Porsche trims new 911 Turbo prices

Porsche Cars Australia has cut $3400 from the price of its new performance flagship, the 911 Turbo, but prices for the quickest 911 ever, the new 911 Turbo S, have increased by up to $20,800.

The all-new 991-series 911 Turbo and Turbo S Coupe were launched in Germany this month, with the equivalent 911 Turbo Cabriolet twins due to follow in a month or so, and all four Turbo models will become available in Australia by December.

With an entry price of $359,800 plus on-road costs, the 911 Turbo Coupe is actually $10,700 more affordable than its manual-transmission 997-series predecessor, because a seven-speed dual-clutch PDK automatic transmission is now standard across the range.

While that’s in line with the price reductions announced for the 911 range in April, when 13 per cent or up to $36,000 was slashed from some models, the top-shelf 911 Turbo S Coupe is actually $18,500 more expensive than before at $441,300 plus ORC, with the Cabriolet up $20,800 to $463,100 plus ORCs.

Apart from a larger footprint, extra-wide rear-end and more performance than before (see below), both new Turbo models bring a host of extra standard specifications, including larger 20-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone climate-control, SportDesign steering wheel with shift paddles and electric height/reach adjustment, an electric parking brake and front/rear parking sensors.

Other new equipment includes LED daytime running lights, side repeaters and tail-lights, the Porsche Dynamic Light System (PDLS) including speed-dependent driving light control and dynamic cornering lights, LED reading lights, Driving Light Assistant, Alcantara trim for all three roof pillars (as well as the headlining), front seat cushion depth adjustment, black-faced ‘turbo’ instrument dials, engine power and drive torque distribution displays, and three 12-volt power outlets.

In addition, Turbo S buyers receive new features like full LED headlights to replace the regular Turbo’s bi-xenon beams, PDLS Plus, four-point LED DRLs, Dynamic High Beam, black-chromed twin exhaust outlets, SportDesign wing mirrors, an aluminium-look fuel filler flap and carbon (instead of Galvano Silver) trim for the dash, centre console and door panels.

All 911 Turbos come with satellite-navigation, a BOSE surround sound system, cruise control, leather seat trim, 14-way power-adjustable front sports seats (18-way Adaptive Sports Seats Plus for the Turbo S), Bluetooth connectivity, trip computer, automatic wipers, three auto-dimming mirrors, power windows and (heated) mirrors, and remote central locking.

Four standard paint colours continue (white, black, red and yellow) alongside eight no-cost metallic hues, while the Turbo S is available with new Black-Carrera Red paint.

Naturally, the full gamut of safety equipment is present, including six airbags (dual front, front-side and side curtains), front seatbelt pretensioners and force-limiters, electronic traction/stability control, anti-lock brakes, tyre pressure monitoring, Isofix and top-tether rear seat mounts and an alarm.

Surprisingly, however, a reversing camera remains on the optional-extras list, as does adaptive cruise control, an 820-Watt Burmester sound system and, in Europe, a traffic sign recognition system.

Mechanical upgrades are even more extensive and include an upgraded 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat six that generates 383kW of power at 6000rpm (up from 368kW) and 660Nm of torque at 1950rpm (up 10Nm) in the Turbo and, in the Turbo S, a hefty 412kW (up from 390kW) and an unchanged 700Nm (between 2100-4250rpm). The Turbo S now revs 200rpm harder than before, to 7200rpm.

With the Sport Chrono Package, which remains optional in the Turbo and standard with the Turbo S, those torque figures increase to 710Nm (up 10Nm) at 2100rpm and, in the Turbo S, 750Nm at 2200rpm (up 50Nm) for up to 20 seconds at a time during overboost, during which turbo boost pressure is upped a by 0.15 bar (on top of 1.0 bar in the Turbo and 1.2 bar in the Turbo S).

The result is 0-100km/h performance that’s reduced by 0.2 to 3.4 seconds in the Turbo (with the Sport Chrono pack’s launch control function) and to just 3.1 seconds in the Turbo S. Top speed rises by 3km/h for both models, to 315km/h (Turbo) and 318km/h (Turbo S).

The standard 911 body is bigger yet up to 100kg lighter, but in this case there is virtually no change in kerb weight, which remains at 1595kg for the Turbo PDK and 1605kg for the Turbo S PDK (split 39/61 per cent front/rear ), thanks to the extra standard equipment.

Despite this and the extra performance, fuel consumption reduces by 15 per cent to 9.7L/100km for both Turbo models (down from 11.4L/100km) and CO2 emissions fall the same degree, from 268 to 227g/km.

This is due largely to the fitment of a fuel-saving idle-stop system, which now shuts the engine off at speeds below 7km/h (saving 0.7L/100km), less engine friction (0.2L/100km), electrical system recuperation (0.2L/100km), better thermal management (0.2L/100km), lower rolling resistance tyres (0.1L/100km) and the move from hydraulic to electric power steering (0.1L/100km).

Porsche says a further 0.2L/100km is saved by the larger wheels, optimised drivetrain friction and ‘virtual gears’ technology, in which the clutch is slipped under light loads at road speeds of up to 65km/h and engine speeds between 1200-1500rpm in all but first gear.

Among the big-ticket items is Porsche Active Aerodynamics, including what the car-maker says is a world-first variable front spoiler that adapts to road speed and delivers more front-end ground clearance when not deployed.

Pneumatic actuators (in effect inflatable hoses) activate the outboard sections above 120kmh and at 300km/h the centre section drops to generate up to 44kg of downforce. Combined with 88kg of rear downforce from the active biplane rear wing, Porsche says there’s up to 132kg of downforce, generating 10 per cent more lateral grip and lowering the car’s Nurburgring lap time by a further two seconds.

Meantime from the latest 911 Carrera 4 is a new electronic all-wheel drive Porsche Traction management (PTM) system that can more precisely direct up to 100 per cent of engine torque to the rear or front axle – the latter now featuring water-cooled drive components.

Other fresh mechanical features from the 991-series 911 include rear axle steering, in which electromechanical actuators replace tie rods to steer the back wheels up to 2.8 degrees in the opposite direction below 50km/h and 1.5 degrees in the same direction over 80km/h, providing the same effect as shortening or lengthening the wheelbase to improve low-speed agility and high-speed stability. Turning circle is reduced to 10.6 metres as a result and Porsche says this technology alone reduces the Turbo’s Nurburgring lap time by two seconds.

Also new from the 991 911 is Porsche Torque Vectoring (with new PTV Plus adding a rear diff lock with up to 100 per cent electronic locking capability), dynamic engine mounts (as part of the Sport Chrono Pack) and, as standard on the Turbo S, the Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control variable anti-roll bar system.

Compared to the Turbo, the Turbo S runs on half-inch-wider 9.0-inch front and 11.5-inch rear two-tone 20-inch wheels (fitted with the same 245/35 front and 305.30 Pirelli P Zero tyres). Fitted with Dunlop Sportmax semi-slicks from the 911 GT3, the Turbo S can lap the Nurburgring three seconds faster in 7:24 – ranking it among track-focussed hyper-cars.

Ceramic brake discs are standard on the Australian-delivered Turbo S and grow to 410mm front/390mm rear, saving 4kg at each corner over the standard Turbo, which is stopped by bigger 380mm front rotors.

Rounding out the new 911 Turbo twins are more aggressive front and rear bumpers and even wider rear-end sheetmetal than the Carrera 4, bringing the number of 911 bodies to three for the first time.

The rear wheel-arches on the Turbo models are 72mm wider than the regular 911 and 28mm wider than the all-wheel drive Carreras, offering a full hand-width of near-horizontal wheel-arch on either side and making both Turbo flagships a broad 1880mm wide at the rear.

2013 Porsche 911 Turbo pricing:911 Turbo Coupe: $359,800 (-$3400)
911 Turbo S Coupe: $441,300 (+$18,500)
911 Turbo Cabriolet:  $388,800 (-$800)
911 Turbo S Cabriolet:  $463,100 (+$20,800)

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