Once upon a time, the Porsche 911 was a dangerous, tail-happy hooligan that was difficult to keep in check.
Like a high-strung thoroughbred, it felt like it was always looking for a way to buck its rider (or driver) clean out of the seat.
Over the intervening four decades, Porsche's forced-induction rocket ship has grown kinder and gentler with every iteration. The company introduced four-wheel drive to get the power to the ground and split the large, laggy single turbocharger into two smaller ones. They added in clever traction and stability control, and harnessed lag even further with variable turbine geometry: a technology that changes the aerodynamics of what's happening inside the turbo depending on speed.
This most recent 911 variant is dubbed the 991, and in other formats, the critics have spurned it as being a bit too much of a grand tourer. It's larger, it's more comfortable, and it's the most refined 911 yet.
But, with this newest 911 Turbo, have Porsche's efforts to tame their turbocharged beast driven the spirit out of their rangetopping car? Let's find out.
Design
Porsche launched this latest generation of their half-century-old sporting 2+2 to a mixture of ooohs and hmms. There's no doubt that the new car was a modern take on that classic rear-engined shape, but it was also a bit too long from some angles, and perhaps not quite as pretty as the outgoing 997.
Count me among those who didn't love the 991 at first, but also count me among the converted. In Turbo form, the 991 looks like it was always supposed to - the extra width of the rear haunches balances out the length of the car, and the raised tail gives the profile heft to match the otherwise-gigantic 20-inch multi-spoke alloys.
Yes, it's not that wildly different from other 911s, but that's part of the Turbo's charm. It is the highest-performance spec, but it doesn't have the ostentation of a Ferrari or Lamborghini, or the visual brutality of a Nissan GT-R.
Environment
There's absolutely no reason why you couldn't live with this car on a dayto-day basis, as far as the interior is concerned. At least, that's assuming you got the options list right.
The keyless entry used to get into this tester, for instance? That'd be optional, to the tune of $1,250. Leaving aside how much customization Porsche allows - and charges for - the cabin of the 911 turbo is not much different from the standard 911. Perhaps that's why the gauges so prominently feature a scripted "Turbo" and vehicle silhouette when you fire the thing up.
However, that's a good thing. The seating position of the 911 is just about perfect, nice and low, with a bit more space inside for the taller driver than there has been in the past. The rear seats are also larger, and while there's no way adults will be happy back there, this marks the first generation where there are approved child seats that fit. The U.S. market always had them, but Canadian kid seats were tough to find.
Sightlines are good, and Porsche's infotainment system is easy to use. Central to the dash is a seven-inch touchscreen and in a nice throwback touch, you can even tune the radio with the rightmost knob.
Porsches have always had something of a spartan feel to them, but the turbo is more like a two-seater Panamera than anything else. The fit and finish is exemplary, the seats are grippy, yet comfortable, and were not this tester swathed in Carrera-red leather, you could almost say it was quite reserved in here.
Performance
When it comes to blistering on-ramp acceleration, the 911 Turbo is completely nuts. Its twin-turbo 3.8-litre flat-six is pumping out 520 horsepower, or more than twice what the original 911 Turbo made. That's an insane amount of power for a smallish sportscar like this.
Apart from the brief sloshing of your internal organs as they struggle to keep up with the G-forces, there's not a lot of drama here. Over the years, driving a 911 Turbo has gone from catching a tiger by the tail to stroking a pussycat. It's blisteringly fast, but it doesn't put a wheel wrong - you can hardly believe the speed with which the numbers on the dash climb.
There's also launch control, just in case you wanted to pop over to the dragstrip. Simply press the button marked Sport Plus, and stand on first the brake and then accelerator. Now let off the brake. 0-100 kilometres per hour comes in just 3.2 seconds, and beyond that - well, that's for you to find out on the track. Stupendous stuff, but delivered all in a safe, almost clinical manner.
You can no longer buy a 911 Turbo with a manual transmission, but that's a good thing, frankly. The seven-speed PDK dualclutch transmission is a better fit for this titan of technology than a clutch and stick would be. Moreover, I don't think most folks' legs could keep up with the speed.
Harnessing all the sturm und drang is a very clever all-wheel-drive system capable of shunting power for and aft via an electrically controlled central differential, as well as from side to side when cornering. There's also PDCC: a hydraulically actuated suspension system that reduces body roll and controls camber in the curves.
Together, it all works like a bionic extension of the driver, while at the same time slightly isolating the driver from the raw elements of travelling very quickly. It's really quite comfortable, and as it's crammed with every feature from high-end audio to multi-adjustable seating, the 911 Turbo is just as happy to ferry you crosscontinent as it is to claw its way through the corners at the world-class track of your choice. It's a nicely appointed cruise missile, an ICBM that's been to finishing school.
If you want a more driver-focused 911, that's probably the GT3. The 911 Turbo is more of a renaissance car - capable of blitzing a track, picking up the kids from piano practice, and then driving to Los Angeles overnight. It's the do-everything promise of the 959 supercar brought to modern life.
Features
While navigation and other amenities are standard on this $169,200 car - and so they should be - the sky is the limit as to what else you can option. The $4,000 Burmeister premium audio makes for a lovely travel companion, for instance.
Park assist is a more reasonable $440, and then there are the options which are more requirement than indulgence: the $4,670 Sport Chrono and the $3,610 PDCC.
Even without the rider "for a 500+ h.p. supercar," the 911 Turbo is actually pretty good on gas. In city fuel economy is an achievable 12.2 litres/100 kilometres, and highway is an excellent 8.1 l/100 km.
Green light
Astounding acceleration; all-weather capabilities; everyday usability.
Stop sign
Expensive options; limited trunk space; pure speed rather than thrills.
The checkered flag
The most refined application of the turbo 911 ethos yet.
Competitor
Nissan GT-R: Porsche must be slightly unimpressed that the pinnacle of 911 evolution always gets compared to a Nissan. Well, it does, and too bad.
The mighty Nissan GTR appears for 2015 even faster and more pavementrending than before. If the 911 has become more refined and reserved with each passing year, Nissan's done the opposite with their blunt instrument of speed. It's now a sort of cyborg sledgehammer, big, powerful, and insanely fast.
But would you want to drive one clear across the country? Maybe not. The Nissan offers all the performance chops of the 911 Turbo, and at a much lower price, but the Porsche gives you the feel of a smaller sportscar, and an everyday level of refinement that's still enjoyable when you don't have a racing helmet on.
