New Porsche 911 Turbo and Turbo S to debut in Detroit

Porsche is set to debut the new 911 Turbo and Turbo S at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, early next year. Now that these are not the only turbocharged cars in the Porsche 911 lineup (Carreras have ditched the naturally aspirated set up for a pair of turbos as well), the tweaks to the top-of-the-line models make them even more powerful, with performance creeping into the supercar territory.

In terms of looks, it is just another day in the office. There isn’t much difference in the looks and only things worth mentioning are the tweaks to the fascia, new engine cover and the three dimensional tail lamps. Inside, there is a new infotainment system with the Porsche app that allows the owners to remotely monitor the car’s status. 

The main point of discussion is the engines. The 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged flat-six engine receives a 20bhp boost over the previous versions, effectively taking the power output in the Turbo and Turbo S to 540bhp and 580bhp respectively. There is no manual transmission; the dual-clutch PDK is standard equipment on the 2017 model year cars. 

With all these changes, the 911 Turbo is now capable of reaching 100kmph from naught in 2.9 seconds, with a top speed of 318kmph. On the stopwatch, the Turbo S is only a tenth of a second quicker, but the top speed is now 330kmph. The Sport Chrono Package and Porsche Active Suspension Management are standard on both the cars; in addition the Turbo S gets the Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control system and carbon-ceramic brakes. 

Both the 911 Turbo and Turbo S will also be available with the soft top, right from the time of the launch. Porsche is already accepting orders in Europe and North America for prices starting at 1,26,925 Pounds (Rs 1.27 crore) and 1,45,773 Pounds (Rs 1.46 crore) for the Turbo and Turbo S respectively. The deliveries will commence by the end of January after the global debut. Porsche will eventually offer the new versions in India as well, obviously on order and as CBUs.