RE: 997 Turbo

Wednesday 3rd May 2006

997 Turbo

Ian Kuah reckons that Porsche has raised the supercar game to a new level


997 Turbo
997 Turbo

In a dramatic demonstration on a soaking wet Weissach test track recently, Porsche proved two things to us. Firstly, the Tiptronic version of the new 997 Turbo is significantly faster than its 996 Turbo predecessor down the quarter mile sprint. Secondly, it is also fractions faster through the gears than its own six-speed manual twin, a first time ever event for a self-shifting Porsche.

3.7 sec to 100km/h (62mph) for the Tiptronic car is simply astonishing, and while it shades its manual brother by 0.2 sec, it also beats the company's flagship Carrera GT, which clocks an identical 3.9 sec to the manual 997 Turbo with Walter Rohrl behind the wheel. Top speed is 194mph.

PTM

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However, the 997 Turbo's technological density runs much deeper than just sheer power. In a fast lap of Weissach against the 996 Turbo, we found that the new car has discernibly better balance. In line with other 997 models, the suspension has been uprated with PASM, Porsche's electronically controlled active damping system. But the big difference in the handling balance comes from Porsche Traction Management (PTM).

PTM uses a Borg Warner-made viscous clutch, that can open or close in just 100 milliseconds, to shunt power between front and rear axles as required to maintain optimum traction. This clutch also opens instantly to free the axles under ABS activation.

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Installed in the Getrag transmission, this viscous clutch is designed to deliver as much as 100% drive to either axle, although on a dry road under constant throttle, it send 60 percent of the power to the rear axle. The new system is superior in slippery conditions where it helps to reduce understeer without affecting the stability of the car. This was very evident when we were driven around the wet test track on the limit by Porsche's test drivers.

In the Driving Seat

When we got behind the wheel of the new Turbo ourselves a few weeks later, we chose the manual six-speeder, which will still be the enthusiasts choice, especially as Porsche are now offering a special derivative of the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tyre as factory fitted alternative rubber. Either way, the tyres are 235/35ZR19 and 305/30ZR19 on lightweight 8.5J and 11J x 19-inch alloys.

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First impressions were of a car that has lost none of the low speed docility and polish of its predecessor. If anything, its secondary ride has been enhanced by the PASM active damping in Comfort mode. Porsche has learnt a lot about PASM settings since it first launched this system with the new 997 Carrera, and while the Sport setting is still not our choice for road use, the overall balance is much better and it is no longer over-stiff at the rear relative to the front.

480bhp
480bhp

While the performance numbers look good on paper, it is the potential pace of the new Turbo across real world roads that is most impressive. Massive power is not much fun on a public road if a car suffers from turbo lag. With the new VTG Variable Geometry Turbocharger technology, the 997 Turbo has no lag to speak of. Indeed it is so flexible that you can drive around at low speeds in a high gear when you are feeling lazy.

Overboost!

The counterpoint is that when you do push the accelerator pedal all the way to the carpet, ballistic acceleration is a given. The full extent of this experience is magnified if you specify the optional Sport Chrono pack. Apart from the dubious analogue stopwatch that blights the top of the dashboard, the SCP includes a fortified ECU map that allows 10 seconds of over-boost on full throttle.

While taking the normal 1.0 bar of peak boost to 1.2 bar does not affect the 480bhp that arrives at 6,000rpm, it does add another 60Nm (44 ft-lb) to the already beefy torque curve, resulting in a massive 680Nm (502 ft-lb) on tap between 2,100 and 4,000rpm.

And boy can you feel its effect. The surge forward as the car rockets away down the road is a serious g-force event. In the lower two gears you have to keep your wits about you if you are not to waste time through running into the rev limiter.

The other issue is that this bombastic acceleration is both intoxicating and very addictive, so if you are long on road and short on willpower, you will get through an awful lot of super unleaded!

Braking

Ceramics
Ceramics
The rapid rate at which you can pile on indecent velocity means that your approach speeds to corners will be significant. Here the latest ceramic brakes with their big yellow calipers and awesome stopping power provide a welcome safety net, but you need to remember that even they cannot change the laws of physics.

When you do arrive at a corner, you will find that turn-in is crisper than before, the PTM element of the revised 4WD system allowing the nose to be more pointy. And you can also play with the tail more to balance the car and encourage controlled power oversteer, with the PSM system allowing a reasonable angle of drift if you are smooth enough not to trigger its hand. As with other Porsche's, you can switch it off completely and then it will only come to your aid if you hit the brakes.

Steering

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We have said before that the variable ratio power steering Porsche introduced with the 997 Carrera is amazing because you don't realise it is there. It works just as well on the Turbo and makes fast driving effortless while delivering the kind of communication that Porsche drivers expect, and that means a lot more information about the road surface than is common with today's power-assisted steering systems.

For years, Porsche have proven that their rear-engined 911 platform is versatile enough to address several price and performance points in the market. And at each of these points, each individual model is capable of beating the competition in all-round ability.

£100,000
£100,000

At around £100,000 in the UK, the new Porsche Turbo is not cheap. But this most complete supercar of the lot leaves you with significant money in the bank compared to obvious rivals like the Ferrari F430 and Lamborghini Gallardo.

As has happened countless times before, just when the opposition were catching up, Porsche has put blue sky between its flagship supercar and rivals.

 

Author
Discussion

crook

Original Poster:

6,701 posts

223 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
quotequote all
I like the indicators.

GravelBen

15,641 posts

229 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
quotequote all
sounds great, pity I can't afford one

Top Trump

1,588 posts

220 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
quotequote all
What more can you say about these Porsches? All variations of the 997 look awesome.

TT with no lag to speak of with over 500 ft-lbs of torque - yes please!

ascayman

12,731 posts

215 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
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the ultimate porsche one day i will have one

mikeyboy

5,018 posts

234 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
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Am i being fussy when I say the wheels look too "bling"

4WD

2,289 posts

230 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
quotequote all
Sounds great. I'd prefer a gallardo for the sexier look however.

scottpm

1,034 posts

221 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
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Looks ok in a bling/aftermarket sort of way....GT3 still the real drivers choice though!

ICSD

638 posts

233 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
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Amazing that they can still keep moving the 911 concept forward. Why is it though that when reviewing these cars no one ever remembers, among the talk of incredible power and handling properties, to point out that you can still get the kids in the back! Surely the reason why the supercar buying family man chooses a 911 over its rivals.

430 Spider

214 posts

221 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
quotequote all
Will be a great second hand bargain in 4 years time, though you'll probably struggle to find a manual one.

R988

7,495 posts

228 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
quotequote all
mikeyboy said:
Am i being fussy when I say the wheels look too "bling"


The wheels are a fussy design, fortunately wheels are probably the easiest thing to change on the car to suit your preferred look.

cmoody32

56 posts

221 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
quotequote all
I happen to have a 2001 TT with a stage 2 upgrade. The performance addition is great for a relatively low cost. Another member of my family has a 2001 TT with a stage 4 upgrade. That performance is outstanding. I am impressed with what Porsche has done with the new TT and I would think of making an upgrade. It is great to take the kids to school in and they love the G's.

However.....I also have a 2006 Ford GT and I can tell you that because Porsche has had the same style for over 20 years you can not get anywhere the same number of looks as you can in a Ford GT or other "super car" (F430, Lambo, etc...). For the money the Porsche TT is the best performing 4 seater and I have a feeling that it will always be.

wrn

432 posts

228 months

Thursday 4th May 2006
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430 Spider said:
Will be a great second hand bargain in 4 years time, though you'll probably struggle to find a manual one.


Why? In 2003 (4 years after the launch) 996 TTs were still fetching TOP dollar... I don't see that being any different with the 997 TT.

I agree with the manual point - there are probably around 50% manual 996 TTs out there (?) and with the progress on the 997 TT's Tip there were doubtless be even fewer. Mine will, however be a manual - and as with the 996 TT I suspect that they will hold their value better, be easier to sell and (most importantly) be more fun.

Will

DJC

23,563 posts

235 months

Thursday 4th May 2006
quotequote all
cmoody32 said:
I happen to have a 2001 TT with a stage 2 upgrade. The performance addition is great for a relatively low cost. Another member of my family has a 2001 TT with a stage 4 upgrade. That performance is outstanding. I am impressed with what Porsche has done with the new TT and I would think of making an upgrade. It is great to take the kids to school in and they love the G's.

However.....I also have a 2006 Ford GT and I can tell you that because Porsche has had the same style for over 20 years you can not get anywhere the same number of looks as you can in a Ford GT or other "super car" (F430, Lambo, etc...). For the money the Porsche TT is the best performing 4 seater and I have a feeling that it will always be.


You want the looks? I hate the attention, that is one advantage I am looking forward to with the tt over the Sagaris.

GravelBen

15,641 posts

229 months

Thursday 4th May 2006
quotequote all
cmoody32 said:
I happen to have a 2001 TT with a stage 2 upgrade. The performance addition is great for a relatively low cost. Another member of my family has a 2001 TT with a stage 4 upgrade. That performance is outstanding. I am impressed with what Porsche has done with the new TT and I would think of making an upgrade. It is great to take the kids to school in and they love the G's.

However.....I also have a 2006 Ford GT and I can tell you that because Porsche has had the same style for over 20 years you can not get anywhere the same number of looks as you can in a Ford GT or other "super car" (F430, Lambo, etc...). For the money the Porsche TT is the best performing 4 seater and I have a feeling that it will always be.


You could easily say the Ford GT's style is over 20 years old (more like 40 years in fact) due to being copied from the GT40. the difference is Porsche have been making 911's in between as well.

cyrus1971

855 posts

238 months

Thursday 4th May 2006
quotequote all
yummy yummy :-)

I'll wait a few years until they hit £60K and get one.

C

mflinkenberg`

2 posts

216 months

Thursday 4th May 2006
quotequote all
The power wars are about to become interesting again. The 911 turbo was the fastest accelerating production car from 1978 to 1985 - the difference between Porsche and other makers is the quoted power/performance figures are "bang on". Ferrari and other rivals have always been willing to "lie" about their cars' performance and put out brittle, easy-breakable products. Drop an engine to change a cam belt? At Ferrari dealership prices? No thanks.

If manufacturers make cars with mega power then all the mechanicals that to go with it should be capable of handling this power. For instance, a McLaren F1 needs a new clutch every 3,000 miles! Porsche would never do that and that's why I love 'em.

With the power figures rising we're go to start seeing some brittle cars appear on the market with more performance than the new 911TT but nowhere near the reliability.

Fire99

9,844 posts

228 months

Thursday 4th May 2006
quotequote all
cmoody32 said:
I happen to have a 2001 TT with a stage 2 upgrade. The performance addition is great for a relatively low cost. Another member of my family has a 2001 TT with a stage 4 upgrade. That performance is outstanding. I am impressed with what Porsche has done with the new TT and I would think of making an upgrade. It is great to take the kids to school in and they love the G's.

However.....I also have a 2006 Ford GT and I can tell you that because Porsche has had the same style for over 20 years you can not get anywhere the same number of looks as you can in a Ford GT or other "super car" (F430, Lambo, etc...). For the money the Porsche TT is the best performing 4 seater and I have a feeling that it will always be.


2001 TT AND a Ford GT? Now you're just showing off!

Back to the Porsche, i think if i drove one i would be blown away by the complete package.. If you had one in Silver or black it would be 'quite' discreet too.

Personally i do prefer things a little more bold so, from an appearance perspective, i would prefer the F430 or Lambo.


>> Edited by Fire99 on Thursday 4th May 10:34

beanbag

7,346 posts

240 months

Thursday 4th May 2006
quotequote all
cmoody32 said:
I happen to have a 2001 TT with a stage 2 upgrade. The performance addition is great for a relatively low cost. Another member of my family has a 2001 TT with a stage 4 upgrade. That performance is outstanding. I am impressed with what Porsche has done with the new TT and I would think of making an upgrade. It is great to take the kids to school in and they love the G's.

However.....I also have a 2006 Ford GT and I can tell you that because Porsche has had the same style for over 20 years you can not get anywhere the same number of looks as you can in a Ford GT or other "super car" (F430, Lambo, etc...). For the money the Porsche TT is the best performing 4 seater and I have a feeling that it will always be.


Wow! What is it you do Chris if you don't mind me asking!? All those cars....!!!!

bob_defly

3,638 posts

230 months

Thursday 4th May 2006
quotequote all
The 911 looks a tad boring for £100K IMHO...

beanbag

7,346 posts

240 months

Thursday 4th May 2006
quotequote all
bob_defly said:
The 911 looks a tad boring for £100K IMHO...


Hmmmm.....I guess it's down to taste and each person is different but for that kind of money, I think i'd be looking at an F430 or Aston.