2026 Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet | UK Review
More than 700hp as standard for the drop-top Turbo S - too much of a good thing?
The car world must be changing pretty drastically when even the Porsche 911 Turbo is transitioning. While always moving vaguely with the times, once the flagship became PDK the only big news seemed to be an acronym here, an aerodynamic revision there, a few more horsepower and an expanded options list. You always knew what you were going to get with a 911 Turbo. Yet now we have an electrified version, with a derivative of the T-Hybrid setup - an electric motor in the PDK, a 1.9kWh battery up front - to deliver the most powerful, most capable version yet. No more small gains of 20 or 30hp now - this Turbo S is almost 10 per cent more powerful than before. And that one had 650hp…
With the first 992.2s now in the country, there are some questions to answer in light of some (very positive) first impressions in Spain. Is there such a thing as too much power in a 911 Turbo S? Likewise, can more technology be an enabler or an inhibitor of fun in the flagship model? And will the sun stay out long enough for the roof to go down?
While a drop top is hardly the purists’ choice, there’s no denying the popularity of a 911 cabrio - especially as a Turbo. If it’s the 911 for all scenarios, from commuting to track days, then greater versatility surely only counts as a good thing. Even if it makes for a very busy looking Porsche. Convertible 911s have always had to pack in a lot around the rump, and now more than ever with the more muscular bumper and shoutier exhausts. On the plus side, even without a badge there seems little danger of mistaking a Turbo S for any other 911; the downside is that the aggression only exacerbates the 992s tall and chunky bum. 'Twas ever thus, to some extent, it just feels more notable than ever right now. And the front bumper blades really are as angry as they look; the days of a Turbo S being something akin to a sleeper supercar seem long gone. Opens the door for a Turbo Touring limited edition, at least…
We’ll not dwell on the interior, given it’s broadly familiar from every other 992 seen since the end of 2018, though it is nice to sit somewhere where everything works. Maybe a steering wheel that’s round, indicators on stalks and a physical (if small) gear selector aren’t particularly fashionable, yet they’re infinitely preferable to the frustrating fads pursued elsewhere. If you were feeling very picky, you might argue that a 911 interior doesn’t feel the most special or even the most sturdy at more than £200k, although the former in particular feels like a perennial Turbo problem as much as people telling you it looks like all the others. Once more, function over form most definitely has its place as far as driving environments go.
While there’s all-season usability and 2+2 practicality in the Turbo’s favour, those attributes are present in plenty of cheaper 911s. You buy a Turbo S over the rest to blow your socks off at every given opportunity, and more so than ever before, the 992.2 delivers on that front. It’s outrageous. Electrification means essentially no delay between throttle application and twin-turbo 3.6-litre flat-six hurling you at the horizon, performance at any revs tangibly more fierce than the old car. Any pining for the wait-wait-now drama of lag is vanquished by the sheer relentlessness of acceleration; this is just more exciting. A Turbo S that responds more eagerly and punches even harder is totally compelling.
It’s engaging, too, because of how it sounds - the chuffs, sneezes and whooshes redolent of old turbocharged racers - and the unending willingness. This isn’t just a turbocharged, hybridised engine that delivers lots of low-down, usable performance (however handy that is); the Turbo S feels like it’s getting faster and faster as the revs build, charging to 7,000rpm harder than at any other point in the ludicrously potent power band. While apparently accelerating as fast as a top fuel dragster.
This being a 911 Turbo, moreover, the S feels eminently capable of dealing with this formidable power - the very opposite of a turbocharged tearaway. The PDK always makes the right decision, the brakes are supremely powerful and the assists intervene subtly and seldom. Indeed, it goes to show what’s been achieved that the innate traction and stability are challenged so infrequently, even with 711hp at the driver’s disposal. Nevertheless, what the person behind the wheel feels is a Porsche being pushed to its limit by so much performance. Where 992s often feel all-conquering to a fault, there’s a sense with this Turbo S that it’s really working to contain the power. Not torque steering like a four-wheel-drive AMG GT, yet still challenging what four large contact patches can feasibly deploy. And that’s pretty cool.
Less so the usual convertible compromises, which a Turbo S exposes more than any other drop-top 911. The wheels are the biggest available on any 992, it weighs more than 1,800kg before a driver is sat in it - and you tend to compound both by going fast virtually everywhere. So while its resistance to the challenges of crappy roads is about as good as could be expected for a cabrio without a carbon tub for a chassis, there is the occasional shimmy and shake to remind you it isn’t an entirely compromise-free open-top.
The kerbweight, even with standard ceramics helping on the unsprung side, means a standard setting on the PASM dampers that isn’t quite as calm as some others (a Carrera T is almost a quarter of a tonne lighter) and a Sport mode that feels a tad too aggressive. By any other standard, the Turbo S is fantastic in terms of all-court, drop-top handling, but experience of similarly configured 911s would suggest it’s not quite the best of the 992 range.
Still, that's hardly a new issue for the flagship Porsche soft top. For as long as Turbo S has existed in the 21st century, it’s been the pinnacle of 911 tech - with everything good and bad that that billing entails. For the 992.2, the introduction of hybrid tech actually means a more progressive step forward has been taken, not least because it really is an almighty engine. Even if any efficiency gains are negligible: 17mpg over an hour on A and B roads surely wouldn’t have been much different to last time around. Regardless, as an all-seasons soft top that really can do it all, the Turbo S is more persuasive than ever. It's even faster than the 992.1, and drives just as well.
However, with the earlier introduction of the T-Hybrid system in the GTS (to only slightly less staggering effect), it is not like you absolutely need the top-of-the-range model to access an electrifying Porsche 911. If ever a car could be said to feel stronger than 541hp, it does. Accordingly, for those who want the best compromise of Porsche attributes in a convertible 911, a Carrera 4 GTS at more than £50,000 less would be our recommendation. And if it really must be the Turbo S or nothing, its astonishing talent is better experienced as a Coupe. That makes the priciest cabrio a niche prospect - yet Porsche is hardly a stranger to such territory, and insofar as it successfully harnesses more than 700hp in a 992 soft top, it remains a mightily impressive option.
SPECIFICATION | 2026 PORSCHE 911 TURBO S CONVERTIBLE
Engine: 3,591cc flat-six, twin electric turbos, 1.9kWh battery
Transmission: 8-speed PDK, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 711@6,500-7,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 590@2,300-6,000rpm
0-62mph: 2.6 secs
Top speed: 200mph
Weight: 1,810kg (DIN)
MPG: 24.0-24.3
CO2: 267-264g/km
Price: £209,100 (price as standard; price as tested £221,139 comprising Burmester High-End Surround Sound System for £2,752, Adaptive cruise control for £1,468, Surround View with Active Parking Support for £1,298, Black calipers for PCCB for £708, Lifting system front axle for £2,033, Dashboard and Door Trim package leather for £2,044, Front seat ventilation for £914,Two-tone leather Black/Bordeaux for £513, Convertible top in red for £309)
2026 Porsche 911 Turbo S (992.2) | PH Review
2025 911 Carrera GTS T-Hybrid v. Mercedes-AMG GT55
Not sure I would fancy the wind noise with the roof down at 200mph either
I’m glad this exists though
It’s not really the track 911 of choice either but as a projection of the owners “wealth” it does the trick nicely. For those people, a GTS wouldn’t cut it, even if it might be the smarter buy.
Given most men in Western Europe are above 6’, the car is simply being right-sized for the current generation.
A 997 looks lovely, but impossible to sit in comfortably when over 6’ and 200lbs.
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