Porsche 911 Turbo

Superexotic. On The Cheap.
Everything's happening faster. Internet speeds, lawsuits, aging, you name it. But what engages our thoughts today here at Get It - Don't Get it is vehicle acceleration. There are classes of performance cars, loosely defined by track numbers and prices. They start with "sports cars," "GTs" or sometimes "roadsters." Up from there you have "exotics." At the narrow peak of this automotive caste system resides the "superexotic."

Not to put a date stamp on us, but we remember a few decades ago when the superexotic class was pretty much dominated by the Italians, specifically Lamborghini. Back then, 5.5 seconds to 60 was it: the holy grail, the line of demarcation across which lurked the quickest superexotics in the land. But as we said, everything's happening faster. And it wasn't long ago that a fellow named Gordon Murray established the new superexotic benchmark. It was called the McLaren F1, and for a cool million you had a car that got to 60 mph in about 3.5 seconds - if you really knew what you were doing in the cockpit. Run the tach to precisely the correct speed, load the rear tires with precisely the correct torque, release the clutch with precisely the correct technique, and sixty miles per hour was yours in three-and-a-half. For a million dollars. (And a set of new tires.)

3.5 seconds. One million dollars. Sound fair? No? Okay, how about 3.3 seconds ...for one-eighth the price?

Those are the numbers for the new 911 Turbo.

Easy Speed
And you don't need the motor coordination of Michael Schumacher to get that acceleration. No three-pedal-drop-clutch-perfect-timing tap dance here. The 911 Turbo is available with a 5-speed Tiptronic automatic that lets you load the rear wheels with a bit of power-braking, at which point you simply release the brake and floor it. And there you go, past sixty in 3.3 seconds, and on up to 193 mph. All this, for about $125,000.

Let's get some perspective on those numbers, shall we?

Saleen S7 Twin Turbo                 0-60, 3.3 seconds.     MSRP: $600,000
Lamborghini Murcielago LP640      0-60, 3.3 seconds.     MSRP: $340,000
Ferrari Enzo                             0-60, 3.3 seconds.     MSRP: $700,000
Ferrari F430                             0-60, 3.5 seconds      MSRP: $190,000
Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren        0-60, 3.5 seconds.     MSRP: $455,000
Porsche Carrera GT                    0-60, 3.6 seconds.     MSRP: $460,000
Ford GT                                  0-60, 3.7 seconds.     MSRP: $150,000

Clearly, the 911 Turbo is the superexotic deal of the decade.

More Than Mere Muscle
While the engine in the 911 Turbo is certainly an engineering marvel (we'll get to that momentarily), it takes more than whopping horsepower to do what the Turbo will do, both in a straight line and around the most delicious curves. The Turbo is 4-wheel-drive, with an extremely effective torque control system called PTM, for Porsche Traction Management. Instead of the normal viscous coupling, this system uses a sophisticated electronic multiplate clutch system that can vary the feed to the front wheels from an open clutch to full lock. It does this continuously, monitoring angles, momentum, throttle, etc. to simply - and instantaneously - deliver exactly the correct mode of traction for every situation. The power delivery of this car is astounding.

Tradition, With A Twist
While the other superexotics achieve their numbers with V8s, V10s and V12s, the 911 Turbo uses Porsche's signature boxer-six engine, still hanging way out behind the rear axle line, still displacing only 3.6 liters, still making traditional flat-six sounds. But somehow, Porsche manages to get their horses to run a bit harder than just about anyone else. From this comparatively diminutive motor - plumbed though it is with twin nickel-vaned, Variable Turbine Geometry turbochargers - the guys from Zuffenhausen pull 480 horsepower at around 6000 rpm. That's good, but the torque figure of 457 pound-feet is remarkable, mostly because it gets to that number at a very accessible 1950 rpm. The value of those figures is clear: no waiting. Power you want? Power you're gonna get, laughing boy.

Hotness
Running a car that operates at this elevated performance strata means heat. Lots of it. The 911 Turbo body has a bunch of holes punched into the skin for dissipating that heat. Up front are a pair of big nostrils flanking the low grill opening, these to deliver cooling air to the front brakes. Slots in the wide-body hips feed more air to the engine bay, while another pair of big slots are cut into each rear corner to help evacuate engine heat. Back in the day, Porsche made a 911 Turbo with a huge rear wing, edged with a broad black rubber blade. This device quickly became known as the whale-tail, and despite appearances, its purpose was not to get the car airborne, but to keep the thing stuck to the road. The whale-tail is missing from the current car, replaced with a hydraulically actuated spoiler that can generate downforce as velocities increase. But underneath all these air management wangdoodles, the basic 911 form remains intact. Bulged, pumped and perforated, but still one of the most evocative automotive shapes in the world.

So, for 125,000 clams, we have here a car that will look the most outrageous, expensive, and exotic Italians straight in the eye and say "Bring it." It will send the Ford GT back to Dearborn, it will slap the Mercedes SLR McLaren, and will stand nose-to-nose with the 5-times-as-expensive Saleen S7. In fact, the only car that will decisively show its brake lights to the 911 Turbo is a Bugatti Veyron - a 1.25 million-dollar Mephistopheles that you'll probably never even see. (Let alone drive. Let alone own.) The 911 Turbo you can own, and you can commute to work in it everyday if you like. It's an engineering masterwork, and for the money the Porsche 911 Turbo is simply unmatched.

GET IT: ...because zero-to-sixty in 3.3 seconds pretty much ends any pesky stoplight debates.

DON'T GET IT: ...if your manhood requires a red car with a prancing stallion logo.