2026 Porsche 911 Turbo S (992.2) | UK Review
The ultimate 911 faces its ultimate test - trying to stay under 70mph...
It’s very easy to like a fast car very much on an international launch; after all, everything has been catered specifically to show the car off at its very best. As was the case for the latest Porsche 911 Turbo S: Ascari resort, the best roads the south of Spain has to offer, glorious sunshine… you get the idea. It was always likely to leave a favourable impression. It’s far harder for a car to impress in the UK, because it’s much more difficult to exploit any kind of performance given how busy (or demolished) our roads are. Which can make what was an intensely exciting car into a much plainer one, with all of its abilities left untapped.
Certainly, it’s an accusation levelled at previous 911 Turbos, the cars simply too capable and best suited to the kind of high-speed, high-commitment running that simply isn’t possible over here. A nice skillset to have in reserve, for sure, but frustrating by the same measure also. With the new model more powerful than ever and our roads arguably plumbing new depths (literally), has the same issue cropped up again?
Having already driven the drop-top over here, (just last month, in fact) we won’t dwell on the Turbo details too much; suffice it to say that this is a more overt 911 Turbo than ever, with absolutely no doubt of being mistaken for an Aerokit Carrera as may once have been the case. The interior, here even with a Turbonite crest on the wheel, could benefit from a splash of colour, though no doubt the configurator could ably assist in that regard. As has been the case for the super duper Turbos for a while now, it offers up a nice 911 interior that maybe wants for a greater sense of occasion against the similarly priced supercars. Pays your money, take your choice. Not many of those supercars will have space for a toddler in the rear seats. You know how it goes. What’s different in the hybrid era is that a 911 flagship no longer looks that heavy next to the mid-engined stuff.
Crucial to the Turbo S verdict in the UK is the fact that it never, ever feels like just another 911. Even against a more potent range than ever, its surfeit of urgency and enthusiasm makes the conventionally turbocharged cars feel almost torpid. And honestly not much does that. A GT3 might as well be an old Honda Type R for how peaky it seems by comparison. At the revs and throttle openings you’ll use ordinarily, the absence of any hesitancy or delay from the t-hybrid really is remarkable - it’s hard to imagine that impact (or appeal) wearing off anytime soon. The experience is akin to a GTS, sure - in much the same way that eating a Carolina Reaper is like eating a Scotch Bonnet; familiar, yet tangibly more intense. And there’s only one you’re going to tell friends about.
From that instant start up (an integrated starter generator means it doesn’t even crank) to the first fourth gear lunge down a slip road, there’s a relentlessness to this Turbo S that’s new even by the lofty standards of the badge. Overtakes consume fewer seconds than expected (and it never needed many). The PDK has less to do on motorways and A roads than previously, so torquey is the electrically turbocharged flat-six. As much (or as little) performance is always readily available and very simple to deploy.
Launch Control, mind you, certainly gives the PDK something to do. While the tech isn’t exactly big or clever now, it really is employed to devastating effect in a 911 Turbo S. Much like MG Cybster doors, the Continental GT rotating display or the BMW i7 TV, it can seem like a bit of a gimmick. But unlike some rivals, it’s absolutely worth demonstrating to anyone who’s willing, the violence of the start as so much power and torque claws at the surface is unlike anything else that’s combustion-powered. While EVs night have usurped the flagship 911 as the outright acceleration top dogs, to still have the drama of an engine matching that speed in 2026 is so much more thrilling (shock). Maybe a Revuelto launches harder, though you wouldn’t want to put money on it. It's that brutal.
Plus, of course, the Turbo S is really only getting into its stride by 62mph. Allow the speed to keep building (to no more than 70mph, of course), and there’s just no sense of any letup whatsoever. As conventional supercars get faster, so must the all-weather alternative. If you have a 12Cilindri and can’t shake a 911 Turbo S in any scenario, don’t say you weren’t warned. It’s formidably fast. On that score, maybe £200,000 is a bit of a bargain.
The Turbo S even does a convincing impression of handling like a mid-engined supercar. The combination of enhanced PDCC (the active anti roll now with the zap of electric), the biggest ceramic brakes ever on a two-door Porsche, an even wider rear tyre, four-wheel steer and what remains one of the best four-wheel drives in the business (without any modes) makes for a Porsche 911 that corners like the engine is where the no-cost-option rear chairs are mounted.
Much like the powertrain, the chassis is alert, agile and sufficiently interactive without ever feeling overwhelming for its eagerness. It can do calm and measured A-road progress with as much conviction as tearing apart a B road like one of those GT3 rally cars. That a Turbo S brakes, steers and goes so phenomenally well shouldn’t be a surprise any longer, but by being just that bit crisper, that bit keener, that bit more violent in responding to either pedal, it dutifully moves things on.
Complaints? A familiar one for the 992, but there really is a heck of a lot of road noise. And that’s disappointing for the model that’s surely best suited of all to putting the miles on. You don’t even have to pretend to ignore a small person whining in the back - they really can’t be heard that well. And while nitpicking, there are just one or two occasions where a bit of extra mass can be felt; sometimes under brakes, or over really testing bumps, there’s a fraction more of a second to resettle. A simple solution is Sport for the dampers all the time, which virtually eliminates the sensation. But if you forget, and you’re pushing on a B road (to 60mph, naturally), you might notice.
That certainly doesn’t undermine the appeal, and a freshly hybridised Turbo S - if familiar in its overall remit - is more memorable than it’s been in a while. It doesn’t just need Ascari to feel pretty damn special. But it would surely be the perfect car for a road trip down there. Especially with quieter motorways in Europe…
SPECIFICATION | PORSCHE 911 TURBO S (992.2)
Engine: 3,591cc, twin-turbocharged, flat-six, 1.9kWh battery
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto, all-wheel drive, e-motor in transmission
Power (hp): 711@6,500-7,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 590@2,300rpm-6,000rpm
0-62mph: 2.5secs
Top speed: 200mph
Weight: 1,725kg (DIN unladen, with two seats)
MPG: 24.4
CO2: 263/gkm
Price: £199,100 (price as standard; price as tested £218,797 comprising Lugano Blue paint (£NCO), Club Leather Interior Basalt Black with Interior Package Turbonite for £1,464, Rear seats (£NCO), Seat ventilation (front) for £914, SportDesign Package 911 Turbo painted in Black (high-gloss) for £5,659, Electric slide/tilt sunroof for £1,510, Preparation for roof transport system for £51, Dashboard and Door Trim Package Leather for £2,044, Lifting system front axle for £2,033, Sports Tailpipes Titanium (£NCO), Surround View with Active Parking Support for £1,298, Adaptive cruise control for £1,468, Burmester® High-End Surround Sound System for £ 2,752)
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This was standard on an £18k VW Golf in 2011I might not really desire one, but this will always be seriously impressive bits of kit.
I assumed you were talking about the McLaren 12C, but that's 6.1s to 100mph. 0.6s is a substantial amount when talking about numbers like that. It's also not 600kg lighter.
The size of the thing - it used to be that Porsche 911s were amongst the daintiest of cars, now, they seem just 'too large' for transporting (at most) two people. I partially know why, but the trend to electrify and fit every possible piece of tech, appears to me that they are becoming like most modern jet fighters. Fast as greased weasel poop but only capable of doing the speed thing, really.
Secondly, that tech. Pick a car from the '50s to the '90s, heck, even the early 2000s and long after that car ceased to be the 'latest thing', you can (extensively) still buy spares, even whole wings, doors, etc. That made longer term ownership - whether for pragmatic reasons, sentiment or whatever, possible. Now, will you be able to buy a whole an integrated starter generator in 5, 10 even 20 years time and (along with the battery) at what cost?
Lastly, the love of older cars - even some newer cars, seemed a 'transferable' quality. if you parents owned a particular model or even type of car (Jaguar, Range Rover, Porsche 911) some were fortunate enough to take ownership after their parents no longer wanted that car. Or, more tellingly, you hankered after a 'classic' (even if only in your eyes) simply because of the association with your parents/that feeling of when you were younger, how that particular car made you feel.
I don't get the sense that this is going to be the same for a lot of the current crop of cars - and Porsche is leading that charge (imho).
Supremely capable - check.
Desirable - in a way - check - but for bragging rights, today. Not long-term ownership tomorrow
Complicated - check
The Aston Martin Vantage V8 holds far more appeal simply because it is taking up the space that Porsche, for so long, once dominated.
What’s with the road noise? It affects all new 911’s. Cheaping out on sound deadening, chassis material, massive tyres. Prob combination of all three. Not great in such an expensive car.
0-60mph in 2.5sec...that's faster than most top end superbikes, let that sink in for a minute.
I'd love a go in one just to feel the acceleration.
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