That could also be put down to the Turbo’s formidable collection of acronyms. PTV Plus torque vectoring and its precise apportioning of torque to each rear wheel allows for early power-on in fast corners, and the adaptive suspension trickery duo of PDCC and PASM allows for almost impossibly flat cornering with virtually nil body roll.
PAA adaptive aerodynamics in the form of a three-stage spoiler front and rear also help to decrease drag or increase downforce by extending and/or retracting certain wing elements. By Porsche’s reckoning, the PAA’s downforce-increasing Performance mode alone saves two seconds per lap around the Nurburgring.
Helping its agility further is the Turbo’s use of active rear-wheel steering, which turns the rear wheels in the same direction as the front above 80km/h, and in the opposite direction below 50km/h.
While being mechanically identical to the one used in the GT3, its application in the Turbo is aimed at decreasing its turning circle (10.6m here, reduced by 0.5m over the GT3), rather than out-and-out agility. Porsche claims the Turbo has the smallest turning circle among its competitors, which speaks of volumes of how it’s a plusher thing against the GT3.
Regardless, the supposedly more sedate Turbo’s Nurburgring lap time is just one second slower than the more lurid GT3’s. We got to sample just how much of a track weapon the Turbo is by having a quick blast around the Bilster Berg Drive Resort, a private playground built for and by insanely rich, motorsports-mad people.
There’s no snappy oversteer to be found and the PSM electronic stability programme (yes, yet another acronym) easily keeps the driver out of trouble, no matter how ham-fisted the inputs. We witnessed firsthand how the car in front of us nearly lost it, but even without us seeing its front wheels performing counter-steering corrections, the Turbo somehow regained its composure.
The best part about the Turbo’s impressive collection of acronyms is how everything works so seamlessly, especially without the driver detecting they’re at work. But perhaps even better than all that, the Turbo’s biggest strength is how you could give it a belting on the racetrack, then take a leisurely cruise home in it straight afterwards.
Of course, it rides far firmer than a Carrera, but it still retains more than enough comfort and refinement (despite Porsche’s best attempts at routing the induction roar into the cabin). Then there’s the fact that its composure stays rock-solid at speeds above 200km/h.
Unlike the 911 GT3, the 911 Turbo does its charging in a more genteel (although no less rapid) fashion.
All that, though, is arguably something we’ve come to expect from the flagship 911. Some four decades after the 911 Turbo first appeared, it’s stayed the course, each successive generation boosting performance as well as user-friendliness.
It’s a stark contrast from the manic GT3, but in all fairness, both cars appeal to vastly disparate audiences. It’s different strokes for different folks and especially if your stroke happens to be a “daily-driven supercar”, there’s very little reason to look elsewhere. Unless, of course, you have a deep-seated dislike for Porsche, that is.
This article was first published in the October 2013 issue of Torque.
2013 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.8 (A)
ENGINE 3800cc, 24-valves, flat-6, turbocharged
MAX POWER 520bhp at 6000-6500rpm
MAX TORQUE 660Nm at 1950-5000rpm
GEARBOX 7-speed dual-clutch with manual select
0-100KM/H 3.4 seconds
TOP SPEED 315km/h
CONSUMPTION 10.3km/L (combined)
2013 Porsche 911 Turbo S 3.8 (A)
ENGINE 3800cc, 24-valves, flat-6, turbocharged
MAX POWER 560bhp at 6500-6750rpm
MAX TORQUE 700Nm at 2100-4250rpm
GEARBOX 7-speed dual-clutch with manual select
0-100KM/H 3.1 seconds
TOP SPEED 318km/h
CONSUMPTION 10.3km/L (combined)
Check out our Porsche 911 Turbo S Exclusive Series review here
Find out how the updated Porsche 911 Turbo drives here
