What you’re looking at is the seventh generation of Porsche 911 Turbo, and it comes 47 years after the unveiling of the first. But within those generations lie two subsets: the first two generations were raw and tricky devices, so much so that for the third, the 993-era introduced in 1995, a new formula was applied: with twin-turbocharging to take away the lag and four-wheel-drive to put all the power on the tarmac rather than through the nearest hedge, a new breed of 911 Turbo was born, less the rough and ready sports car, more the continent crushing super GT. And it’s been like that ever since.

Which was all very well in theory. But it has left the 911 flagship open to criticism that, for all its pulverising pace, the Turbo is somehow less of a driver’s machine than lesser 911s, more of a blunt instrument for clubbing its way from place to place, rather than the finely-honed driving machine many believe it should be. Well, says Porsche, this new 992-based Turbo is where that all stops. We shall see about that.

As is always the case with very powerful cars these days, it’s not the power per se that determines your sense of the car’s performance, but what the car does with it. And in this case, with four-wheel-drive and the traditional traction advantage conferred by the engine’s location, what the Turbo S does is dump the lot on the tarmac without so much as a chirrup from the tyres if the road is smooth. A launch control start is actually quite a violent experience, sufficiently so indeed to be not particularly pleasant. Look at that 2.7 second 0-62mph claim, and remember Porsche always, always, always underestimates such things. In the real world you’d need a Bugatti Chiron to step away from the line substantially more smartly than this.

Some old issues remain: the engine is relatively slow to respond at low revs, but perhaps no more than you might expect of a motor required to produce over 170PS per litre of capacity. It sounds better than the old Turbo engine too, but is still less characterful than the 3.0-litre units in the Carrera models.

And you can feel the car’s size and weight too: this is a car that likes wide open spaces far more than narrow twisting lanes. But place it in the right environment and you will not doubt that when it comes to blending outright capability with real driver interaction, this is a 911 Turbo like no other before.

Where Porsche has been clever is not to mess with the formula that has brought it so much success over the last quarter of a century. You and I might want a 911 Turbo to be a rewarding driving machine, but many who buy them actually just want that image wrapped up in a fast and supremely capable car. And that core component of the car’s character remains in full. I’d say the ride was a little firm and the tyres somewhat noisy on coarse surfaces, but in all other regards, this remains every inch in the long distance business-person’s express.

But there’s something else here too, something new. There’s a heft to the steering I don’t recall, and an appetite for an apex that was missing from the car it replaces. Drive it quite hard you’ll notice most how it just always hits its marks: it’s more accurate and responsive which is great. But up the effort rate a little further and you’ll find something else here too: a balance missing from the old car. It is more eager to adjust its line according to throttle setting, more resistant to understeer and happier than ever to let the back slide wide. Walliser was right: it is a far better driver’s car.

News