Hey

I have a 2006 Carrera base.

Its been a blast to drive


But today I was at the dealership and took out a 2010 Turbo out.

What an insane piece of car that thing is. Man o man.


I realize turbos are more expensive, but what are the other negatives about them?

Do they not handle as well?

I am not a huge fan of their looks. A bit too much.

But man, what a beast .

 

1-I would be jailed within 3 days.

2-I would wear out a set of tires in 3 weeks.

3-I would be at Champion getting Tom to further my Turbo crack addiction in 3 months.

Do you see a pattern?

 

Did you drive a manual or PDK?

 

Carrera S is best selling 911, IMO its blend of instant power in low end torque which some people prefer over the sling shot turbo feel and also no turbo maintenance worries.

 

These are my opinions, in general form, about any 911 turbo:

The classic ones (930/964/993) are widely collectible. Their prices have skyrocketed the last 2-3 years. Air cooled flat 6s had difficulty making BIG power, and turbo charging them was the only way. BUT....big turbo lag, hairy oversteer handling, made them a difficult car for the average guy to drive to the limits. The 993 with awd is not as "scary" and has always been considered a collectible.

Watercooled 996s have the front end design NO ONE loves. These are bargains, relatively speaking, for the performance they can provide. One could probably buyt one cheap, and tear it apart to make a great track car.

The 997s are slowly becoming great deals too (note, not bargains by any means). They are incredible pieces of technology, selling with low miles for much cheaper than a 993/964/930. They have extreme limits, darn near exotic car performance (when equipped with PDK)......but.......they are inherently "soft", leaning towards just an incredible "GT car", rather than a "track" or "performance" car. They really could be an ultimate DD car. In a manual, the rush of momentum (not absolute speed) is just so incredible. The PDK is faster, more user friendly. The AWD makes their performance attainable for most, BUT... they are heavy, softer sprung, not as "feedback" positive as the GT3/RS line.

I have thought long and hard about 997.2 turbo manual vs. 991GT3 for pure driver fun, performance, DD and part-time track ( I go 4-8 times a year). I am going with the 991 GT3 myself. When it boiled down to it....they are a steal for what Porsche is offering. Nearly the same performance, great DD, extremely respected on the track (not as harsh as the 997.1 RS or 997.2 RS), and limited production. Of course.....the whole engine debacle has questioned what is better new tech 9A1 9000RPM REVVING ENGINE VS. THE GOOD OL METZGER (which is one of the top 2-3 best engines ever built by Porsche).

The biggest negative, to me, about the turbo....is that it is "soft", and they make a ton of them (future turbo collectibility is not happening). If they would have had a 50th anniversary run, of a limited number of 997.2 turbo S manuals with a "track pack" option (not RS extreme, but basic suspension stuff to make it tolerable for the weekend warrior) then I would have gone that route, because I live at over 5000 feet in elevation, and forced induction is more efficient than NA.

Just my 2 cents.

 

So when you say GT you mean they are smoother than a regular Carrera / Carrera S?


Wheeler: I drove the PDK

 

In general auto-enthusiast terms, "GT" means "grand touring". Think back to the 80's and the 928. Porsche was after the "GT" market, not the "track" market.
Good GT cars are anything Aston Martin, the Jag F type, a Ferrari California, Maseratti, etc, etc. Basically very "comfortable" cars, with "luxury" features for touring the back roads. Not lightweight, hard suspension track cars. A 997.1 RS or a 997.2 RS are NOT "GT" cars. The latest 991 turbo is an incredible GT car, and some, (Because of the lack of a manual) feel the GT3991 is becoming a GT car.
Most of the high end exotic cars are using technology to "blend" a GT car with a ton of track respect. Think Audi R8, Ferrari 458, and to me, 991 GT3.
The fastest way around a track is not with a manual anymore, PERIOD. even the race series that are about performance show us that (think F1). Even the sequential shifting of the cup cars is not even close to being a "manual" with traditional heel-toe downshifting with an "h-gate" type gear changing mechanism. For a long time, drag racers have kicked out the traditional manual for a sequential type shifter. With increased speed, one just can not make proper shifts nearly as efficient. So...gear boxes just spread out the ratios so the "human" can have time too shift. Just imaging the 997.2 turbo S with a close ratio tranny.....OMG....you just couldn't keep up.

 

Don't use the description "smoother" to differentiate a C2S from a turbo. Smoother means what? A turbo inherently needs to be a low compression engine, so the NA part of the power curve is so-so, then the forced induction part of the power curve is INSANE!! The power curve of a NA engine is way "smoother" than a turbo. BUT...."harshness" of ride may be a term used in comparing a 997.1/997.2 GT3RS to any other carrera, turbo included.

 

Another man bitten by the turbo!
Once I got one, there is no going back. The .1 suspension was hugely improved in the .2. It is just an incredible car. Nothing is "collectable", but the .2 hits an incredible milestone of 0-60 under 3 seconds. What a rush.

 

MileHigh summed it up pretty well.


Plus, if I may be blunt, IMHO, .....

"Almost everyone wants a turbo. They may deny it, but deep inside, they want one. I bet that if the turbos were priced the same (cost and maintenance) as a regular 997/991, almost everyone would be driving one."

Ok, I have my asbestos suit on.

cheers!

 

I would like a turbo S but I just couldn't justify paying the surcharge when I need to save for my children's college fund. My 2009 C4S is plenty of car for this middle age man.

John

 

I found it fantastic --

But, I don't really love how turbos look.

I am not into the side vents and the spoiler.

 

John,
I salute you. I still have one more kid (1.5 years to go) before I can think about buying a mid-life crisis car (of course, the 991 Turbo S)

In the interim, 2 air-cooled and 1 water-cooled Porsches should be fine with me. wink! wink! wink!

 

Next 911 = 991 Turbo S.

Done.

 

me too. +1
For me I like to have another "luxury/play" car so the extra 15k or so to get into a turbo ( then overall costs , and go fast parts I know I would get ) would just do me in budget wise.