Used Porsche 911 Turbo 2013-2019 review

The 572bhp output arrives at 6500rpm and stays until 6750rpm, while the torque output – and this will give you an idea of the type of performance we’ll be expecting – is 553lb ft between 2200rpm and 4000rpm. The standard Turbo produces a lesser 532bhp and 487lb ft of peak twist.

We say 553lb ft for the Turbo S, but that is on overboost – allowed for no more than 20 seconds – before reverting to a ‘regular’ 516lb ft. However, it’s hard to imagine, outside of a runway (and even on most of those), a 911 Turbo driver staying on full power for more than 20 continuous seconds.

Drive is to all four wheels via a PDK dual-clutch automatic gearbox which, in addition to its seven preset ratios, can create ‘virtual’ gears. At a constant speed, if one ratio is too high and another too low, the gearbox will slip a clutch to maintain a steady cruise.

As on the GT3, there are dynamic engine mounts, which lock under extreme manoeuvring to hold the engine in place, and there’s rear axle steering, in which actuators at the rear reduce or lengthen the wheelbase on one side of the car or the other (opposed to the fronts at low speed, in conjunction with at higher speeds). It’s claimed to add as much cornering assistance as a steering wheel turned 45deg.

A full gamut of chassis options also features. Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC), which opposes body roll, is standard on the Turbo S, as is an electronically controlled locking rear diff with torque vectoring. Turbo S models also come with ceramic brakes. 

Like the previous generation 911 Turbos, the standard car and the S are available in two bodystyles - coupé and cabriolet.

But the handling here seldom blows you away in the way that a GT3's will. The car's performance level is immense, and even challenged by that sheer speed, the brakes are more than up to the task of keeping the car on track. The Turbo S's upgraded carbon-ceramic brakes are so good, in fact, that they force you to recalibrate your braking markers.

While there is a lot of lateral grip on offer, and you can carry a lot of speed when cornering in the dry, the delicacy of chassis response and adjustability of attitude we found in an entry-level Carrera 3.4 – never mind in the GT3 – simply isn't here.

You know you've arrived at the limit because the Turbo begins to understeer, as almost all 911s do, but your options to deal with that understeer are greatly reduced. Handling is squarely biased towards stability and security.

The bottom line is that while it is undoubtedly multi-talented, the Turbo doesn’t feel as special as a 911 can. Whisper this, but one staffer even had to be reminded that he’d driven it at all, so light was the impression that the car left on his memory.