When I jumped into the Turbo S, the world became the universe. At first, I was somewhat frustrated as my instructor Mr. Bye firmly suggested I simply leave the shifter in “D” and let the box do the work. I was excited to finally make use of Porsche’s proper steering-wheel mounted paddles, but it was not to be. Really and truly, no big loss.
Simply the best
The PDK displayed its psychic, intuitive and mind-blowing attributes. Not only did it downshift exactly when I would have, but it held gears to redline, up-shifted faster than the blink of a eye and allowed me to carry more speed through 5a, 5b and 5c, thus permitting me to tango with upwards of 230 km/h at the end of the back straight, before signing into turn 8. All the while, I had both hands on the wheel...
“That’s fast!” Hold on, you don’t know the half of it. Another element that elevates this car above all is the ceramic brakes. My first jaunt on the back straight with the Turbo S had me using the same braking reference points as with the Turbo; the first lap, I almost came to a full stop before even getting to the Esses... The next lap, I mashed the stop pedal much later and that’s when I noticed the sheer speed that this car is capable of.
Frankly, the extra 30 hp do little in reality except make the spec sheet of the Turbo S look slightly more appealing. The real difference resides in the brakes and the transmission.
Comfy?
Don’t kid yourselves boys and girls, this is a supercar. “What’s the other half?” It’s coming. Imagine the most brutal ride you’ve ever experienced in a car and triple it. That’s what you’d expect from the average supercar, right? What about sport seats with no padding, uncomfortable enough to give your spine a hernia? Not so with the Turbo S. From Mosport, my photographer and I drove back to Montreal (after having driven in that same morning and done some lapping sessions) the same day and lived to talk about it.
Far from being cushy, the Turbo S’ active damping control (PASM) kept our kidneys and sanity in check. We obviously left the suspension in normal mode as any way you look at it, the sport mode can only serve on a track, preferably a smooth new one.
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| The PDK allowed me to carry more speed through 5a, 5b and 5c, thus permitting me to tango with upwards of 230 km/h at the end of the back straight. (Photo: Matthieu Lambert/Auto123.com) |
Simply the best
The PDK displayed its psychic, intuitive and mind-blowing attributes. Not only did it downshift exactly when I would have, but it held gears to redline, up-shifted faster than the blink of a eye and allowed me to carry more speed through 5a, 5b and 5c, thus permitting me to tango with upwards of 230 km/h at the end of the back straight, before signing into turn 8. All the while, I had both hands on the wheel...
“That’s fast!” Hold on, you don’t know the half of it. Another element that elevates this car above all is the ceramic brakes. My first jaunt on the back straight with the Turbo S had me using the same braking reference points as with the Turbo; the first lap, I almost came to a full stop before even getting to the Esses... The next lap, I mashed the stop pedal much later and that’s when I noticed the sheer speed that this car is capable of.
Frankly, the extra 30 hp do little in reality except make the spec sheet of the Turbo S look slightly more appealing. The real difference resides in the brakes and the transmission.
Comfy?
Don’t kid yourselves boys and girls, this is a supercar. “What’s the other half?” It’s coming. Imagine the most brutal ride you’ve ever experienced in a car and triple it. That’s what you’d expect from the average supercar, right? What about sport seats with no padding, uncomfortable enough to give your spine a hernia? Not so with the Turbo S. From Mosport, my photographer and I drove back to Montreal (after having driven in that same morning and done some lapping sessions) the same day and lived to talk about it.
Far from being cushy, the Turbo S’ active damping control (PASM) kept our kidneys and sanity in check. We obviously left the suspension in normal mode as any way you look at it, the sport mode can only serve on a track, preferably a smooth new one.
 |
| Far from being cushy, the Turbo S’ active damping control (PASM) kept our kidneys and sanity in check. (Photo: Matthieu Lambert/Auto123.com) |