We approach the 2011 911 Turbo S with hesitation. Is it angry with us? It appears to be. Its styling is so aggressive that even standing still it seems ready to bite. We’re wrong though. It’s not anger; it’s rage, rage against the gravity holding it fast to the pavement. This Porsche wants to fly. Open the door, ensconce yourself into the sport seats, turn the key, find a clear runway, press the gas and that rage is unleashed. All 530 horses of it!!!
Let’s be serious for a minute. No one, outside of a Porsche factory driver, NEEDS 530 HP in a road going Porsche, you’ll just WANT it. The simple fact is, here in the U.S., there’s no place to use even a fraction of that power. Should you feel bold and push hard on the gas pedal you’re more apt to end up in jail vs. regaling your friend with your daring exploits. The Turbo S is so damn fast you’ll be above ticket speed (zero to sixty in 3.1 according to Porsche, but it feels quicker) and at “don’t I get a phone call?” speed before you can spell PDK.
Hit the gas and there’s just the tiniest hint of lag before the turbos kick in. Once they do, it’s a game of chicken between you and the space-time continuum. Stay on the gas and the acceleration isn’t just linear, it’s exponential. Imagine being strapped to the front of a rocket with a nitrous button. Once you think it’s simply not possible to go faster, PDK grabs another gear and you’re pushed closer and closer to a top speed of 195 mph.
As for the PDK, the Turbo S comes standard with proper paddle shifters, not the much-maligned backward buttons of Gen 1 PDK. Ironically, you don’t need them. While they are fun to play with in sport mode and sports plus, you’ll go slower by using them. The fact is, unless you have the reflexes and experience of Patrick Long, the PDK will shift faster than you can each and every time. Not only is it faster, it’s more precise.
Inevitably you’ll want to play with the shifters. The problem is it takes your attention away from the road. At the speeds this Porsche is capable of, that’s not a good thing.
The Turbo S is so good it makes bad drivers good and good drivers dangerous
When you do get going fast in the 911 Turbo S (and you will) you might just find a little religion. I know we did. At some point I found myself thanking God for Porsche’s Ceramic Composite Brakes. More to the point, I was thanking him for giving Porsche’s engineers the good sense to make PCCB standard on each and every 911 Turbo S (along with Sport Chrono, Dynamic Engine Mounts and Porsche Torque Vectoring). As a result, you dive deeper and deeper into corners. However, if you’re not careful it’s quite easy to end up way over your head and in need of rescue. Fortunately, PSM (otherwise known as Please Save Me), acts as an ever-present lifeguard for those that understand 530HP not only deserves respect, it demands it.
Our Conclusion
After re-reading this post it might seem like we’re trying to warn you off this Porsche. We are, but not because we don’t like it. As a Porsche fan we think it’s imperative you find a way to buy one of these Turbos. If you can’t afford one, beg, borrow and steal for a chance to drive one. But here’s the rub and our warning: Drive the 2011 911 Turbo S and be prepared to forsake all others (purist or not). After a just a few short minutes in this 530 horse monster all other cars (Porsches or otherwise) will feel like they are straining uphill through a morass of cold molasses.
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Context free notes scribbled down in between drooling and waiting for our heart rate to return to normal. They didn’t make there way into our condensed review, but you get the idea
- “You mean to tell me they just gave you this car??” – quote from a very jealous friend.
- Drive the 2011 911 Turbo S at your own risk. And we mean that in every sense of the word.
- You don’t need the power of a 2011 911 Turbo S, but you sure will want it.
- “Slow the F#@k down!!” – heard from the passenger seat somewhere on 95 North in central Maine.
- “Respect for 530 HP is healthy – and helps keep you that way.” – Quote from a good friend at PCNA
- Think you can’t feel the difference an extra 30 HP makes, think again.
- “Do you think you can break Launch-Control?”
- If this is 530 HP, what in the hell must the GT2 RS feel like?????? Holy S#%t, it’s only rear wheel drive too…
- Wow, this thing actually gets better mileage than our Cayenne
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