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BUYER'S GUIDE

2001 PORSCHE 911 – FIRST DRIVE

420 Horsepower, All-Wheel Drive, And-Egads!-An Automatic Transmission?!

Phillip Bingham writerMay 1, 2000

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The 911 Turbos have always represented the state-of-the-art at Porsche-the ultimate in bad-ass roadgoing sports cars. But their heartpounding performance came attached to a serious caveat: Beware the beast of snap oversteer. Many a driver of the previous generations of 911 Turbos has found himself on the wrong end of a tail-out cornering maneuver, as the heavy-rear-weight-biased Stuttgart sportster suddenly swapped ends in a decreasing-radius corner. The ’96 Turbo brought all-wheel drive to the party, quelling many of those handling demons, despite packing 400 horses-making it the most powerful Porsche ever sold on our shores.

That was then. This is now.

In your first miles behind the wheel of the ’01 Porsche 911 Turbo, it’s easy to make a mistake. Just as you’re becoming familiar with this car, just as you’re relaxing and beginning to believe you’re comfortably in command, it springs a surprise that jolts you bolt upright in the leather sport seat and has you staring through the windshield with wide, startled eyes. One surprise is that it’s so easy to drive.

You don’t expect Stuttgart’s latest technological tour de force to be so undemanding to drive. The impatient low-speed whine of the 3.6-liter flat-six powerplant, once a relentless reminder that it was right behind your shoulders and raring to go, is now a more muted background hum. The chassis’ former fidgeting over bumps and in crosswinds, the 911’s traditional authentication of its role as a hyperactive thoroughbred, has now eased into a (mostly) unflustered ride. The steering, at one time always alive and wriggling in your hands, is now calm. The optional Tiptronic transmission, where before there was no choice but a beefy six-speed manual that demanded throttle-blipping downshift skills, now does it all for you.

So the first conclusion you reach, steering through congested city streets and winding along country roads in line with other traffic, is that the wildest 911 has been comprehensively tamed.

And that’s your mistake! The sudden, jolting, eyeball-sinking realization that you’re wrong comes when the first long stretch of open road allows you to make a first hard stand on the gas pedal. Suddenly howling and angry, the 911 Turbo doesn’t just shove you back in your seat, it keeps you there, gulping down the road at an ever-accelerating rate. When at last you find the space to unleash it, this car’s jet-like propulsion makes mere Ferraris, Vettes, and Vipers look lame.

That’s because this is a stunningly powerful production-line car, belting out 420 horsepower at 6000 rpm and 413 pound-feet of face-flattening torque from 2700 to 4600 rpm. (The ’97 Turbo S made do with a higher 425 horsepower at 5750 rpm but a lower 400 pound-feet at 4500 rpm.) And with 116.7 horsepower per liter and only about 90 pounds more mass in six-speed form, it’s likely the quickest-accelerating Porsche. The 185-pound-heavier Tiptronic model is credited with catapulting you from a standstill to 62 mph in about 4.1 seconds (according to Porsche, whose claims tend to be modest), and 0-100 mph in 9.2 seconds. It’s also the outright fastest, hammering and howling all the way to 189 mph. In 0-60-mph testing, a new six-speed Turbo should at least equal the ’97 car’s 3.6 seconds.

However, these superlatives encourage comparison not so much with the previous-generation 911 Turbo, which topped 180 mph, but with Porsche’s crowning achievement, the 15-year-old 959. Indeed, certain styling elements of the new Turbo deliberately evoke the 959, a competition-bred technical showpiece whose performance capabilities have towered over all other Porsche road cars-until now. But whereas the 2.85-liter/459-horsepower 959 was made in strictly limited numbers for the stratospherically rich and never legal for sale in the USA, the new 911 Turbo nearly matches its straightline spunk at a fraction of the cost. And because the 911 Turbo is so much more driveable, it’s our bet it could outperform a 959 on an all-out blast across country.

This driveability is probably the greatest advance made by the new 911 Turbo. To keep in perspective the dizzying performance levels we’re talking of here, remember that the sequentially twin-turboed 959 would suddenly lunge forward, at about 4400 rpm, when its second turbo kicked in like an afterburner, and even the previous 911 Turbo would, at the wakening of turbo boost, squirt extra power onto the road with impolite enthusiasm. But the ’01 911 Turbo gathers up speed with a fluid, seamless urgency: no rude surges when the turbos spool up and no hesitation when engaging the next gear. The two equal-size intercooled KKK K64 turbochargers (operating in parallel, with small intake duct volumes and short exhaust manifolds to speed up response) are so well integrated, throttle responses so linear, and low-rev torque so generous that this really does feel like a larger-displacement, normally-aspirated engine.

Whereas the previous 3.6-liter Turbo was propelled by an air-cooled flat-six with single-overhead camshafts and two valves per cylinder, the newcomer brings water-cooling, double-overhead cams and four valves per cylinder. But unlike the new 911 Carrera, whose cylinder and crankcase sections form one unit, the ’01 Turbo engine has one housing for each row of cylinders, complete with the cylinder head and camshaft housing. Its crankcase is the pressure-cast light alloy unit of the 911 GT1 racer-and, yes, the engine’s modular design is a harbinger for racetrack applications.

Porsche has also blessed the Turbo with its clever VarioCam Plus cylinder charge control system, which it describes as “two engine concepts in one.” This is achieved by varying intake camshaft adjustment and valve lift to allow two different configurations, one better suited to lower revs, the other better suited to high engine speeds. By locating two intake cup tappets within one another by means of a bolt, the inner tappet is able to connect with the small cam, and the outer tappet with the larger cam.

All this trickery is managed by the Bosch ME7.8 Motronic central control unit, which sends out its directions in response to engine speed, throttle pedal position, engine and oil coolant temperature, and gear selection. When the driver demands more or less power or torque by altering the position of the throttle pedal, the system reacts obligingly within milliseconds.

Although these camshaft variations are imperceptible from behind the wheel, their net effect is to whack you hard: even more torque in the low- and mid-ranges and sharper throttle response further up the engine’s operating range. There’s also a 13-percent reduction in emissions compared to the previous 911 Turbo, and an 18 percent improvement in fuel consumption. (This means, even though gas tank capacity has shrunk from 19 to 17 U.S. gallons, the range between refills is undiminished-but if you’re in a hurry, that’s not going to get you much further than 200 miles.)

Look on the bright side: Standing at the pumps will give you a rest from the intense concentration demanded by a car that unravels the road like a video viewed on fast-forward, and a chance to contemplate its deeply cool cleverness. Because you ain’t heard half of it yet.

Just as technical trickery enables the 911 Turbo to eat up great distances and spit them out behind, so invisible magic also helps it stay on the road and pull to a halt: Porsche Stability Management (PSM) is the guardian angel that looks over your shoulder in case errors or emergencies should result in sudden changes of direction or heavy braking in a turn. You can expect no miracles here, no defying the Laws of Physics, but PSM can recognize the moment you’ve driven the car to its limits, or beyond, and bring you back from the edge.

PSM does this by intervening electronically with the engine-management and braking systems. It monitors the car’s dynamics through sensors measuring steering angle, transverse acceleration, yaw, road speed, longitudinal acceleration or deceleration, and the differences in rotation speeds of left-side and right-side wheels. Capable of responding far faster than any driver, it compensates for wayward acceleration by applying braking to the spinning wheel(s), reins in oversteer by applying the brake to the front outer wheel in the bend, and counteracts understeer by applying the brake to the rear inner wheel. According to the severity of the situation, PSM may also cut power by altering the position of the throttle butterflies. We’re eager to get this velvet brute on our handling course, as it may exceed the previous Turbo’s 1.00 g of lateral grip!

In less dramatic circumstances, perhaps PSM’s greatest value is the way it maintains braking stability and shortens stopping distances on slippery roads. This is a good enough reason to leave alone the dashboard switch that disconnects it. So, too, is the unlikely availability of a road flanked not by solid objects, but endless space.

The suspension system itself is near-identical to the very capable Carrera 4’s (MacPherson struts up front, multilink rear), but ride height has been lowered all around by nearly a half-inch; springs, dampers, and anti-roll bars are stiffer; and the rear track is wider by 1.6 inches. The broader rump, one of those genetic certainties in sports car evolution, allows for 18-inch wheels shod with incredibly low-profile 295/30R18 Pirellis or Bridgestones. The fronts are also 18 inches wide, measuring 225/40.

Another reason for this car’s super-adhesive grip is the delivery of its drive, in appropriately varying proportions, to all four wheels. This transmission is also borrowed from the Carrera 4, only the driveshaft length needing alteration. It’s less bulky than is the outgoing Turbo’s transaxle, and the entire system, with a multiplate viscous coupling housed in the front axle, weighs only 121 pounds, making it one of the lightest 4WD systems anywhere. As you’d expect of such a clever clogs, front-to-rear torque split is varied automatically, only 5 percent being delivered to the front end in grippy conditions, but up to 40 percent when the going gets slippery.

All these technologies, Porsche claims, result in “neutral” handling, which we presume to mean a perfect balance of grip between front and rear. In our time with the car on the roads of northeast Italy, traffic condemned us to exercise restraint, but through the fairly tight second- and third-gear twists and turns of the Dolomite foothills, charging the same piece of road again and again for the benefit of the camera, the handling seemed not so much perfectly balanced as perfectly imbalanced-which is to say it responded predictably and politely, reprimanding heavy-handed exuberance by pushing wide its nose. But to break grip, you do have to be going hard; and the instant you ease from the throttle, the line tightens and perfection returns.

Although the ultra-enthusiasts on our staff might argue, I found the specially modified optional Tiptronic S transmission to be perfect for harnessing the explosive power in every driving situation. Only previously offered on the Carrera, this Mercedes-Benz-originated five-speed system has been reworked to cope with the Turbo’s metal-bending torque. Position the shift lever in the right-hand side of its gate, and you have a conventional automatic; pull the lever down and to the left and you have a racing-style manual with which you shift via toggle switches mounted in the steering wheel spokes.

As before, Tiptronic adjusts shifting patterns to suit your driving mood: short-shifting and silky-smooth when you’re choosing to amble, razor-sharp and hanging on until the redline when you’re going for it. There’s now an infinitely adjustable shift program (previously, there were five increments), and the software is more sensitive to hills (holding the lower gear longer), heavy braking (downshifting to give engine braking), and lack of traction (upshifting early). On the way up the ‘box, the shifts are swift and seamless; on the way down, the electronic transmission control feathers the throttle exquisitely to match engine revs to the next ratio, each time with a delightful burst of flat-six background music.

The glorious sounds of this engine remain one of the great delights of the 911; another is witnessing the amused reaction of onlookers when the two-tier rear wing’s upper level raises automatically at speed. Mounted on two hydraulically operated chrome rams, it levitates when road speed reaches 75 mph (or sooner if you press the override switch in the cabin), increasing rear-end downforce by up to an additional 20 pounds. This is a much tidier device than the big, fixed whaletail, which became the original Turbo’s trademark; when retracted, it sits against the flicked-up lip of the slatted engine cover so discreetly that you can barely see it.

In more detailed alterations of appearance, function dictates form. The huge brakes (cross-drilled discs with a 5-percent increase in swept area) are sent great blasts of cooling air through huge, Ferrari 360 Modena-like ducts on either side of the deep front spoiler; the bigger radiators in the nose are fed by a larger central air intake; to let heat escape from the packed engine bay, there are 959-style gills in the lower sides of the rear valance; and in their tight corners of the rear hood, the two intercoolers gulp air through semi-circular intakes set high in each rear fender. Squeezed beneath those swollen arches, the big 18-inch tires wrap tightly around hollow-spoke alloys so beautiful they’d qualify as sculpture.

Despite all the holes in its skin, the Turbo cuts through the air with remarkable efficiency. Its coefficient of drag, at 0.31, is just 0.01 “dirtier” than the Carrera’s, and 0.03 sleeker than the previous Turbo’s. The lowered ride height helps cut drag, too, reducing frontal area-and making the car look like it means business.

It does, of course, and you’d be foolish to take it less seriously than any other production road car on the planet. Traffic and speed limits usually mean you can only dip into the 911 Turbo’s astonishingly deep reserves of power, torque and grip, but on an open German autobahn without speed limits (or on an Italian autostrada, forgetting them!) it’s so enormously capable, so ungodly fast and so completely stable, it seems to belong to entirely another world.

Pricing hadn’t been even close to finalized as of our deliciously early first drive, but inside information from a highly placed Porsche source suggests a pricetag of around $111,000. That’s about $30,000 less than the previous Turbo S, $17K beneath a BMW Z8, and $45,000 under a Ferrari 360 Modena. Bargain!

PORSCHE 911 TURBO
GENERAL
Location of final assembly	Stuttgart, Germany
Body style	2-door, 2+2-pass.
EPA size class	Mini-compact
Drivetrain layout	Rear engine, all-wheel drive
Airbag	Dual front/side

POWERTRAIN
Engine type	Horizontally-opposed six, aluminum
	block and heads
Bore x stroke, in./mm	3.94×3.01/100.0×76.4
Displacement, ci/cc	220.2/3600
Compression ratio	9.4:1
Valve gear	DOHC, 4 valves/cyl.
Fuel/induction system	Sequential multipoint EFI,
	twin turbochargers, twin air-to-air intercoolers
Horsepower, hp @ rpm, SAE net	420 @ 6000
Torque, lb-ft @ rpm, SAE net	413 @ 2700-4600
Horsepower/liter	116.7:1
Redline, rpm	6750
Transmission type	6-speed manual,
	5-speed auto. (Tiptronic)
Axle ratio	3.44:1
Final-drive ratio	2.58:1 (manual), 2.85:1 (Tiptronic)
Recommended fuel	Premium unleaded

DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase, in./mm	92.5/2350
Track, f/r, in./mm	57.7/1465 / 59.9/1522
Length, in./mm	174.6/4435
Width, in./mm	72.0/1830
Height, in./mm	51.0/1295
Base curb weight, lb	3395 (manual)/3494 (Tiptronic)
Weight distribution, f/r, %	40/60 (est.)
Cargo capacity, cu ft	3.5
Fuel capacity, gal	16.9
Weight/power ratio, lb/hp	8.1:1 (manual)/
	8.3:1 (Tiptronic)

CHASSIS
Suspension, f/r	MacPherson struts, lower control arms, coil springs, anti-roll bar/multilink,
	lower control arms, coil springs, anti-roll bar
Steering type	Rack and pinion, power assist.
Turns, lock to lock	3.0
Turning circle, ft	35 .0
Brakes, f/r	Vented disc/vented disc, ABS
Wheels, f/r, in., material	18×8.0/18×11.0,
	cast aluminum
Tire size, f/r	225/40R18/295/30R18
Manufacturer/model	Pirelli P Zero

PERFORMANCE*
Acceleration, sec	Tiptronic	Manual
0-60 mph	3.8	3.6
0-100 mph		9.2
Standing quarter mile, sec/mph		11.9/116.0
Top speed		189
*Estimated

PRICE
Base price	$111,000 (est.)
www.porsche.com

Article by Phillip Bingham