First look: Turbo S crowns Porsche 911, for now

JUST as the first spy pictures of its next-generation 911 have started to emerge, Porsche has revealed the quickest, torquiest production car ever to wear the hallowed three-number model name: the 911 Turbo S.

Armed with an even more powerful version of the new 368kW/650Nm 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat six that propels the latest 911 Turbo, which goes on sale in Australia next week, to 100km/h in just 3.4 seconds, the Turbo S offers up a staggering 390kW and 700Nm.

While that matches the peak power output and ups the maximum torque of the current 911 GT2 by just 20Nm, it’s enough to slash one-tenth of a second off the 0-100km/h time of the new 911 Turbo PDK and four-tenths off the outgoing manual-only GT2 – Porsche’s wildest rear-drive 911 – which employed a high-performance version of the previous 911 Turbo’s 3.6-litre engine.

Of course, with the PDK-only Turbo S completing the 0-100km/h sprint in just 3.3 seconds, putting it among the world’s quickest road cars ever, one wonders just how quick the next-generation GT2 3.8 will be - not to mention fast, with the 327km/h GT2 still besting the new Turbo S (315km/h).

To find out, we’ll have to wait until next year, when the new GT2 completes the rollout of Porsche’s latest 997-series 911, before the redesigned 998-series hits showrooms in 2012.

For now, the Turbo S – a badge that has appeared only twice before on limited-production run-out versions of the 993 and 996-series Porsche two-door and continues to grace the Stuttgart brand’s top-shelf Cayenne SUV - rejoins the 911 range as a full-time member for the final two years of 997 production, from May globally.

Designed to satisfy those in need of the ultimate 911 Turbo, the S carries over the Turbo’s all-wheel drive layout with Porsche Traction Management and, exclusively, its optional seven-speed PDK twin-clutch automated manual transmission, as well as adding many of its expensive options as standard equipment.

They include the Porsche torque vectoring system (PTV), which includes a mechanical limited-slip rear differential, the Sport Chrono package comprising launch control and dynamic engine mounts to increase high-speed rigidity, Porsche ceramic composite brakes (PCCB), 19-inch central-locking RS Spyder-style alloy wheels, dynamic bending lights, adaptive ports seats with increased adjustability and two-tone leather seats in exclusive Black/Crema or Black/Titanium Blue hues.

For the record, powered by the highest-performing version of the larger yet lighter lighter, variable-geometry turbo six yet seen from Porsche, the 2010 911 Turbo S also sprints to 200km/h in a claimed 10.8 seconds, yet uses no more fuel than the 911 Turbo, with an official combined average of 11.4L/100km.

Available in coupe and cabriolet body styles for the first time, the first Turbo S in five years will cost significantly more than the Turbo, which arrives here next week priced at $360,100 (coupe) and $386,200, but less than the discontinued GT2’s last record-setting price of $447,500.

Due here in August, the 911 Turbo S will cost $423,300 as a coupe and $442,800 in cabriolet guise.

Porsche’s facelifted 997-series 911 rollout began in January with first deliveries of the GT3 coupe, continues this month with the 911 Turbo coupe and cabriolet, and will then bring 24 examples of the sold-out GT3 RS road racer and three examples of the nostalgic ‘whale-tailed’ 911 Sport Classic in April.

Of course, Porsche’s biggest launch for 2010 will not be mid-year’s 911 Turbo S but the second-generation Cayenne line-up, including the German sportscar-maker’s first hybrid model, which will share the limelight at the Geneva motor show on March 2 with the S-badged 911 Turbo.