You are in a queue of traffic at 40mph, with a line of cars and straight piece of clear road ahead. In sixth gear you’d probably pass at least the first two, because the Turbo takes 5.7sec to get from 40-60mph in top.
In fifth you’ll need 3.6sec – three cars, maybe four. In fourth, 2.6sec. Hook third and both you and the rest of the traffic will begin to feel uneasy as the Turbo blows its way from 40-60mph in 2.1sec. If you’re feeling really unsociable you could drop to second and do it in 1.4sec. You will be leaving just about everything this side of a Bugatti Veyron trailing.
It takes 1.3sec to 30mph. Nail the short throw from first to second (the £380 short-shift manual gearbox is fast and slick) and after 3.6sec you’re doing 60mph. Porsche claims 3.9sec to 62mph, but we logged this car at 3.60sec to 60mph. 150mph arrives 19.6sec after you set off; an Aston Martin DB9 takes 26.9sec and a Ferrari F430 21.5sec.
What really distinguishes the Turbo’s performance is its flexibility: there is no turbo lag to speak of.
The Turbo’s braking ability is predictably immense, especially when fitted with the test car’s PCCB option. It takes just 2.5sec to stop from 60mph and covers just 44.4m from 70-0mph. It is the level of feel through the pedal and total absence of fade that most impress.
The ride is amazingly calm and sophisticated. The springs and electronic Bilstein dampers soak up most road scars as if they didn’t exist. The steering is so well-damped that there is virtually no kickback. But, like all 997s with variable-rate assistance, the seam of communication between car, driver and road surface has faded.
The tail will eventually let go if you back out of the throttle sharply into a tightening bend, but it never just snaps away as of old. There’s always a sense of balance to the chassis, even if you provoke it into a slide. What isn’t so impressive is the amount of tyre roar it generates, especially from the rear above 60mph.
