First Drive: 2010 Porsche 911 Turbo is Stuttgart's quickest car yet
 

Autoblog test's the 2010 997 Turbo
It's faster to 60 mph than a Lamborghini Murcielago LP640, McLaren F1 or Ferrari Enzo. Porsche's fastest offerings, including the Carrera GT, GT2 and road-going 911 GT1 "Strassenversion" will only see its LED tail lamps during a typical sprint. Only the unlikely – make that incomprehensible – meeting of an SSC Ultimate Aero or Bugatti Veyron at a stop light will concern this car's owner that he or she has met a worthy adversary. The vehicle is the new seventh-generation 2010 Porsche 911 Turbo. Sporting a new 500-horsepower engine mated to the automaker's lightning-fast dual-clutch PDK transmission, the all-wheel drive coupe devours the magic 0-60 mph benchmark in less than 3.2 seconds.

Porsche invited us to a track outside Lisbon, Portugal to savor its latest Turbo iteration. While the physical appearance remains virtually unchanged to the uninformed eye, hidden under the familiar sheet metal is a new powertrain that makes one of the world's best sports car even more exceptional. What are the new mechanical specifications of the powerplant, and where does it come from? What's it like to drive on a track? Is the PDK transmission really better than the six-speed manual?

"Exclusive. Explosive. Expensive." Porsche's advertising slogan from the 1970's introducing its newest flagship 911 Turbo was blunt and to the point. First introduced in the middle of the oil crisis in 1974, the "Type 930" (Porsche's internal identification, although the vehicle was marketed as the "911 Turbo" or "Turbo Carrera" in most markets) was everything nobody needed.

Originally planned as a limited production run, the exotic "Turbo" featured advanced technology borrowed from the automaker's racing experience. A single exhaust-driven turbocharger boosted the original air-cooled 3.0-liter flat-six powerplant to 260 horsepower. Flared wheel arches, an oversized "whale tail" rear spoiler and brake technology originally developed for the legendary Porsche 917 race car helped round out the unique package. Porsche sold nearly 3,000 Turbo models during the first three years they were on sale, making it an unexpected success.

Over the next two decades, Porsche's 911 Turbo model became increasingly more tame and sophisticated as subsequent generations were introduced, yet each was faster and more powerful than its predecessor. The four-speed manual was replaced by a five-speed in 1989, improving drivability. A 3.6-liter air-cooled powerplant debuted in the 1993 Type 964 model, replacing the 3.3-liter. The laggy single turbo setup was improved with twin-turbochargers in 1995; the same year all-wheel drive replaced rear-wheel drive to more effectively put the power to the pavement.

rest of the article -->> First Drive: 2010 Porsche 911 Turbo is Stuttgart's quickest car yet — Autoblog

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Very nice!

yup, one fast beast, still with less hp than the competition.

I'm in.

Green please.

I like how they spec'd this, the grey interior is boring should look good in natural brown or black.

Just saw a white coupe outside my office.

I know some are upset about the engine change but you cannot deny that this thing is a beast!!!

Smoking hot!!

Maybe it's just me, but I sense Audi influence with the new steering wheel design. The grip looks like a ///M car. All of this is good!

i pray that at least porsche will continue to make 6 speed transmissions... who cares if a PDK shifts faster? what fun is it?

- chuck