In a Singapore first, the new Porsche 911 Carrera S is reviewed by a bunch of journals instead of journos.
If the magazine trade in Singapore is the media equivalent of the motor trade, SPH Magazines would be like German marque Porsche – profitable, popular, performanceoriented, passionate and powered by experts.
The homegrown publishing powerhouse has numerous titles that entertain legions of loyal readers across all sections of society and cover everything interesting under the luxury and lifestyle labels.
Boys and girls, guys and gals, men and women, uncles and aunties, bakers and bankers; working class, middle class and upper crust – everyone has his or her favourite SPH Magazine that he or she enjoys reading.
My favourite is, ahem, Torque. But it isn’t the only mag with pulling power. Four sister titles in the same building have been roped in to check out the latest 911, Porsche’s hot new performance number that spells the end of naturally aspirated Carreras and marks the start of a new breed of iconic Teutonic coupes.
Men’s Health Singapore rates the fitness of the 3-litre 6-cylinder heart beating in the rear of the 911 Carrera S. According to MH, this turbo boxer is fit as a fiddle, with 420bhp and 500Nm at its disposal, athletic acceleration in an instant and gymnastic agility in any situation.
The German sportsman eats healthy, too – it consumes a reasonable 7.7 litres of energy drink every 100 kilometres and dumps 174 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre driven.
Shape Singapore, the complete mind and body guide for women, says that the newly evolved 911 is as shapely as ever and in the pink.
It’s a lean, mean driving machine that loves sports and exercises regularly. It’s also unisex and userfriendly, so petrolheads of both genders can perform at their optimum behind the wheel, whether they’re doing a sprint from the starting blocks to 100km/h, or running a motoring marathon. The 911 is definitely in great shape.
The Porsche has great gadgets, too, all of which would qualify for the upfront pages of HWM, Singapore’s leading infotech publication.
For instance, the car has a choice of two joysticks for the geeky speed junkie. One is a 7-speed manual gearbox and the other is a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox with a Final Fantasy kind of name, Doppelkupplung.
The German game also sports different game modes for players to play with – Normal (fun), Sport (more fun) and Sport Plus (much more fun). For gamers who want to track their results and progress, there’s the Sport Chrono stopwatch mounted on the dashboard that shows/ stores/evaluates lap times and other driving data.
For less active types, the 911 offers an improved infotainment system with a 7-inch multimedia touchscreen and all the digital connections they desire, such as Apple CarPlay, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth, HDD, DVD, CD, SD, USB and Aux.
For homebodies, we have Home & Decor to critique the interior design of the 911.
The furniture is superb, the amenities are splendid and the decorations are delightful, with a variety of colours, lamps and materials for the interior decorator to work with. Trim options include deluxe leather, delectable Alcantara, handsome carbon and alluring aluminium.
Optional equipment for the awesome home on wheels located at 911 Porsche Avenue includes special front chairs with extra features, an electrically operated skylight made of tinted and toughened safety glass, and a surround sound system from Bose (high-end) or Burmester (higher-end).
Torque hereby thanks H&D, HWM, Shape and Men’s Health for this unusual article on the new Porsche 911 Carrera S.
