Another Gen II Turbo Test drive
#1
12-02-2009, 12:09 PM
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Buckinghamshire, UK
Posts: 170
Another Gen II Turbo Test drive
997.2 Turbo Test Drive
Just drove this beastie, and I must say, it should come with its own ASBO warning, as it is offensively quick !!!!!!!
Got a 4 hour extended test drive courtesy of Silverstone OPC.
Car was a white Coupe, with PDK Paddles, Sports Chrono, Spyder look wheels with Steel brakes.
The PDK steering wheel is a high quality item, the metal centre section along with the matching paddles give a real feel of class to the cabin. The wheel itself is nice and thick, pretty much a leather version of the one that comes on my 997 RS.
Turn the ignition key, and you instantly know that it is no longer the old GT1 derived block sitting behind you, it’s now more reminiscent of Carreras of old, with little noise at idle, but I nice deep bellowing sound when under load.
This sound is deepened when the ‘Sport’ button is depressed, so some sort of Exhaust valve like the RS going on there too.
Pottering along busy roads the car is totally benign, the gearbox in normal mode, making nice seamless changes, not holding revs for an annoyingly long time, and on the look out for an up change when possible to save fuel.
In ‘Sport’ mode things liven up dramatically. The revs keep high enough in anticipation of a large prod of the loud pedal, so it is always best placed to deliver instant grunt.
Also when pressing this button, the dampers go into sport mode, which is completely pointless unless on the smoothest of surfaces, or more specifically the track.
‘Sport Plus’ takes things a stage further, the revs never seem to fall below 4k, and the response from the throttle pedal is razor sharp, again, not really necessary for the road unless you are feeling like a total hooligan.
Using the gearbox manually through paddles is a rewarding, yet surprisingly pointless exercise, as the Auto changes through the box are just so beautifully and efficiently timed, I couldn’t imagine bettering them myself. Also, the fact that there are so many forces going on and things happening so fast when you nail the throttle, that the luxury of not having to worry about perfectly timing the next up change, simply adds to the accessibility of the cars massive performance.
The usual downside to using an Auto, can be the lack of engine braking when slowing down for a bend, also not holding a low enough gear to power out the other side. Here the PDK box is wonderfully intuitive, in ‘Sport’ mode, down changes under braking are perfectly judged for fast road driving, it’s quick to select the next gear down after a second or two on the brakes, and holds it for long enough when you need it. ‘Sport Plus’ again takes this to the edge, and holds the car for absolute maximum performance, this again is only for the right time and place.
The PDK and the engine is a match made in heaven, the gears are so well matched, and seamlessly changed, that there really is hardly any feel of Turbo lag at all, as the gearbox seems to know how to make the most out of the wide power band, and works it magic to keep you in it at whenever possible. I can’t imagine a manual gearbox making the car as good an overall package without PDK.
On top of this impressive drive train, is a surprisingly sorted and rewarding Chassis. I only had a brief drive in the Gen 1 997 Turbo, a while ago now, but I do remember it being a bit wallowing. The new cars fantastic handling quickly became apparent, as it felt very taught and communicative, it reminded me of the 997 RS actually, obviously a bit softer, but very firm but feelsome steering and great damping.
As expected with a 4wd 911, there is great grip in all conditions, the power this car can deploy in the wet mid bend is amazing, you can literally plant your foot in any condition, and the car just goes, and without drama, any PSM intervention is very subtle, although there is enough slip angle there to make the rear a little more playful than my old 996 Turbo, where full power in the wet was a jerky power on/off affair, here things seem to be so much smother, and effortless.
I had a quick play with the launch control, unfortunately it couldn’t work all it’s magic, as the rain was pouring down at the time. When I did try it, it was amazing to feel the individual wheels working out where the most traction was, while the car was snaking up the road, I’m sure it was a whole lot quicker than a human effort would have been !!
I didn’t bother playing with the Dampers in stiff mode as the roads were wet and bumpy, the car hardly rolled anyway, and was very flat when cornering., I would love to try this thing on the track with them on though, as I’m think it will be a total weapon, and could easily keep nearly with anything in dry conditions, and in the wet, well, I think it would be untouchable by anything other than a GTR.
Overall, very impressed with the car, it will do exactly what you would expect a 911 Turbo to do in this day and age, which is devour nearly anything out there on the road today, by combining power, traction and usability to perfection.
Can’t wait until mine comes in March
Just drove this beastie, and I must say, it should come with its own ASBO warning, as it is offensively quick !!!!!!!
Got a 4 hour extended test drive courtesy of Silverstone OPC.
Car was a white Coupe, with PDK Paddles, Sports Chrono, Spyder look wheels with Steel brakes.
The PDK steering wheel is a high quality item, the metal centre section along with the matching paddles give a real feel of class to the cabin. The wheel itself is nice and thick, pretty much a leather version of the one that comes on my 997 RS.
Turn the ignition key, and you instantly know that it is no longer the old GT1 derived block sitting behind you, it’s now more reminiscent of Carreras of old, with little noise at idle, but I nice deep bellowing sound when under load.
This sound is deepened when the ‘Sport’ button is depressed, so some sort of Exhaust valve like the RS going on there too.
Pottering along busy roads the car is totally benign, the gearbox in normal mode, making nice seamless changes, not holding revs for an annoyingly long time, and on the look out for an up change when possible to save fuel.
In ‘Sport’ mode things liven up dramatically. The revs keep high enough in anticipation of a large prod of the loud pedal, so it is always best placed to deliver instant grunt.
Also when pressing this button, the dampers go into sport mode, which is completely pointless unless on the smoothest of surfaces, or more specifically the track.
‘Sport Plus’ takes things a stage further, the revs never seem to fall below 4k, and the response from the throttle pedal is razor sharp, again, not really necessary for the road unless you are feeling like a total hooligan.
Using the gearbox manually through paddles is a rewarding, yet surprisingly pointless exercise, as the Auto changes through the box are just so beautifully and efficiently timed, I couldn’t imagine bettering them myself. Also, the fact that there are so many forces going on and things happening so fast when you nail the throttle, that the luxury of not having to worry about perfectly timing the next up change, simply adds to the accessibility of the cars massive performance.
The usual downside to using an Auto, can be the lack of engine braking when slowing down for a bend, also not holding a low enough gear to power out the other side. Here the PDK box is wonderfully intuitive, in ‘Sport’ mode, down changes under braking are perfectly judged for fast road driving, it’s quick to select the next gear down after a second or two on the brakes, and holds it for long enough when you need it. ‘Sport Plus’ again takes this to the edge, and holds the car for absolute maximum performance, this again is only for the right time and place.
The PDK and the engine is a match made in heaven, the gears are so well matched, and seamlessly changed, that there really is hardly any feel of Turbo lag at all, as the gearbox seems to know how to make the most out of the wide power band, and works it magic to keep you in it at whenever possible. I can’t imagine a manual gearbox making the car as good an overall package without PDK.
On top of this impressive drive train, is a surprisingly sorted and rewarding Chassis. I only had a brief drive in the Gen 1 997 Turbo, a while ago now, but I do remember it being a bit wallowing. The new cars fantastic handling quickly became apparent, as it felt very taught and communicative, it reminded me of the 997 RS actually, obviously a bit softer, but very firm but feelsome steering and great damping.
As expected with a 4wd 911, there is great grip in all conditions, the power this car can deploy in the wet mid bend is amazing, you can literally plant your foot in any condition, and the car just goes, and without drama, any PSM intervention is very subtle, although there is enough slip angle there to make the rear a little more playful than my old 996 Turbo, where full power in the wet was a jerky power on/off affair, here things seem to be so much smother, and effortless.
I had a quick play with the launch control, unfortunately it couldn’t work all it’s magic, as the rain was pouring down at the time. When I did try it, it was amazing to feel the individual wheels working out where the most traction was, while the car was snaking up the road, I’m sure it was a whole lot quicker than a human effort would have been !!
I didn’t bother playing with the Dampers in stiff mode as the roads were wet and bumpy, the car hardly rolled anyway, and was very flat when cornering., I would love to try this thing on the track with them on though, as I’m think it will be a total weapon, and could easily keep nearly with anything in dry conditions, and in the wet, well, I think it would be untouchable by anything other than a GTR.
Overall, very impressed with the car, it will do exactly what you would expect a 911 Turbo to do in this day and age, which is devour nearly anything out there on the road today, by combining power, traction and usability to perfection.
Can’t wait until mine comes in March
Last edited by Glenn Mc; 12-02-2009 at 12:43 PM.
can you say trade in!! 
#6
12-02-2009, 01:09 PM
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Buckinghamshire, UK
Posts: 170
I only pushed the front end very hard a couple of times, both times the usual understeer came in, and you had to lift off to bring bring the grip back, so didn't feel any electrical torque vectoring going on.
I have this on my X6, and you can actually feel it working to turn the front better.
#7
12-02-2009, 01:56 PM
This was the same car I tried - see my reply to Alex's thread. Def no PTV as discussed what difference it might have made with Ian at Porsche Silverstone.
#9
12-02-2009, 02:45 PM
Very nice review, thanks for sharing. Also would have been interested in PTV, from what I read that is what some described what makes the car much more understeering than the 997.1 Did it feel much much more like the back would turn out than your 996? In the 997.1 you have heavy oversteer until you start adjusting the suspension.
