Currently reading: 2016 Porsche 911 Turbo and Turbo S revealed
Facelifted 911 Turbo range is already on sale in the UK for a starting price of £126,925; improved 911 Turbo S gets 572bhp

The facelifted Porsche 911 Turbo S will be fastest-accelerating Porsche 911 production model when it is launched in the UK at the end of this month, with a 0-62mph time of just 2.9sec – some 0.2sec faster than its predecessor.

The new 911 Turbo S is also among a select group of road going 911 models to boast a top speed in excess of 200mph, with official performance claims pointing to a potential maximum of 205mph – the same top speed achieved by the frenzied 611bhp 911 GT2 RS produced in 2010.  

Read our first drive review of the new Porsche 911 Turbo S

The new 2016 model year 911 Turbo S, which will be sold in both coupé and cabriolet body styles, retains the same twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre horizontally opposed six-cylinder direct injection petrol engine as its predecessor, which first went on sale in the UK in 2013.

Porsche 334de 911 turboa 0004

However, detailed changes to the inlet ports within the cylinder head, among other minor modifications to the variable vane turbocharger, have liberated an extra 20bhp, providing the new 911 Turbo S with a stout 572bhp – or more than 150bhp per litre.

No official torque figures for the new car have been revealed, although Porsche sources suggest it retains the same 553lb ft as the old 911 Turbo S owing to loading limitations with its standard seven-speed dual clutch gearbox and four-wheel-drive system.

At the same time, the standard 911 Turbo has also been updated for 2016. Also available in coupe and cabriolet forms, it receives a less aggressively tuned version of the same engine, kicking out 18bhp more than its predecessor at 532bhp.

Yet despite giving away some 40bhp to its more highly tuned sibling, it is claimed to hit 62mph from standstill in 3.0sec and run to a top speed of 199mph in coupe form, for respective improvements of 0.4sec and 3mph.

To reduce the effect of turbocharger lag and provide what Porsche describes as sharper throttle response, both the new 911 Turbo and 911 Turbo feature a so-called dynamic boost function. It maintains the boost pressure, with the throttle valve remaining open and power interrupted by cutting the fuel injection on a trailing throttle.

Advertisement

Read our review

Car review

Is the forced-induction 911 still the supercar you can use every day, or have new arrivals raised the bar for the segment?

Back to top

Porsche claims improved response when the driver reapplies the throttle, with the effected described as being more pronounced in Sport and Sport Plus modes than in Normal mode.

Along with the performance gains, Porsche claims a 2.0mpg improvement in combined cycle fuel economy across the range, with the coupe models returning 31.0mpg and the cabriolets 30.4mpg.

In line with the facelifted 911 Carrera and 911 Carrera S revealed at the Frankfurt motor show in September, the new 911 Turbo and 911 Turbo S receive a series of subtle exterior styling upgrades.

Included is an altered front bumper with reshaped cooling ducts, a revised splitter element and twinned LED indicator units either side helping to emphasis the new car’s visual width.

Farther back, there are new look 20-inch centre lock wheels, those on the 911 Turbo now mirroring the size of those used by the 911 Turbo S at 9 inches in width up front and 11.5 inches at the rear. The door handles are also modified to provide them with a more integrated appearance without the plastic shell door inserts of old.

Porsche 334de 911 turboa 0005

At the rear, there are newly styled tail lamps with added structure to the lenses and altered LED graphics, a redesigned engine lid featuring a new look grille for improved cooling properties as well as re-profiled bumper with new trapezoidal shaped tailpipes.      

Back to top

Inside, the 2016 model year 911 Turbo and 911 Turbo S receive a new 360mm-diameter steering wheel featuring a rotary driving mode controller. There’s also a new Sport Response feature that allows the driver to call up maximum accelerative potential for up to 20sec in any of the four driving modes – Normal, Sport, Sport Plus, Individual – at the press of a button.

Further changes are focused on the Porsche Communication Management infotainment system, which receives a new touchscreen and improved connectivity functions, including wi-fi. New options include a radar lane change system and a lift function that increases the ground clearance at the front spoiler lip by up to 40mm at low speeds at the press of a button.

The facelifted 911 Turbo coupé is on sale now at a price of £126,925 in the UK, with the 911 Turbo cabriolet pitched at £135,766. The 911 Turbo S starts at £145,773 for the coupe, rising to £154,614 for the cabriolet.

Read the full review of the first-ever turbocharged Porsche 911

Join the debate

Comments
16
Add a comment…
kamlottis 10 December 2015

Loathed .....and loved

No other car, sports or staid, espouses the epithet of survival for the fittest better than the Porsche 911. The world sports car for the masses plods on as a true tech tour de force.......in all manner of emotional ways. Keep it there Porsche, everyone else is playing catch up with an idea whose engine was thought to have been slotted in as an afterthought. Derided, envied.....then simply loved!
Roadster 2 December 2015

Pointless in the face of McLaren

It doesn't matter what Porsche does to the 911, especially the Turbo, it has now been found to be inferior and totally eclipsed by McLaren's 570/650 models. It makes you wonder why Porsche bothered really with updating the 991. Plus, as already mentioned Porsche, as part of the VW Group, has been found to have been cheating and misplacing people's faith and trust in their products so it's clear whatever design and engineering integrity they claimed to have had before the emissions scandal, it's clear that these were false and it's hard to believe anything now that Porsche says about the 911 which are claimed to be beneficial to the car or suggest improvement. In light of the scandal the the truth that Porsche's design, technology and engineering has, and never, will come close to that of McLaren, or Ferrari, has been reaffirmed. Let us not forget the 918 recalls either, recalls to fix dangerous issues, or the 911 GT3 fires, all issues that really highlight the true nature of Porsche design. McLaren makes Porsche look like amateurs.
Cyborg 1 December 2015

Turbo

The external detailing on this new Turbo is ugly and crass, I might say even a little kitcar-ish! I wonder if it'll be as soulless as its predecessor?
Roadster 2 December 2015

Cyborg wrote: The external

Cyborg wrote:

The external detailing on this new Turbo is ugly and crass, I might say even a little kitcar-ish! I wonder if it'll be as soulless as its predecessor?

I agree totally, the styling looks aftermarket/kitcar-ish. And it doesn't even look desirable, expensive or even stirs the soul, not like a McLaren or Ferrari can.