Porsche 911 Carrera S Turbo 2025 Review - International

Meet Michael Steiner. He has the best job in the world.

“I am the vehicle dynamics engineer responsible for the Carrera,” he says by way of introduction after I clamber into the passenger seat of the new 991.2 911 Carrera S.

The new turbocharged 911 Carrera that is.

“I am quite happy with what we have achieved,” he says as we trundle down the pitlane at the Hockenheimring motor racing circuit in Germany.

Steiner is taking me for a few laps of the famous circuit in the new 911 by way of practical introduction to this milestone mechanical update for the entry-level Carrera models, which have always previously been naturally-aspirated.

We’ve gone through the theoretical stuff on the engine, chassis and new in-cabin electronics this morning. Now, on this blue-sky afternoon a few days before the new 911 is shown off to the world at the Frankfurt motor show, we get to sample it in action -- from the passenger seat.

At motoring.com.au we’ve already gone into a great deal of detail about why Porsche went turbo, what it delivers for the new 911 and what it will cost you when it gets here. But boil it down and it comes to this; Going to a 3.0-litre bi-turbo flat six delivers more torque and power for less fuel consumption, continuing the twin paths that have marked 911 development for some years now.

Porsche has done a pretty impressive job fitting the turbochargers, intercoolers and their plumbing within the narrower Carrera – remembering the existing 911 Turbo gets the wide-body rear-end.

There’s also been a minor increase in weight, but with even the entry-level 911 Carrera now running on active PASM dampers, Steiner and his colleagues have retuned the suspension to cope with that and the broader delivery of more torque, as well as providing a broader spread from the most comfortable to the most focussed Sports Plus set-up.

But the first centre of attention is the noise the new engine makes. This was a huge focus of attention for the engineers, so conscious were they of how important that flat six barking away behind the driver is to the whole 911 driving experience.

Steiner gives the throttle an enthusiastic rev and with the help of two sound tubes the cabin fills with that growling, metallic soundtrack. It sounds like a 911 to me, perhaps even meatier than usual. I’d probably have to rev the old and new back-to-back to pick the differences.

No such difficulty when it comes to picking the difference in response. Steiner trickles around in the most accessible ‘normal’ mode for our first lap of a shortened version of the circuit. Then he whangs the throttle and there’s a strong, seamless response from low down in the revs.

“In all-day use if you sit in the car and drive out of the corner at low rpm and press the throttle you feel much more bump, much more power,” says Steiner.

“And if you then turn back to the old one you think ‘oh what’s wrong?’ This is what we experienced.”

As we cruise around Steiner has shown off the features that make the 911 more livable for the everyday. There is the ability to lift the nose at speeds up to 35km/h to negotiate steep driveways; fuel saving stop-start and clutch decoupling coasting mode when you lift the throttle and optional rear axle steer that helps with parking at low speed and lane changing at high speeds.

Then he presses the ‘Sport Response’ button on the steering wheel and the car leaps forward like its been electrocuted. This new feature sets the engine and PDK dual clutch transmission for maximum acceleration for 20 seconds. Press the button again and you’re back in normal mode.

One feature banished for this generation is the gearchange buttons that were located on the horizontal spokes of the steering wheel. Clumsy and prone to causing miss-shifts, they have been banished for conventional gear change paddles. In fact, the whole steering wheel is new.

Lap-by-lap as Steiner ramps the 911 up through Sport and Sport Plus, the car’s manners become less and less ‘normal’. The engine note gets keener, brapping and growling and then crackling and popping on the over-run, the PDK change is sharper, the suspension tautens and there’s a protesting yowl from the tyres as he uses the ceramic brakes hard to pull up for the tight complex of corners at the far end of the circuit.

Then he then arcs the car sideways off the positively banked Sachskurve, demonstrating how much slip Sports Plus allows before reigning back control.

“We give the driver space to play at lower speeds and at quicker vehicle speed you give more support because that is getting more dangerous for the driver who is not a professional,” Steiner explains.

The highlight of our time starts as we head along the straight to start our last lap.

“We still have PSM (stability control) off where you can play most with the car, for expert drivers,” Steiner says.

And we’re sideways… Joyfully, carelessly, very sideways…

The highlight comes at the Sachskurve, where Steiner flicks the car in and holds the attitude all the way through. The engine is bwap-bwap-bwapping, valves thrashing harder than at any point in the drive and the noise is echoing gloriously off those vast, empty concrete grandstands… And he is controlling it all with one hand while emphasising a point with the other.

“To me turbocharging is a big step because you have more engine toque at lower rpms, so you can play more with the car, because with the throttle you can influence the line you go,” Steiner explains.

“You have a package that’s easy to drive and fun to drive and also very safe for all the uses. So this is the spread we always want to fulfill and we are quite happy with the result this time.”

And from the passenger seat we can only agree. “Quite happy” indeed. We’re looking forward to swapping seats real soon.

Thanks for that Michael. Somehow I suspect you don’t mind showing up for work each day.

More on the new 911 Carrera and the move to turbocharging here:
Porsche reveals turbo 911 Carrera

Video: Porsche teases 911 twin-turbo sound

Porsche 911 hybrid coming for sure

Porsche 911 turbo and GT3 keep current engines

Porsche had difficult discussions on turbocharged 911