The Icon: 911 Turbo S

THE 911 TURBO S is unequivocally the icon, a technological and performance marvel. The one competitors chase but have yet to catch up. To hear the resonant thunder of the 640-horsepower, twin-turbo flat-six crackle at idle is to know this machine is on a whole other level. Kick up the revs and every follicle on your body stands to attention, you cannot help but become giddy. At first, you’re not sure if you should be frightened or excited. Or both. Save your admission to Canada’s Wonderland — engage launch control and you have unlimited rides in your very own Porsche rollercoaster.

Imagine being able to drive around town knowing you can blast the doors off of any supercar. The Lamborghini Huracán Performante. The McLaren 720S. Even the Bugatti Chiron with over double the horsepower. And knowing is enough — always drive safe — don’t bother wasting time, energy and fuel to prove it. Save this for the track, where this type of driving belongs and where you can really have some fun. The only real challenger you may come across happens to be a sibling, the 875-horsepower 918 Spyder, an icon in its own right.

Imagine being able to drive around town knowing you can blast the doors off of any supercar. The Lamborghini Huracán Performante. The McLaren 720S. Even the Bugatti Chiron with over double the horsepower.

These are the two fastest production cars Car and Driver has ever tested, the 918 Spyder accelerates from zero to 60 MPH in an astounding 2.1 seconds, the 911 Turbo S in 2.2. Pick your choice of hyperbole — rocketship, slingshot, catapult — they all apply. The top speed of the Turbo S is 330 KPH, just 15 shy of the 918.

And so it is not just about horsepower, it is about how the horsepower is managed and applied, otherwise the Chiron, with 1,479 horsepower, would obliterate the 911 Turbo S, with 839 vastly fewer horses.

The 911 Turbo S employs Porsche Active Aerodynamics (PAA) to reduce drag but also enhance downforce when required, two contradictory characteristics. The components include active cooling air flaps, a variable front spoiler lip, and an extending and tilting rear wing, together offering eight different configurations for various driving requirements. PAA is also used to improve braking response as well as to improve air flow when the sunroof is open or, for the cabriolet Turbo S, when the roof is down. PAA can apply up to 375 pounds of downforce when the vehicle is in Sport Plus mode, important when tackling the aforementioned track.

Porsche’s Head of Aerodynamics Development Thomas Wiegand summed up PAA: “No other sports car reacts to different situations with such aerodynamic flexibility as the new 911 Turbo S.”

Four air intakes channel engine cooling including the two trademark sculpted apertures in the front of the muscular rear fenders, as well as two on the deck lid in front of the rear wing.

Also assisting the 911 Turbo S in putting the power to the pavement are Porsche Traction Management (PTM) all-wheel drive, for the first time mixed tires with 20-inch 255/35 up front and beefy 21-inch 315/30 at the rear, plus an optional lowered Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) sport chassis. The sports exhaust system with variable flaps is a must-have, don’t even think about not checking this box. You and your Porsche friends will be delighted, your neighbours perhaps not so much.

The Turbo S has the high style to match the high performance, a commanding road presence, whether standing still or at speed. The flowing body is at the same time athletic and powerful as it is beautiful, elegant and unmistakably 911. Characteristic double LED bars adorn the front fascia along with standard LED matrix headlights with dark inserts. The interior combines high-quality materials — choices of leather, alcantara, carbon fibre, aluminum and more — with sport accents and all the latest technology, including a Porsche Communication Management (PCM) 10.9-inch centre screen. In front of the driver is an analog rev counter, flanked by small screens that can still be configured to show the trademark five gauges that 911 Porschephiles are well accustomed to.

While many UCR members may only dream of owning a 911 Turbo S, they can take confidence in knowing much of the icon’s performance prowess has indeed trickled down to other Porsches, whether it be a base 911, Boxster, Cayman, Cayenne, Macan, Panamera, Taycan or even an older model.

Provinz was invited to photograph the 2021 911 Turbo S of Francesco Policaro, dealer principal and chief executive officer of the Policaro Group, which owns the successful Porsche Centre Oakville and will soon build two new Porsche Centres, one in Kitchener-Waterloo and one in Niagara. Provinz interviewed Policaro and will bring you more details on these exciting new dealerships very soon. The ground-breaking for Kitchener-Waterloo is set for this summer, Niagara not far behind.

Policaro’s 911 Turbo S is painted in a gorgeous gleaming Gentian Blue Metallic, a colour that absolutely pops in the sunshine, and is complemented by the optional Exclusive Design wheels. </>

Photos by Christopher Hebert

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