Porsche 911 Turbo supercar costs more – and less

PORSCHE’S performance flagship, the 911 Turbo, will be cheaper than its predecessor when it arrives by December, but its harder-core Turbo S sibling will cop a price rise of up to $20,300.

The 911 Turbo Coupe will start at $359,800 plus on-road costs, a drop from the $363,700 pricetag of the previous generation model. The new opening gambit makes the blower-wielding uber-coupe $104,900 more expensive than the most expensive ‘regular’ 911.

Meanwhile, the price of the range-topping and even more potent Turbo S in Coupe guise is now $441,300, up $18,000.

Drop-top variants naturally command a price premium over their hard-top siblings, with the Turbo Cabriolet down by $1300 to $388,800 and the more powerful and generously specified Turbo S Cabriolet up by $20,300, with a new starting price of $463,100.

The current top-line 911 Carrera 4S cabriolet, by way of comparison, retails here for $281,900.

As previously reported, power for the 911 Turbo comes from an upgraded 3.8-litre bi-turbo flat-six engine producing 383kW (up 15kW) and 660Nm (up 10Nm), while S models benefit from an extra 22kW for an even more impressive total power output of 412kW. Maximum torque for the Turbo S remains at 700Nm.

The new-generation 991-series model is also only available with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission – no manual gearbox for the purists – and has a new all-wheel-drive system. Porsche says the all-paw system features a water-cooling function that can push more torque to the front wheels, if necessary.

The 911 Turbo’s impressive performance figures include a 0-100km/h sprint time of 3.4 seconds in the Turbo (using the Sport Chrono pack’s launch control function) – 0.2s quicker than the previous model – and 3.1s in the Turbo S.

Maximum speed rises by 3km/h for both models, to 315km/h in the Turbo and 318km/h in the S.

Porsche has made it possible for the driver to tune the aerodynamics with a retractable three-stage front spoiler and a rear wing with three adjustable positions.

The German sportscar-maker says this dynamic enhancement is enough to improve the lap time of 7 minutes and 30 seconds on the North Loop of the Nurburgring by up to two seconds.

The new rear axle steering in the 911 Turbo uses two electro-mechanical actuators instead of conventional control arms on the left and right of the rear axle.

The steering angle of the rear wheels can vary by up to 2.8 degrees, depending on the speed the vehicle is traveling.

When the front wheels are turned at speeds of up to 50km/h, the system steers the rear wheels in the opposite direction, which Porsche claims means a virtual shortening of the wheelbase of 250mm, allowing for faster turning into bends and easier maneuverability when parking.

If traveling of speeds of up to 80km/h, the system steers the rear wheels parallel to the turned front wheels, again virtually lengthening the wheelbase by 500mm and enhancing the stability of the car.

Included as standard on Turbo models is a ‘sound symposer’ that transmits sounds of the turbo engine into the cabin of the car via a speaker, with Porsche claiming an intensified driving experience.

Porsche says fuel consumption is improved by up to 16 per cent, thanks to the use of idle stop, the new transmission and a thermal management system, with the official figure sitting at 9.7 litres per 100 kilometres on the combined cycle for both modelsTo differentiate the Turbo models from other variants in the 911 range, Porsche has widened the rear body panels by 28mm over the Carrera 4, while the 20-inch two-tone wheels are unique to the Turbo.

The cabin of the Turbo S features an exclusive black and ‘Carrera red’ colour combination, 18-way adjustable sports seats with memory, leather upholstery on the seat back-rest shells and carbon-look highlights.

A Burmester sound system, adaptive cruise control and a camera with road sign and speed limit recognition are all available as options in the Turbo and Turbo S.

The current-generation 911 launched in Australia in January last year, and the range has since been boosted by the arrival of a number of variants including the 911 Cabriolet and Carrera 4, while the 350kW/430Nm GT3 is scheduled to go in sale locally later this year.

Earlier this year, Porsche cut prices on almost all models across its line-up, except the four-door Panamera, with drops starting at a somewhat modest $5500 for the Boxster to $36,300 for the aforementioned 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet.

The price cuts were part of an effort to double sales in Australia, and increase its global sales to 200,000 a year by 2020.

2013 Porsche 911 Turbo Pricing*

Turbo Coupe	$359,800 (- $3900)
Turbo S	$441,300 (+$18,000)
Turbo Cabriolet	$388,800 (- $1300)
Turbo S Cabriolet	$463,100 (+$20,300)

*Plus on-road costs.