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2007 Porsche 911 Turbo Road Test

What's better than spending a week with Porsche's wunderbar 911 Turbo? I wouldn't have thought anything could have topped

Thanks to Porsche's local rep giving the 911 Turbo back to me for a photo shoot on this beautiful, sunny day, I had the opportunity to drive it on dry roads. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

seven days with one of the Stuttgart automaker's quickest, even though the weather was so bad that I didn't have the opportunity to photograph it, but getting an extra day for a photo session just before it went back to the brand's Atlanta, Georgia HQ was the proverbial icing on the cake.

The bright yellow example Porsche provided glowed brighter than the late spring sunshine, a combination that shone so vividly that my polarizing filter was the only way to keep the gleam in control. Certainly, it's not a car for shy, introspective types. No, this one pulls eyeballs no matter where it goes, even in this city where regular 911s are ... well ... let's just say extremely popular. And, of course, there's a reason for that popularity. More than one, actually. Besides being stoically reliable and extremely good looking, it might just be the finest sports car ever made, period. At least it's the most venerable, wowing wannabes while luring in the world's wealthy for some forty three years now, the legendary Turbo pulling in the wealthier of the wealthy since 1975.

That 234-horsepower 930 (as it was internally named) was outrageously quick in its day, flashing past the 60 mph mark in about 5.0 seconds before topping out at a terminal speed of 156 mph, and managing the corners in between like few other cars, and no rear-engine sports car had ever done before. The tires in back were astonishingly fat, wrapped in a wide-body fuselage responsible for coining the phrase Coke-bottle shape when referring to cars, not girls. The 930 Turbo was wild, often unruly and even a bit dangerous ... ok, a lot dangerous when either getting on the throttle mid-corner, where time-delayed turbo-lag sometimes caused inexperienced owners to keep pressing the pedal for more power and, when that power finally came in a vengeance, launch the front wheels right off the ground, the loss of adhesion throwing the car into a barrier or off of a road in overwhelming understeer, or just as disturbing, the point where those wonderfully large rear tires finally and abruptly broke loose, sending the car into

These powerful brakes come in very handy... (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

that same barrier or off that same road edge in thrills-a-minute oversteer, rearwards this time. Yahoo!

The times they are a changed, to misquote a guy who was in his heyday when the original 911 was introduced, and within those forty or so years that have passed, new technologies have arrived that allow some sedans and even wagons to eclipse the old Porsche Turbo's performance numbers, with myriad electronic safety controls to make such tail wagging eccentricities nothing more than distant nightmares. A number of current sports cars from less prestigious brands use such technologies to match the original Porsche's performance numbers for a great deal less, respective to inflation, than the '76 Turbo, but then again, not willing to stand still despite holding fast to tradition, Porsche's latest Turbo is capable of running rings around all of these wannabe upstarts and even most rivals from Ferrari and Lamborghini, the latter group which begin at prices that, dare I say, make the Turbo's $126,200 window sticker seem affordable.

But I'm not here to talk pricing. No, I'd rather talk about an experience I had while sitting in the Turbo at a stoplight, in the pouring rain, wondering how many car lengths I could put between this yellow hornet (no reference to an AMC product by the

.... after this engine turns your fully grown maturity into school-kid troublemaker. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

same name) and the oblivious drivers of surrounding cars, before they even got their right feet off of their respective brake pedals and onto their throttles. Left foot on my brake, right foot keeping the go-pedal primed, I launched in a cacophony of unleashed horsepower, the sound of which never ever gets old, the entire car seeming as if it was lifting out of its skin as it catapulted forward in a blinding rush of speed ... 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ... 5 ... oh, there they go, just getting going in five car lengths; no doubt slower off the line than usual due to the noise, show and shock of the Porsche taking off as if the street was a runway and its engine a Rolls-Royce Trent 900. Of course, I chose a spot that allowed me to reach highway speeds immediately after the light, and never went faster than the posted limit during my “test”, not to mention never broke traction during the launch process (tire smoking burnouts and screeching rubber are also misdemeanors in my part of the world).

This is where you want to be. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

And if you're shaking your head at my adolescent behavior right now, I'd like to see you spend ten minutes in this car showing the level of restraint that I managed to pull off during an entire week! Yes, I still have my license, and not because the Turbo doesn't attract attention from the highway patrol ... order mine in a discreet shade of gray, please. The official numbers are 3.7 seconds to 60 mph or 3.4 if you order yours with an automatic (yes, the six-speed slush-box is annoyingly quicker), on to a terminal velocity of 192.6 mph. It's plenty fast for sure. Well, not quite.

You see, there's this little “Sport” button that stiffens the dampers, sharpens the throttle response and modifies a few other items, one of which is the turbocharger that gets its boost boosted by 2.9 psi for a fleet ten second window,

Unbelievable acceleration... wet or dry. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

pumping up torque by 45 lb-ft to 505. So tweaked the manually-equipped car is as quick as the automatic in the right hands, with 50 to 75 mph coaxed out in a phenomenally fast 3.5 seconds.

For some, the car's six-speed shifter and well-weighted clutch isn't the easiest to master, as my dear wife Jennifer was quick to point out, but for me it was no more challenging than a regular 911 (which translated means ruddy easy, actually), with positive engagement and a visceral connection to the mechanicals that most competitors can't even begin to match. I suppose that's what I like best about the Turbo, and Porsche cars in general ... their ability to harmonize driver and machine into what seems like one unified being. I always feel perfectly at home in the driver's seat of a Boxster, Cayman or 911, and fully capable of driving way beyond my usual abilities. Let me explain.

Near

You can't get these details on the regular 911, or the performance that comes as part of the Turbo package. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

my house, as I've mentioned countless times previous, there are a couple of unique “test tracks” that enjoy little to no traffic. These are wonderfully winding well-paved roads that, more often than not are covered in Northwest Coast dampness end to end, from what appears like a slight fog resting on the tarmac to rivulets babbling across its lower extremities, adding a little excitement to the already challenging slaloms. The first, a three-lane ribbon folding over on itself on its way up the side of a mountain, allows for higher speeds and wider, more open views, although the pavement is a little choppier in spots and, granite embankments on one side, little known depths to drop-offs on the other, a tad more precarious. That second “course” is about as tight as roads come, with most of its three mile lap made up of two lanes, and the other segments paring down to single passage only, with massive fir trees lining its flanks the entire distance, ready to absorb impact like a row of oversized telephone poles at soberingly close intervals. Such thoughts keep the mind and body alert and such roads, run often, are ideal for putting a car through its paces. They shake out the pretenders and raise cars with the right stuff to loftier heights. Otherwise good cars that have left circuit one in quiet shame include the much-touted Corvette and latest Mustang GT, while road course 2 just turned Subaru's all-new WRX into a wallowing, understeering economy car ... how a softly sprung suspension can take the fun out of a car that was once great. The Turbo, mind you, takes to course 1 and 2, rain or shine, or for that matter snow, with a level of sure-footed confidence like nothing else I've ever driven. It makes decent drivers good, and good drivers great, thanks to what just might be the best traction and stability control system ever created, PSM, and a chassis that's just about perfect. And (yes I had to try it, albeit in an area with no drop-offs or granite barriers) even with PSM shut off the car oversteers oh-so predictably,

The tiny circular fog lamps and unique turn signals mark the Turbo from the front. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

at slower speeds mind you, giving everyone on board, including my six-year old in back, a ride to remember.

One of the reasons it's so forgiving, electronic nannies on or off is its standard all-wheel drive system. All Turbos get it, and unless you're receiving daily coaching from Le Mans winner Hurley Heywood you'll be happy its there (and for that matter you probably should keep that PSM system engaged at all times too). I'm a bigger fan of rear-wheel drive cars normally, but with a 480-horsepower 3.6-liter turbocharged mill with 460 lb-ft of torque hanging behind the rear wheels the Turbo's all-wheel drive just makes sense. In winter conditions, with the right set of snow tires, there's nothing that can stop it this side of a snow bank, the system combining with PSM to deliver the kind of confidence inspiring stability to allow average drivers complete control, no matter the shape of the road. And

The back, it's not hard to point out the unique Turbo details. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

this is a new all-wheel drive system to boot, evolved from the latest Carrera 4S. It's called Porsche Traction Management (PTM), and uses a pumped up version of the electronically-controlled multi-plate disc clutch to divide the power and send it to the wheels with optimal traction. Additionally, PTM is one of the lightest and most robust AWD systems anywhere, so it's not responsible for the new car putting on 88 more pounds of curb weight.

The extra weight and higher top speed is managed effectively by an upgraded braking system boasting six-piston calipers up front and four-piston units in the rear, although if you're running your car on the track each weekend and need fade-free stopping power no matter how many times you hit the binders the Turbo's ultra pricey 14.96-inch diameter ceramic brakes are the answer.

It's got a nice shape, no? (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

Keep in mind, though, these brakes are not necessarily as effective as the stock units for daily driving.

Another reason why it brakes so well and sticks to the road so effectively is the extra 0.9 inches Porsche added to the width of the rear fenders, all there to accommodate its meaty 305/30Z19 Bridgestones ... Yowza! They do the trick in more ways than just adding grip, returning that aforementioned Coke-bottle shape the new Turbo that was lost with the old 996 version. The car looks fabulous from the rear, its more efficient “whale tail” spanning the width of the trunk lid and big, fat pipes sticking out the rear valance. The front valance gets gaping intakes divided by exclusive LED cornering lamps complemented by tiny projector fog lamps. I'm not a big fan of the slashed side grates, mind you, the look reminding me too much of bad pseudo-Testarossa

A giant improvement over the old system, but the audio interface is still complex. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

aftermarket cheese graters that owners with questionable taste had tacked onto their slant-nose Turbos, but I can appreciate a need to make Porsche's flagship stand out from the rest of the 911 family. And to be fair, the divided vents on this new car are less '80s gauche than the 996 Turbo's multi-slat vents.

If I have a real complaint, it's got nothing to do with the car's styling or driving dynamics. I'm also not talking about the bizarre place Porsche stuck its door lock/unlock button (on the dash between the center vents next to the hazard switch), but rather the fidgety audio and navigation system just below. Oh, the new interface is a whole lot more intuitive than the previous head unit, which was a maze of tiny buttons orchestrating a convoluted complexity of electronic confusion finalizing in bitter frustration and dreary disappointment at mediocre sound quality, but it's still not class leading in user friendliness. Then again, I could hardly care less for the most part, being too busy enjoying the driving experience to waste time wondering why there was nowhere to plug in my iPod ... at least it has XM satellite radio for those stop-and-start commutes to the office. Living with it everyday, mind you, might change my priorities.

And living with a Turbo everyday would no doubt be something I'd enjoy, although it would be difficult getting comfortable in the passenger's seat while my driver dropped me at the office or took me home each day ... after all, there's no way I'm mature enough to hold onto my license for the duration of the lease. If you are, however, I'd recommend the 911 Turbo to anyone with the means to buy it, as it's easily one of the best sports cars ever created. Just one of the best? As if I'd be foolish enough to say it's the best when the GT2 and GT3 are still waiting to be tested. Hmmm ... I think I'd better give Porsche a call.

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