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| WHEN PORSCHE BECOMES SHOVE | ||
 The
new 911 Turbo is living proof that the world is shrinking. We reel in the
Spanish horizon at an insanely rapid pace. Overboost, anyone?‘It grips, brakes and puts down all its 473 horses in a way that made me feel like three-time world rally champion, Walter Rohrl.’ M ind-blowing! Earth-shattering! Eye-watering! Completely
mental! Predictably, these clichéd superlatives flew thick and
fast, the instant I floored the throttle of a car that’s capable
of reaching 100kph from a standstill in less than four seconds. I knew
the new 997 Porsche Turbo was going to be insanely quick. I knew this
was going to be the ultimate 911 Porsche had ever made. And I knew that
spending a long day in the south of Spain behind the wheel of what is
arguably the best sports car the world has ever seen would run through
my vocabulary of suitable adjectives. But it wasn’t just the performance
belted out by the 473bhp motor that left me scrabbling for words. Memorable
drives in a Gallardo and Murcielago, two Lambos equally capable of flattening
my cheeks under full bore acceleration, were still fresh in my memory.
No, the Turbo wasn’t a quantum leap ahead on a straight road than
the most super of super cars, and on the twisty bits I didn’t have
the nerve to defy the battery of electronics that keep the 997-based Turbo
stoically glued to the road, to find out whether it can out-handle the
best from the south of the Alps. That job was left to three-time world
rally champion and Porsche test driver, Walter Rohrl who took all us journos
for a terrifying ride through a sealed-off section of road. Driver confidence is raised to a different level and this makes the new Porsche a phenomenally fast cross-country tool. On the narrow, undulating roads in the southern tip of Spain, the body control and the ease with which the Turbo dispatched corners was shocking. It grips, brakes and puts down all its 473 horses in a way that made me feel like Walter himself. The steering is fantastically responsive and the ability to change direction like a black mamba (yellow in this case) makes it uncatchable on a twisty road. But all this involves hard work. You are always aware that the engine is sitting behind the rear wheels and the front end does feel light, especially under hard acceleration. Minute but constant corrections are required, even on the motorway, to keep the nose pointing where you want it. 
In India, the finer points of the Turbo’s incredible handling will
be lost on owners who simply won’t find the stretch of road or have
the desire to explore it. Straight-line performance is what counts in our
accelerate-brake driving conditions and the Turbo has bucket-loads of it.
But the way this twin-turbo engine delivers its shattering performance is
so casual that it’s like a non-event. The engine is disappointingly quiet. There are no histrionics, no high-pitched shriek to announce you’ve arrived at the 6750rpm redline. You just hear a throaty growl which becomes a roar as the revs go up. The Variable Turbine Geometry (VTG) technology, which the Turbo uses has been around on diesels for a while now, but on a petrol motor it’s a first. The challenge until now was to find the right metal alloys that would resist excessive expansion from the hotter exhaust gases of petrol engines. The VTG vanes change pitch to optimise gas pressure, and as a result, there’s no turbo lag. Throttle response is immediate and the acceleration so strong, you feel like you’ve been hit by a sledgehammer in the gut every time you floor the throttle, irrespective of the gear — a locomotive-like amount of torque makes gear changing virtually redundant. Fifth gear feels like third, and sixth like fourth! The surge forward is relentless, with no sign of tapering off and 270kph on the motorway was like a walk in the park. It was only traffic that prevented me from going for Vmax. Opt for the Sports Chrono package and its overboost function and you’re treated to an extra 0.2 bar of boost, delivered in 10-second doses when Sport mode is engaged. The result is more torque in the mid-range and even more devastating overtaking ability. Porsche claims that its five-speed Tiptronic option takes you quicker to 100kph than the six-speed manual; this is because the torque converter loads the turbo and optimises the launch, but it just doesn’t feel that way. The Tiptronic feels sluggish compared to the manual and the delay between shifts, especially going down the ’box is a party pooper. The manual with its super-slick shift is the one to go for; even it means poorer resale value in the Indian market. 
According to Ashish Chordia of Porsche Centre, Mumbai — the sole Porsche
dealer in the country — orders have already begun for the Turbo which
costs approximately Rs 1.3 crore, inclusive of customs duty. It’s
a ridiculous sum to pay for any car, but when you consider the Gallardo,
which isn’t half as user-friendly as the Turbo, costs nearly two big
ones, the new Turbo if it can be called that, is good value. You don’t get the stunning looks of a Lambo or a Ferrari, which for many of the got-it-flaunt-it club is top priority. The Turbo is more understated and though it wears huge ducts and a rear wing that splits above 120kph to smoothen the air-flow, the Porsche just doesn’t have the street presence of an Italian exotic. But it’s surprisingly easy to maintain and can be used as an everyday car. If you’re the sort of bloke who has a valuable heirloom or two in the bank and have grown into your family fortune healthily, the Turbo is the kind of car you’d love in your garage. Because you’ll identify with its ability to work hard. And play quietly. FactFile
Length 4450mm Engine Flat six, 3600cc, twin turbo Front suspension Mc Pherson struts, coil
springs, anti-roll bar |
||
Source
 July 2006 |
The one thing that my brain latched on to during this heady day of blurred
vision and high g-forces was the utter practicality and the everyday usability
of the brute Porsche, a talent that is easy to miss in these fabulous
locations where the only traffic is other Turbos in the press launch.
And for India, that’s what truly sets it apart from Italian supercars,
many of which stand as pretty metal sculptures in the parking lots of
the rich and famous. For the handful of Ferrari or Lamborghini owners
in Mumbai, taking their cars out for a spin calls for a light reconnaissance
aircraft to map out decent roads and find out where all the potholes and
speed breakers are. Poor visibility, low ground clearance and a ride quality
that’s guaranteed to knock the fillings out of your teeth; these
cars make as much sense as a Hummer on a race track. 
Price
Rs 1.3 crore (estimated)
Gearbox
type 6 speed manual
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