Porsche 911 Turbo S: A business-class seat with a rocket strapped to it

Porsche has put a hybrid system in its flagship 911. It isn't trying to save the planet. It's trying to go faster. The new Turbo S uses electric turbochargers to banish turbo lag, and the numbers are startling. We took it out of Century City, through the wheatlands past Philadelphia and over Du Toitskloof Pass. Twice. Is it still the grand tourer you could drive to Johannesburg after breakfast? And which option should buyers leave unticked?.By Miles Downard.There's a particular hush that falls over a room of motoring journalists when the keys to a 911 Turbo S come out. It's the sound of grown adults quietly recalculating their insurance excess.The new one gives them plenty to recalculate. Porsche has added a hybrid system to its twin-turbo flat-six, and the result is 523 kW and 800 Nm, making this the most powerful production 911 yet. Zero to 100 km/h takes 2.5 seconds, 200 km/h arrives in 8.4, and it tops out at 322 km/h. It also lapped the Nürburgring about 14 seconds quicker than the car it replaces, which is the kind of year-on-year improvement most CFOs would frame and hang in reception..Our route was drawn with obvious intent. Out of Porsche Centre Cape Town in Century City, up through the wheatlands past Philadelphia, across to Paarl and then, crucially, over Du Toitskloof Pass rather than through the Huguenot Tunnel. The tunnel is for people with somewhere to be. The pass is for people with a Turbo S. Coffee at Ou Meul in Rawsonville, a stretch further up the valley towards Ceres, then back the way we came, which meant doing the pass twice. Nobody complained.The open roads beyond Philadelphia are where the Turbo S reminds you what it has always been: the most accomplished grand tourer Porsche makes. It's quiet, supple and entirely unbothered, the sort of car you could point at Johannesburg after breakfast and arrive in fresh enough for a board meeting. The ride is firm enough to let you know it means business, but never so firm that it spills your flat white.Then you ask it for something, and the character changes completely. This is where the clever bit comes in. Porsche calls it T-Hybrid, and the headline trick is a pair of electric turbochargers. Each has a small electric motor on the turbo shaft that spins it up before the exhaust gases have had a chance to get involved. Turbo lag, the old party trick of the forced-induction car, has effectively been retrenched. Squeeze the throttle at any speed, in any gear, and the response is immediate and slightly alarming. Overtaking becomes less of a manoeuvre and more of an administrative formality.The hybrid hardware adds about 85 kg over the old car. You'd never guess. Up Du Toitskloof, the Turbo S shrinks around you in a way a car this wide and this heavy has no business doing. Rear-wheel steering tightens the hairpins, the electro-hydraulic anti-roll system keeps the body dead flat, and the active aerodynamics shuffle flaps, diffusers and the rear wing about depending on whether you need downforce or a slippery exit. You don't feel any of it working individually. You just feel the car gripping, turning and firing out of corners with a composure that makes you look considerably more talented than you are. The carbon-ceramic brakes, the biggest Porsche has fitted to a two-door car, handle the downhill sections without a hint of drama..It sounds better, too. A new titanium exhaust and some tinkering inside the engine have given the flat-six a rougher, more characterful voice. It's no GT3, but it no longer sounds like it's apologising for the turbos.My only gripe is self-inflicted, in that it lives on the options list. Our car wore the lightweight bucket seats borrowed from the GT3. They look the part and hold you beautifully through the switchbacks, but after a few hours they start reminding you they were designed for track days, not the N1. In a car whose greatest talent is covering vast distances in comfort, I'd stick with the standard 18-way adaptive seats and let the chassis do the heroics..Read more:.Driven: Porsche 911 GTS - The sweet spot gets sharper.The verdict? The 911 Turbo S has always been the answer for the buyer who wants one car to do everything, and this one does everything better. It's a luxurious long-distance cruiser and a genuine weapon on a mountain pass, with no compromise on the Monday commute. The hybrid tech isn't there to save the planet. It's there to make a very fast car faster and sharper, and it does that brilliantly. Just choose your seats wisely..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox every morning on weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa's bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here.

Porsche 911 Turbo S: A business-class seat with a rocket strapped to it

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