RC:
At the new 911 Turbo S presentation in Moscow, Mr. Bernhard Maier, Porsche boss for Marketing and Distribution (as far as I remember) said, that the 911 Turbo is the highlight of the 911 model line, the best of the best, an "article" (whatever he meant by that ). Then, he tells people "here is the new 911 Turbo and Turbo S" and...funny...only one car shows up, the 991 Turbo S. This was already kind of weird if you ask me.
For me, as a 911 Turbo customer, the 911 Turbo is the following: A monster power Porsche with AWD which can beat everything on the street in straight line at speeds under 100 kph (62 mph), which can hit 0-200 kph faster than any other sports car in the price range and which hits 0-300 kph at least at par with some real super sports cars. Top speed isn't that important, usually speeds around 315 kph are just fine for the German Autobahn because it really takes a lot of free space to drive faster. I'm not crazy enough to pass other cars or trucks at 340 kph, so the current 318 kph Vmax for the Turbo S is enough...for me.
Where are we now with Turbo S performance? Well...not where I actually expected it to be. Porsche raised the base price tag of the 911 Turbo S in Germany by a whopping 22k EUR. Yes, they improved the standard equipment but c'mon, so did the competition and this doesn't justify a price increase of almost 13%. Again...a price increase of almost 13% in a time where interest rates are historically low and inflation is below 2% in many countries, incl. Germany.
The last 997 Turbo S had 530 hp. 13% of that is aprox. 70 hp. So to justify the increased price tag, Porsche would have needed to increase the power output by 13% also. This means...600hp. Exactly what I wanted in the first place.
Even if we ignore the very good performance of the current McLaren MP4-12C and 12C Spider, the competition (Ferrari, Lamborghini and even Audi with their R8) will present new models at some point, maybe next year. I am pretty sure that the next gen 458 (whatever the name will be) will hit 0-200 kph in under 10 seconds. So where would that leave Porsche and their "benchmark" 911 Turbo S?
Porsche made a serious mistake in my opinion and it will show sooner or later in their 991 Turbo and especially Turbo S sales figures. Why did I order a 991 Turbo S then? Well: Did I have a choice? I am a very special case since I need a less flashy car with daily driver capabilities (incl. rain and snow) and four seats. What about other potential customers? If people start saying they considered the new Turbo S but start buying a McLaren instead, something is definitely wrong.
The competition has never been that strong before. To be honest: If I would live in a different region and I wouldn't see the need for a stealth sports car with daily driver capabilities, I would choose the Ferrari F12 or maybe the MP4-12C also. This comes from a diehard Porsche fan, so Porsche should really worry about my words!
A 911 Turbo was always a beast, a performance monster. The benchmark, I kind of agree. Where are we now? Yes, 560 hp are nice and the new Turbo S is fast but this just does't cut it. A 911 Turbo shouldn't just keep up with the competition, it should annihilate, shock the competition. I always "enjoy" it (not!) when I hear somebody from Porsche talking about fuel efficiency and environmental achievements. To be frank: I give a rat's ass about that. I get "mobbed" with this car anyway most of the time, so I couldn't care less if the car is now 18% or 13% or 15% more fuel efficient. This is something which may be interesting for Porsche because they have to fulfill certain environmental laws but as a customer, performance comes first. Performance.
I get it, Porsche engineers may not be in love with the current (and future) environmental laws and it may be more and more difficult to achieve more power and better performance but at the same time to lower emissions output and fuel consumption. Yes, I get this. Which brings me to the next point: How does the competition do it? Aren't they facing the same issues? Same goes to the exhaust/engine sound: While the competition usually produces an amazing exhaust/engine sound, the 911 Turbo sounds like a...well...I don't know...a car with 150 horses?
Part of the driving fun is the exhaust/engine sound, Porsche needs to understand that. I actually don't know any Turbo S customer who is happy with the current 997 Turbo S sound. So why doesn't Porsche listen??? Starting with the 996 Turbo, the exhaust sound on the 911 Turbo models has been really lame. Is there a reason for that? I don't get it, seriously. If Porsche worries that some 911 Turbo customers, maybe wealthy business men who really use that car as a daily driver, may feel annoyed by a permanent loud engine/exhaust noise, there is an easy solution and it is called: Sport Exhaust Option. Make an amazing sounding sport exhaust and charge customers 4k EUR for it. It will work, I bet on it. On the other hand, I have to ask myself why my favorite car company increased the base price of a Turbo S by almost 13% but at the same time, I get nothing really special in return?
LED lights? Great. Do they improve the performance? More leather. Great. Does it improve performance? Not so pretty CL Turbo S rims? Do they improve performance? Yes, active aerodynamics...AWS...new PTM system...I get it. Isn't this what a new generation is all about? Introducing new or improved features?
Don't get me wrong: I am pretty sure the new 991 Turbo S is going to be an amazing sports car and at par with the competition but here's the problem: The competition is already very strong and new generations of competitor cars, like the 458, Gallardo and R8 successor, are to be released in the near future. Where does this leave the new 991 Turbo S? The benchmark?! Case closed.
There is still time for Porsche to "adjust" the 991 Turbo S specs...just saying.
The complaints regarding the new 991 GT3 may not have been justified, at least this car delivers an amazing performance, especially compared to it's 997 GT3 or even GT3 RS predecessor.
The 991 Turbo S is a different story...30 hp more only but 20kg more weight too...I don't get it.
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RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Turbo S (Sept. 2013), Cayenne GTS (958), BMW X3 35d (2013)
Fully agree with you.
When so many members here think seriously about MP4-12C somwthing must be wrong with the way Porsche positioned 991 Turbo/Turbo S on the market
BTW, I heard then 991 Turbo/Turbo S engine is just further development of 997.2 Turbo S engine and that "90% new parts" for 991 Turbo actually means-everything besides engine and steering wheel.
Personally, I am still thinking about F12 Berlinetta despite its price tag. Just look at this Grigio Ferro Met example...
IMHO totally amazing.