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We looked at the tail afterwards and found no afterburner—just the S’s two pairs of twin tailpipes. Upstream of the exhaust is Porsche’s latest flat-six, developing 355 bhp and 400 Nm. The all-aluminum 3.8-liter engine has 4 valves per cylinder, with variable valve lift and timing on the intake side. At full blast, 0 to 100 km/h goes by in a blistering 4.8 seconds, 160 km/h in 10.7, and 200 km/h in 16.5. Top speed is 293 km/h. An owner in this country will likely never see those numbers outside of a test track, but the potential is always ready to be summoned. Despite our car’s optional sports suspension that lowers the car’s ride height by 20 mm, humps can be taken head-on, albeit gently. The ride is extremely firm, with the huge 19-inch tires telegraphing the road surface into the cabin. For those wanting a more comfortable ride, the S comes standard with Porsche Active Suspension Management, which can soften or harden the damper settings on command or automatically. We expected stunning acceleration from this car, but what truly made our eyes pop, literally, were the brakes. Four-piston calipers and ceramic discs the size of large pepperoni pizzas (350 mm) haul the car down from triple digits to a crawl in an incredibly short patch of road. No fade, no hesitation and no drama. And no warming up is necessary. The optional Sports Chrono Package Plus doesn’t refer merely to the analog/digital stopwatch mounted on the dash. The system actually enhances the car’s performance by altering some its electronically-controlled thresholds. The throttle butterfly opens and closes more rapidly, the stability management allows more slip in corners, and even the ABS cuts in later. Porsche promises that you won’t just feel that you’re going faster—you actually will. You can measure precisely how much many seconds you’re shaving off your best lap by using the stopwatch. Track days will never be the same again. The 911 has gone back to its heritage for its new look, but everything underneath that familiar skin is bristling with impressive technology. The future of Porsche has arrived, and it is extremely fast. |
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