 911 yet.

Anyone who was put into suspended animation right after seeing the original 1963 Porsche 911 and then revived in 2010 would almost certainly recognize the latest edition as a direct descendant. The 2010 911 Turbo (MSRP starting at $135,500) is the beneficiary of nearly six decades of technological and motorsports development. Today's engine is cooled by water rather than air, and has twice as many turbochargers, driven wheels and horsepower. Despite being vastly more powerful, the Turbo today is a much more civilized and easy to drive car than the 1975 Type 930 Turbo.

Just like that first Turbo, the new edition features a wide-body version of the standard 911 styling, particularly in the rear fenders. Producing large amounts of power requires large amounts of air, especially for combustion with the fuel. To better accommodate this, the 911 Turbo gets a pair of large intakes on the leading edge of the rear wheel arches, along with corresponding outlets in the lower rear corners to let heated air out. With a top speed of nearly 200 mph, managing the way air flows around the car is just as critical as how it flows through the bodywork. The original Turbo brought with it the original 911 "whale tail" spoiler; countless hours of wind-tunnel testing in the intervening years have refined that look into a dual-plane rear wing above the engine cover.

Typically, downforce generating wings like the unit on the Turbo also produce a lot of drag, which slows the car down. However, despite the large front and side air intakes, wide tires and the rear wing, Porsche engineers have managed to keep the Turbo's drag coefficient down to a very respectable 0.30. Another big change from the original Turbo was the addition, in 2000, of the Turbo Cabriolet, a variant that continues with the newest generation. The current 911 Turbo Cabriolet is among the fastest and most powerful convertibles in the world.

Over the years since the original 911 Turbo, the boxer-six has grown from 3.0 to 3.8 liters, gained a second turbocharger and gone from air to water cooling. Those early Turbos were considered very difficult to drive as a result of the turbo lag that came along with the single large turbocharger. Stepping on the gas was followed by a wait while the exhaust gases built enough pressure to spin up the turbo, followed by a blast of power. If that power suddenly came on in the middle of a corner, the Turbo could easily spin off into the weeds.

Today's Turbo has two smaller, variable geometry turbos that start to generate boost almost immediately and provide a smooth, seemingly inexorable flow of power. The new 2010 Turbo engine now also features the latest direct fuel injection system that provides more precise fuel delivery straight into the combustion chambers. The result is an additional 20 hp and 22 lb/ft of torque while at the same time consuming 16 percent less gasoline. The original Turbo was only available with a four-speed manual transmission, but the 2010 model gets six forward gears as standard.

For the first time, the Turbo is also available with the Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. The PDK can be left to shift for itself as a fully automatic unit, or the driver can snap off lightning-fast manual shifts. The PDK features a pair of thumb-operated up-down shift switches on the spokes of the standard steering wheel. The optional three-spoke sport steering wheel replaces these with large paddles behind the wheel.

Since 1995, 911 Turbos have always been equipped with full-time all-wheel drive systems that default to driving the rear wheels, and then automatically send torque to the front axle when the rears start to spin excessively. Today's Porsche Traction Management (PTM) system combines with the Porsche Stability Management (PSM) to manage the torque distribution for optimal handling under all conditions. The optional Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV) goes even farther by directing the side-to-side torque to help direct the car exactly where the driver wants to go. The optional Sport Chrono Package adds a special Launch Control Mode that manages wheel slip on high-grip surfaces for the fastest possible launch.

Drivers that opt for the fully manual, three-pedal configuration can get to 60 mph from a standing start in a mere 3.4 seconds while the PDK gearbox with the Sport Chrono Package drops that time to a lightning-fast 3.2 seconds. More importantly, all of this power is available in a way that allows drivers who aren't professional racers to drive quickly without the risk of the car snapping into a spin without notice.

Continuous improvement truly is a good thing. Contact us today to learn more about the 911 and schedule an appointment.