Porsche 911 Turbo
Highlights
Beyond 300
Reaching a top speed of 305 km/h or 189 mph, the 911 Turbo is one of the fastest Porsches in the current range of production vehicles. It accelerates to 100 km/h in exactly 4.2 seconds, with the speedometer reaching the 160 km/h-mark just 5.1 seconds later.
Ideal Cd with minimum lift
Intelligent air flow gives the 911 Turbo a supreme position among superfast sports cars in terms of its drag coefficient. Despite its wider body and increased air cooling requirements compared with 911 Carrera models, it has a good Cd of just 0.31. Its low lift is equally impressive.
Outstanding engine power
Boosted by two exhaust gas turbochargers with intercooler, the six-cylinder boxer engine develops maximum output of 309 kW (420 bhp) at 6000 rpm. Engine capacity is 3600 cc, maximum torque of 560 Nm or 413 lb-ft comes from just 2700 rpm.
VarioCam with a Plus
The VarioCam intake-side camshaft adjustment is accompanied by an intake-side valve lift changeover system in the 911 Turbo. Porsche calls the system VarioCam Plus. The valve lift adjustment system featured on the normal-aspiration engines in the 911 model series consists of two variable-position cup tappets placed within each other on the intake side of the engine and actuated by two cams of different size on the intake camshafts. VarioCam Plus provides optimum power and torque and improves fuel consumption, emissions and performance.
Reducing consumption and emissions
Measured in accordance with the EU standard, overall consumption of the 911 Turbo is some 18 per cent lower than its predecessor, at 12.9 litres per 100 kilometres. Exhaust emissions according to the European approval procedure have also been reduced by anaverage of 50 per cent; the 911 Turbo has no difficulty in complying with the very strict D4 limits equivalent to the EU4 limits under standard test conditions and not coming into force until 1 January 2005. The 911 Turbo naturally complies with the LEV standard in the USA as well.
Four-wheel drive featured as standard
The four-wheel drive on the 911 Turbo comes mainly from the Carrera 4. The focus here, however, is not so much on traction, but rather on supreme driving characteristics and safety to the limit. The active safety offered by the car is enhanced considerably by Porsche Stability Management (PSM) also standard on the 911 Turbo. This combination of fourwheel drive, PSM and the sports-tuned suspension lowered by 10 mm guarantees an outstandinglevel of active safety on the road.
Tiptronic S available as an option
Apart from the six-speed manual gearbox the 911 Turbo is also available with Tiptronic S. This five-speed automatic transmission allowing manual operation whenever desired via toggle buttons on the steering wheel is tailored specifically to the power and output of the turbocharged engine. The shift programs adjust infinitely to the driver's style of motoring and the particular profile and characteristics of the route you are taking.
Standard equipment enhanced to a substantially higher level
Over and above the usual equipment carried over from the Carrera models, the Turbo comes with metallic paintwork, a wide range of leather upholstery, electrically adjustable seats complete with seat memory on the driver's side, as well as the high-end sound system from BOSE. Entering the new model year the 911 Turbo is fitted as standard with PorscheCommunication Management comprising a double-tuner, CD player, dynamic route navigation, a trip computer and, as an option, a GSM dual-band telephone. Further features are bi-xenon headlights and interior/exterior rear-view mirrors with an automatic anti-dazzle function as well as an integrated rain sensor.
Porsche 911 Turbo
The Muscle Machine
The tailor-made suit for one of the fastest Porsche sports cars has a perfect cut. The rear wheel arches mean an increase in width by 60 mm or nearly 2.6 inches compared with the 911 Carrera. This provides enough space for the standard 18-inch light-alloy wheels with 295/30 ZR 18 tyres. And there is also enough space for the air scoops feeding cool air tothe turbochargers and blending harmoniously into the side panels of the car. A further highlight at the rear is the retracting wing as well as the special rear cover with outlets for the turbocharger exhaust air – features which clearly underline the extremely muscular but elegant look of this truly outstanding car.
3.6-litre engine with two turbochargers
A six-cylinder boxer engine with four valves per cylinder displacing 3600 cc ensures a huge punch at the rear end of the car. Boosted by the two exhaust gas turbochargers, the enginedevelops maximum output of 309 kW (420 bhp) at 6000 rpm. Maximum torque of 560 Nm or 413 lb-ft starts at just 2700 rpm and extends all the way to 4600. As on the 911 Carrera engine, the cylinders and cylinder heads are cooled by coolant extending from the hot tothe cold side, ensuring a very consistent and homogeneous distribution of temperature. Heat discharged by the engine oil goes through an oil/water heat exchanger into the coolant. As on the former model, the two turbochargers are arranged in parallel. The small volume of the intake manifold and the short exhaust manifolds ensure a good response. Flowing through a joint air cleaner housing, the intake air goes into the two compressors, from where the compressed air flows through two intercoolers in the wheel arches behind the rear wheels and on to one common duct upstream of the electronic gas pedal. Reverse cooling of the compressed turbocharger air provides a good cylinder charge and keeps the temperatures of the various components to a minimum. The bypass valves are integrated into the turbine housings. Boost pressure is controlled by a joint stroke for the bypass valves masterminded by the engine management. The opening diameter depends on the charge pressure required and is around 1.80 bar at full load, reached at approximately 2700 rpm. Boost pressure is controlled as engine speed increases, and is around 1.65 bar at maximum power. Like on the 911 GT 2, the cylinder charge is controlled by VarioCam Plus made up of four valves per cylinder, the axial camshaft adjusters, and the switchable valve tappets. The two intake and exhaust valves in each cylinder are arranged in V-configuration, at an inclined angle of 27.4°. To keep the moving masses in the valve gear as small as possible, valve shaft diameter is only 6 mm. Contrary to the 911 Carrera, the intake and exhaust valves on the Porsche 911 Turbo feature dual valve springs closing the valves reliably even under the higher forces generated by the exhaust gas counter-pressure. VarioCam Plus valve lift adjustment consists of two changeover bucket tappets positioned within each other on the intake side of the engine and actuated by two cams of different size on the intake side camshaft of the engine. This serves to optimise engine output and torque, on the one hand, while reducing fuel consumption and exhaust emissions and improving motoring refinement, on the other. At 12.9 litres per 100 kilometres, the 911 Turbo's overall consumption according to the EU standard is some 18 per cent lower than its predecessor’s. High torque at low revs encouragesan economical style of motoring. Porsche's engineers have made notable progress in reducing emissions thanks to VarioCam Plus and the new engine management system with E-gas. These are an average of 50 per cent lower than in the former model according to the European approval procedure. The 911 Turbo therefore complies easily with the strict D4 exhaust emission limits corresponding to the EU4 standard test limits which only have to be met by 1 January 2005. The 911 Turbo naturally also complies with the LEV standard in the USA.
Fast and dynamic
The performance figures of the 911 Turbo are outstanding in every sense of the word: From a standstill the Turbo equipped as standard with a six-speed manual gearbox accelerates to 100 km/h in 4.2 seconds and reaches the 160 km/h mark in 9.3 seconds. This surge of power does not come to an end until the car has reached its top speed of 305 km/h or 189 mph. Supreme torque of 560 Nm or 413 lb-ft, in turn, proves that the Turbo is alsoan exceptional performer when it comes to flexibility, accelerating from 80 to 120 km/h in fifth gear in just 4.8 seconds.
Power all round
Like its predecessor, the 911 Turbo comes as standard with four-wheel drive. Depending on driving conditions, the front wheels with their 225/40 ZR 18 tyres convey up to 40 per cent of the engine power to the road. The emphasis is not so much on traction, however, but rather on the wish to achieve outstanding driving characteristics and safety. The technology used for this purpose comes largely from the 911 Carrera 4, only the propeller shaft being modified in length. The additional supply of power to the front axle is through a multipledisc viscous coupling, one of the advantages of this drive system being the avoidance of any extreme “push effect” over the front wheels in bends, the car's behaviour being neutralon winding roads and under all other driving conditions. Active driving safety is significantly enhanced by PSM Porsche Stability Management, which is a standard feature on the 911 Turbo. Incorporating sophisticated sensors, the system is able to detect whether the car is following the driver's directional commands. In an extreme situation, intervention by applying the brakes at individual wheels serves to regain stability. If this is not sufficient, PSM will intervene in the engine management and reduce engine power to the necessary level. This combination of four-wheel drive, PSM and sport suspension, with the entire car being lowered by 10 millimetres, guarantees a very high level of active safety.
Same brakes as in motorsport – and as an option with composite ceramic discs
The new 911 Turbo features the same proven brake system as the Carrera with monobloc fixed callipers. To reflect the car's even higher standard of performance, both the front and rear wheels now come with larger, reinforced four-piston fixed callipers and it goes without saying that the cross-drilled, innervented brake discs are also larger than before, measuring 330 mm (13.00”) in diameter and 34 mm (1.34”) across on the front axle. The rear wheels come with brake discs of the same diameter but in this case 28 mm or 1.10” thick. The result is an increase in brake pad area on both the front and rear axle by approximately 5 per cent versus the former model. On the road, this means absolutely outstanding braking performance even under the toughest conditions comparable to motorsport. As an option the Turbo is now also available with composite ceramic brake discs measuring 350 millimeters or 13.78" in diameter. Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes or PCCB for short weigh approximately 50 per cent less than grey-cast iron brake discs and reduce unsprung masses accordingly. Further advantages of these brakes are their long service life in public transport and their complete resistance to salt on the road.
Turbo with Tiptronic S
The 911 Turbo is available for the first time with Tiptronic S as an option. With this five-speed automatic transmission which can also be shifted manually via rocker switches at the steering wheel, acceleration from a standstill to 100 km/h comes in 4.8 seconds and top speed is 298 km/h or 185 mph. The Tiptronic S in the 911 Turbo is an all-new developmenttailored to the supreme torque and power of the turbocharged engine. To maintain the car's dynamic performance in full, Porsche's transmission specialists have entered the usual gearshift strategies ranging from comfortable cruising all the way to the most dynamic motorsport conditions into the Electronic Transmission Management (ETM). The individual gearshift points adjust infinitely to the driver's style of motoring and the profile of the route. Finally, it almost goes without saying that manual short-term control in the automatic mode is one of the features of Tiptronic S in the Turbo.
Standard equipment at its best
The 911 Turbo offers a wide range of high-quality features all provided as standard. Over and above the equipment already featured on the Carrera models, including, inter alia, automatic air conditioning, an on-board computer and a CD radio fitted as standard, the Turbo comes with metallic paintwork, a wide range of leather upholstery and electrically adjustable seats complete with seat memory on the driver's side. Other standard features on the 911 Turbo are interior/exterior rear-view mirrors with an automatic anti-dazzle function and an integrated rain sensor as well as the high-end sound system from BOSE. Starting the new model year, the wide range of standard equipment is rounded off by PCM Porsche Communication Management comprising a double-tuner, CD player, dynamic route navigation, a trip computer and, as an option, a GSM dual-band telephone. Another new highlight is the use of bi-xenon headlights fitted ad standard, projecting the light from D2S xenon bulbs through a large glass lens measuring 70 mm or 2.76” in diameter on to the road ahead. Turning to the appropriate form, the movable light beam aperture enlarges the light outlet area beyond the usual size of the low beam and turns the high beam usually extending over a large area into a xenon beam with light features similar to daylight. These bi-xenon headlights come with automatic headlight range control and are combined with a headlight cleaning system.
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Porsche 996 Turbo hi-res media pics
so, after that boring tech stuff
, here´s something exciting, a little article from one of the guys of the 996TT test crew during endurance testing, hope you enjoy it and i think it can give you a quite good insight as well...
911 Turbo Experience – Porsche Turbo Testing
In Weissach they affectionately call the young Turbo "TOP", because it's supposed to become the ultimate Porsche. But making the top of the class with such stiff competition is tough. The future star already has three years of rigorous training be-hind it. The latest results are promising. The most difficult part is over, and now the Turbo is ready for the final test.
Few cars and probably no sports cars have to endure what a Porsche must go through. Road testing includes exposure to all kinds of weather. The cars and their drivers are veritable jet setters. From the icy cold of tests in Alaska and Canada, the entourage travels to the blistering heat of summer in the Australian outback. A Porsche has to be able to take it. The goal is that it will be able to measure up not only to the fastest cars, but also to the most robust. But would any Porsche customer want to drive his beloved Turbo on icy roads at minus thirty degrees Celsius? Stating the question this way, the answer is clear: If they want to do it, they should be able to. The same is true for the endless stretches of the Australian North West Territory, where there are no speed limit rules on the scorching hot roads. It must be possible to drive at full speed for long periods with the air-conditioning on, of course.
This is an endurance test for the technicians as well as for the cars. Every stop for gas and at such speeds they are necessary in quick succession forces the driver out of the cool car into the tropical heat. But the rapid change of temperature can be even worse during the winter road tests, where a drop of fifty degrees Celsius is all in a day's work if day is the right term, that is. The most one can expect at the Arctic Circle in December is a faint brightening on the horizon around noon.
Besides withstanding extreme weather conditions, it is even more important to meet the challenge of its dynamic handling and driving capabilities. To this day, and probably for as long as cars will exist, the supreme measure of harmony is the north loop of the Nürburgring race track. To be really fast here, the suspension, engine, and brakes must work together perfectly. And with eight minutes around the track, Walter Röhrl set a new record for serially produced sports cars. The force of 420 horsepower alone is not enough to achieve this. A result like that is only possible if the car is completely in balance. A large number of tires and brake pads disintegrated to dust on the Nürburgring before this was achieved.
The final limits of what is possible are pushed to the extreme at the Prototipo testing area near Nardo in Italy's heel. The test track is hermetically sealed. There is a strict schedule that must be adhered to so that the many factories that test cars here don't get in each others' way. In early December 1999, the new Turbo's final exam takes place in the mild climate of southern Italy. Two things are particularly important: The steadfastness of the brakes must be assessed according to Porsche's exacting criteria, and the thermal conditions in the engine and the drives of the four wheels need one last check. Both trial series necessitate the exclusive booking of the high-speed track, for the speed limit when other makes are using the track simultaneously is 240 km/h (about 150 miles per hour). A Turbo, however, requires much higher speeds. For this latest test, this freedom is only possible in Nardo when everyone else has better things to do on Saturday night.
The nightshift testing of the brakes presents Karl Haun with a heavy workload. He must accelerate the Turbo to ninety percent of its full speed 277 km/h (about 170 miles per hour) and then brake at eighty percent of maximum deceleration to 100 km/h (about sixty miles per hour). Immediately afterward, it's back up to 277 km/h (in an average of thirty-two seconds), and then he steps on the brakes again. This keeps the internally vented brake discs almost permanently red-hot, but they must go through this stop-and-go punishment a total of twenty-five times. A computer records all the details of the brake system's suffering, from the temperature of the discs and the temperature and pressure of the brake fluid to the pedal pressure.
When driver Karl Haun comes in for a pit stop after twenty-five cycles, measuring technician Wolfgang Grawe clears the memory and presents the results on a computer screen to engineer Gerhard Schäfer, the brake specialist. Something is wrong on the front left side, he decides. Grawe's diagnosis: Number four is dead. What died is one of the five thermal elements in the brake discs that translates the 600 to 750 degrees Celsius in the disc into electric signals and transmits the information to the on-board computer. Four reassuring readings induce Grawe to say, Not bad if the brakes are more reliable than the system that checks on them.
While the evaluation is going on, the mechanics, Bernd Weimar and Luigi Franzini, hurry to finish the technical service remove the wheels, change the brake pads, measure the discs, and put the wheels back on. After their heated mission, the pads have slimmed down by one millimeter, but otherwise they're in good shape. The brake disc thickness is within manufacturing tolerance. The dead number four stays along for the ride, and the missing value can be extrapolated from the other four readings. The brake discs have to be changed at the next pit stop. This is followed by a stepped-up regimen: The driver now brakes with maximum deceleration in the anti-lock system zone. This is when num-ber four on the right side gives up the ghost. After six of these cycles in one night, Karl Haun asks the driver on the way back to the hotel to step on the brakes gently.
Johannes Paul, the fast team's driver, had already worked as the project manager for the Carrera 4's endurance testing. Now, he alternately drives a Turbo with a six-speed manual gearbox and one with a Tiptronic transmission. The manual transmission Turbo whizzes past the guardrails at 310 km/h (about 190 miles per hour), a bit faster than the Tiptronic car. Paul waxes enthusiastic about the automatic version anyway. It provides incredibly smooth acceleration of power.
Although the closed-off course is deserted, driving at such speeds is anything but relaxing. The banked course makes it possible to drive free from the influence of lateral pull. Even driving without using your hands at 200 km/h (125 miles per hour) is possible. But at a speed of 300 km/h (almost 190 miles per hour) a firm hand is necessary when steering the course. Driving along a wall and with a centrifugal force that presses the car to the road keeps the vehicle stable and on its course, but Johannes Paul objects to the loss of spring travel. On bumpy stretches the car vibrates a lot, and I can't see the instruments clearly.
Paul's rounds on the banked circular course with a perimeter measuring 12.6 kilometers (nearly eight miles) are never very long just a little under 150 kilometers (about ninety-five miles). They take just a little over half an hour, and then it's high time to stop for gas. Mileage at a speed of 310 kilometers (about 195 miles) per hour on the uppermost track of the circular course is a bit above the amount in the EU norms.
Otherwise the thermodynamics experts Manfred Hochkönig and Christian Thies get encouraging readings: Despite the high speeds, no deviation from normal levels can be detected in the cooling water, the engine oil and in the charge air.
It doesn't worry Manfred Hochkönig that the temperatures in the transmission and in the housing of the front axle differential are a little higher than in street testing. We're still on the safe side. And besides, it's pretty unlikely that anyone else anywhere in the world could beat driving 100 miles at almost 200 miles an hour.
