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The big news out of Stuttgart for 2017 is that the 911 Carrera and Carrera S are now turbocharged. That’s right, turbos aren’t just for 911 Turbos anymore.
Both the Carrera and the Carrera S get two turbochargers hitched to a 3.0-liter flat-six that is smaller in displacement than last year’s naturally aspirated engines. Buying a Porsche turbo is now easier but not easy: You’ll still have to get over the Carrera’s $90,395 point of entry.
Turbocharged 911s have existed for 40 years, but putting a turbo in a regular 911 is met with suspicion among fans of the crisp response of Porsche’s naturally aspirated engines. “Turbos are for Turbos,” they’ll chant. Confusion will follow, chaos will reign.
So, what’s the big deal about turbos? After all, turbos gave the Porsche 959 superpowers, put the Lotus Esprit in Bond movies, and made the Buick GNX a blue-collar dream machine. Turbos are magical little snail shells of power, but they imbue engines with a different feel than naturally aspirated engines. Turbos need to build pressure to provide power and consequently there can be a bit of a wait for full thrust. Old 911 Turbos really made you wait, and then they hit with the subtlety of a three wood. |