Quick Spin: 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo S…Fast Meter Redefined


Go ahead and think back to when you first started driving cars. Think to when you first felt something truly fast, if you rode in it, drove it or saw it blast pass you on a highway or local drag strip. For me it was a 1995 Chevrolet Camaro Z28. To 16 year old me this was a rocket ship and was like nothing I had driven up to that point… “allegedly.”
Since then I’ve driven some fairly fast cars, be they from the factory or heavily modified. Regardless of any power I’ve felt before, a strange and wonderful thing happened to me today.
My “fast meter” just got reset and I welcomed with open arms the brutal acceleration of the 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo S.


In the past, I’ve freely admitted that I wasn’t the biggest Porschefile. Maybe it was prejudgement or my lack of passion for the product. This was perhaps due to the lack of aggressive polarizing styling. I think the older I get the more I appreciate the simplicity of the 911’s styling. It’s very handsome and the packaging has always seemed to work.
The main thing I realized today is that I have never given one the full beans and properly tested it’s capabilities. Sure there are louder, more flamboyant offerings in the market, but no other offers such efficient performance per dollar at any price point.

I had flown back to Texas to visit family, and this included my attendance at a few dealerships to help someone find a new vehicle. We drove the Macan S which is surprisingly good, but I wont bore you with that since Brad has gone over it enough.
After the test drive, our salesperson walked us through the dealership and into the service are. On the service drive I saw a 993 and a 964 Carrera. A smile instantly crept across my face and I had a feeling this dealership was special. It’s good to see that owners are not just going to Porsche specialists but to the dealer to get them serviced.

While walking through the wonderfully air conditioned maintenance center, my eyes focused on a 996 Carrera and a Spec Boxster. The Boxster experienced a bit of an encounter with a stationary object at a local track day the weekend before. The technician working on it has been there for 25 years and worked on all track day setups at this particular dealership. The history they were building emphasized the passion I was beginning to feel.

Then I focused on something truly astounding. In the very back of the service center in a seemingly private and secluded area, I saw the holy grail of the modern Porschefile obsession. A stripped down 918 Spyder in for a 5,000 mile service with some repair due to rock chip damage. From the report I got, the owner “uses the 918 in the manner for which it was designed.”
Ultimately I got into an enthusiastic conversation with the salesperson, an avid Porsche fan (owning many himself). The conversation went over the Pebble Beach offerings from Steve McQueen’s cars for sale to the 959 that was expected to bring quite the price. He then made me an offer that I couldn’t refuse. There was a 991 Turbo S available on the following day for us to take a quick spin. The answer obviously was a resounding, yes!

It was obvious to me that Porsche horsepower is just flat out more efficient than it is from any other manufacturer. The 3.8 liter Twin Turbo Flat-6 makes 560 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque, with an available 553 lb-ft thanks to the over-boost feature. All Turbo S models have the Sport Chrono package as standard and the over-boost function is featured in this package. 0-60 in 2.9 seconds, let that sink in… 2.9 seconds! That’s mind numbingly fast. When we first got into the car and when the road was clear I had a taste of what that felt like from the passenger seat. It happens so quickly and without drama, it just goes!
Speed can be extremely addictive and it was my turn to feel this out. After finding a nice quiet side street, I brought the car to a stop. I pressed the sport plus button, matted the throttle with maximum authority and lifted the brake pedal. The immediacy of this launch rushed the blood to the back of my head.
Maybe I’m being overly dramatic but I felt The Fast and the Furious blurriness. It was most likely caused by the cranial blood rush, of course. After I calmed down I saw the results of my launch, 1.19G’s of launch acceleration. That doesn’t need much more explanation and all this on a day hitting triple digits temperatures…truly amazing!

Moving on to the handling test in a very private section of S-Turns. We approached speeds on public roads which I will not admit to publicly. I felt the uncanny grip the 911 Turbo S can achieve. No sweats broken from the car and none from me either.
The capability that the 911 Turbo S can achieve in the twisties is nothing short of marvelous. Finally, we came to the final part of the test; the braking capabilities of this Autobahn missile. Stabbing the brakes and feeling the tires hunt for grip I achieved nearly the same amount of g-forces as I felt during the launch, 1.18G’s.

I’m now a convert and fully understand what the Porsche engineers can do. I must now keep myself from searching various sites for 996 Turbos, but the temptation will always get the best of me.
Special thanks to a dealership which will remain nameless and a super cool salesperson who allowed me to observe and feel something truly magnificent.
[Images: Copyright 2015 Hooniverse/Jason Connor]

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7 responses to “Quick Spin: 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo S…Fast Meter Redefined”

  1. barney fife Avatar
    barney fife

    My first experience behind the wheel of a Porsche happened in a 1984 Turbo, while stationed in West Germany. That damn thing was scary-fast. I loved it – – but the wife said “no”, and I settled for a 735i of the same vintage — it had a place for a car seat.
    http://www.classic-auctions.com/Images/Report/124C/47715.jpg

    1. Xedicon Avatar
      Xedicon

      I like I like! I got to drive a 1977 911 once. While it wasn’t fast it certainly was something special and a neat experience!

  2. Xedicon Avatar
    Xedicon

    Never really thought about my internal “fast-meter” but to this day one of these babies set the scale… 😀
    Still a quick car even by today’s standards!

    1. Jason Connor Avatar

      Quick and scary as shit.

    2. Jeff Glucker Avatar
      Jeff Glucker

      2nd scariest car I’ve ever driven.
      First was a Cobra replica with some massive HEMI motor under the hood…

  3. salguod Avatar

    Early on, my fast meter was set by Dad’s ’77 Cutlass with the 350 4bbl Olds engine. Not particularly fast, but 16YO me thought it was.
    Later, as a valet (yeah), it was a Buick GN. The garage for our the hotel I was working for was a couple blocks away. I left the hotel, turned right and nailed it. After the turbo lag, I was shocked at the acceleration.
    Recently a coworker had his brother’s E63 AMG and took me for a ride and, frankly, it scared the crap out of me. He offered to let me drive it, but I declined seeing as it wasn’t my car nor his, the thought of wrecking it kept be in the passenger seat.

  4. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    My internal fast meter? That would have been set by a Tesla Model S P85.

    At my insistence, my family went to the showroom in Scottsdale, AZ. Well, my dad struck up a conversation with the salesperson, who just mentioned that their 1:00pm test drive had just cancelled, and asked if we would like to take it. After about one nanosecond of debate, my dad said yes. Well, we took it out (Me and my brother got to sit in the back!) and after some cruising, the salesperson took us to a side street, and said punch it.

    This was 2(?) years ago, and my internal organs are still recovering! And this was before AWD!