So how fast is the new 911 Turbo? On paper it'll get from 0-62mph in either 3.5sec with the regular six-speed manual gearbox fitted, or 3.4sec with the combination of PDK, Sport Chrono and launch control. Zero to 100mph takes an incredible 7.0sec dead with all of the aforementioned specified – little more than half a second slower than a McLaren F1 – and the top speed is restricted by gearing to 193mph.
On the road it feels outrageously rapid and yet almost entirely free from lag, lunging forwards even on a small throttle opening at low revs in a high gear. You need no more than 2000rpm showing before the motor is already at full stretch, and once it's there it just piles on the acceleration.
In fourth gear it has enough thrust to make you think long and hard before planting the throttle and holding it there for more than a few seconds. The outside world comes at you so fast that you wonder what people coming the other way are thinking. And in second gear it's just ridiculous; your passengers will probably scream.
It's the ease with which the Turbo now delivers its monumental performance that is so completely addictive – and impressive – especially with the new paddles fitted to the PDK gearbox.
There are varying degrees of gearchange speed selectable if you've specified the Sport Chrono Package (as surely most Turbo owners will), but in reality the system works brilliantly in all of its modes. And the paddles themselves are a joy to use compared with the wheel-mounted buttons.
What of the handling? On the first-gen 997 Turbo there was perhaps a touch too much movement and not enough precision at higher cornering loads. The car would move around quite a lot if you drove it even at seven-tenths, and at full chat on a circuit it was far from Porsche's most incisive car.
Enter another new range of acronyms that have been introduced to the chassis, most of which are again optional (cha-ching!) and all of which dramatically improve the way the car behaves.
First up is Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV) which, via a new mechanical diff, reduces understeer and increases the balance mid-corner by tickling the rear brakes if and when necessary. It sounds complex and is complex, but it also sharpens up front-end bite by a good 10 percent. PTV works in conjunction with PTM (Porsche Traction Management) and PSM (Porsche Stability Management) and can only be fitted if – you guessed it – you specify the Sport Chrono Package.
Also new are the 19in. wheels, which, mainly because they feature a new single centre-locking nut, are around 4 lbs lighter at each corner. That makes a small but key difference to the unsprung weight (read “ride and handling”). There's also a new engine mounting system on Sport Chrono cars that prevents the flat six from moving around as much at high cornering loads.
On the road you notice this new system in the way the tail end doesn't sway as much on turn-in. It used to be quite an issue with the previous-generation Turbo but, once again, Porsche has nudged the laws of physics in the opposite direction; unless you drive it very hard indeed you probably wouldn't be able to tell whether the new Turbo is rear or mid-engined.
And that's just how Porsche would want a driver to feel when they drive the new Turbo: blown away by its straight-line performance (check), impressed by its new-found ease of operation (check), staggered by its brakes, grip and handling (check), yet never feeling like they are venturing anywhere near the ragged edge (check).
As such, it's now an extraordinarily well resolved road car, the latest 911 Turbo. It even rides with remarkable refinement. It will continue, no doubt, to make Porsche its millions for quite some years to come. And being this good at what it does, it deserves to.
Steve Sutcliffe/Autocar