2014 Porsche 911 Turbo S
2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the porsche 911. and despite being a pentagenarian, the 911 is showing no signs of slowing down. in fact, now that a turbo 991 has arrived it’s moving along quicker than ever. so come along as we hit our favorite road course, savannah’s roebling road raceway, to find out just how much faster and better this all-new 911 turbo really is!
While we are always pumped to drive a new Porsche, just as a race team begins thinking about their next race as soon as the checkered flag drops, we begin dreaming about the next Porsche we get to drive as soon as we hop out of one. So, no sooner did we pull our 911 C4S into pit lane at Roebling Road Raceway last year, we began thinking about this car, the 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo S.
The 911 Turbo and this 2-mile road course are made for each other. Unlike previous gens of Turbo, with the 991-series, both Turbo and Turbo S models are available right away, with the S adding more standard equipment and more power from the 3.8-liter twin-turbo flat-6.
Turbo numbers are 520-horsepower and 487 lb-ft. of torque. The Turbo S hikes those to 560 and 516, with up to 553 lb-ft. of torque available at full throttle, with overboost as part of the Sport Chrono package.
If there’s one constant in our society, no matter how much you give, people always seem to want more, and the new Turbo delivers. How much more? Well, the Turbo S is the quickest road going production Porsche ever. On Roebling’s front straight, we managed to hit 60 in 2.9-seconds, with the ¼-mile pass taking 10.8 at 129 miles-per-hour.
And as great as that is, the real reason you should want a Turbo is for the handling. It’s all-wheel-drive of course, and the current system is a evolution of the torque vectoring setup with an added Electro-hydraulic control for the multi-plate coupling that enables more power to be delivered to the front axle faster.
In addition, the Turbo gains rear wheel steer. With an electromechanical actuator for each back wheel, the system provides varying degrees of steering to both tighten turns and increase high speed stability.
But even with electronics managing just about every aspect of the chassis, the drive experience is about as intuitive and easy as it can be. Amazingly enough, Porsche has succeeded in not entirely dialing out all of the driving enjoyment. But if you’re looking for hairball, rear end out kicks, you might have to wait a few more months for the GT3. This car has phenomenal grip. The harder you push it through corners, the more it eggs you on.
Active roll compensation keeps things flat no matter the speed, and the stability and overall manner through high speed sweepers is incredible. Roebling also has a few tight corners and when coming off of them, depending on how much throttle you were able to maintain, you will experience some turbo lag going full off to full on.
We like big brakes and we cannot lie, the Turbo’s standard ceramic brakes are eye popping effective. As for transmission, the Turbo is PDK only, and while purists will surely cry for a manual, we’re beyond that. The PDK’s shifts are incredibly quick, and it makes street driving in every day traffic that much more livable.
Who would have thought you’d need to artificially pump exhaust sound into the 911 to get the full experience, more so, who would have thought we’d enjoy it so much!
Visually, all the usual Turbo clues are here, wider hips, enlarged air intakes, and serious 20-inch wheels. While new active air elements like an extending front spoiler and a slotted rear wing take down force to new levels. Full LED headlights provide bright-as- day nighttime illumination on the Turbo S.
There’s plenty for the tactile senses to enjoy inside as well, from the 2-tone leather treatment throughout to the Turbo specific gauge package.
Government Fuel Economy Ratings are also improved to 17-City, 24-Highway, and 20-Combined. That also improves the Energy Impact Score to 16.5-barrels of oil and 7.4 tons of CO2 emitted annually.
As for pricing, does it really matter? While every red-blooded driver should want a Turbo, you either can afford one or you can’t. Sticker shock starts at $149,250; Turbo S at $181,950.
It is truly insane that Porsche has taken the rear engine platform to this level. The 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo simply exceeds all rational expectations. Can you have too much of a good thing? As far as we’re concerned, never. And you can be assured that Porsche engineers are already working on delivering even more for the next one. And yes, we are already thinking about driving it!
Specifications
- Engine: 3.8-liter
- Horsepower: 560
- Torque: 516 lb-ft.
- 0-60 mph: 2.9-seconds
- 1/4 mile: 10.8 seconds @ 129 mph
- EPA: 17 mpg city/ 24 mpg highway
- Energy Impact: 16.5 barrels of oil/yr
- CO2 Emissions: 7.4 tons/yr
2024 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Manthey
An Easy And Effective Way To Get More Extreme With Your GT4 RS
Recently we put to the test a Porsche 911 GT3 with a dealer installed upgrade engineered by the folks at Manthey racing. Their expertise harnessed the power of the wind to make that GT3 stick to a track like never before. Well thankfully, Porsche isn’t confining all of that aero goodness just to the 911, as a Manthey kit is now available for the 718 Cayman GT4 RS. Time for us to hit the track and get a grip.
You don’t have to drive this Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS with the Manthey Kit on a racetrack to enjoy it, but we highly recommend it. High speed track time is what it’s built for after all, as the Manthey Kit is all about doubling the amount of road-gripping downforce in a car that already felt glued to the track.
The added pieces for making all that downforce pressure are obvious, dive planes ahead of the front wheels, an extended splitter up front, and of course you can’t miss those big aero discs on the rear wheels.
The rear wing is 3.4-inches wider, has larger side blades, and more adjustability; the bodywork back here getting some structural enhancements to handle the additional down force pressure. Unlike the 911’s Manthey Kit, here in the 718, you also get a suspension upgrade. That includes a special inverted coilover setup with lots of adjustability.
Without doing a direct back-back comparison, it’s hard to say how much more proficient the Manthey Kit makes the already very impressive GT4 RS, but here around the 2-mile road course at Dominion Raceway it definitely felt stiffer than we remember the last GT4 RS being. But with this car, that’s a bit like comparing a razor blade that was used once, with a brand new one. Is the brand new one sharper? Yes. Are they both insanely sharp? Yes again. Fortunately, Porsche did just such a comparison and the Manthey Kit made GT4 RS 6 seconds quicker around the Nürburgring.
Is the brand new one sharper? Yes. Are they both insanely sharp? Yes again.
It felt so stiff at Dominion we found it best to stay off the apex curbs, as they tended to shoot us back onto the track rather than letting us shortcut. The Manthey Kit does not deliver any additional power, but the 493 horsepower and 331 lb-ft of torque coming out of this naturally-aspirated 4.0-liter boxer-six is more than adequate.
With many cars, you can debate whether they sound better inside or out, but there’s no contest here, inside is where it’s at, with the 4.0-liter nestled directly behind you blasting an endless rush of percussive sound that is music to our ears. Around the track, the PDK did it’s PDK thing, which is basically staying one step ahead of us by always being in the right gear; so, we just left it in auto.
And to give us the best possible performance platform, Porsche added the Manthey Kit to a GT4 RS equipped with the optional Weissach package which uses additional carbon fiber and titanium to reduce weight. Upgraded steel brake lines are also part of the Manthey Kit, and the brakes performed as admirably as we expected.
Fantastic amounts of feel, with no fade; but getting on them hard into corners really requires a firm grip on the wheel as those front tires are being shoved into the pavement so hard, they’re grabbing every track flaw with intensity. Track compound brake pads are an option if you plan on using your GT4 RS strictly for track days.
The Manthey Kit adds $53,946 onto the a GT4 RS’ $167,495 base price, meaning you’re in for at least $221,441 before installation fees, Weissach Package, or any other upgrades. So, it really is only worth spending that kind of cash if you’re truly obsessed with making your GT4 RS a standout on the track and the street!
You could spend a lot of time and effort turning your Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS into the ultimate track weapon, or just turn to the folks at Manthey Racing who’ve already put in the hard work and know a thing or two about creating race winning Porsches. You could say that’s taking the easy way, but we’d say it’s taking the best way.
Specifications
As Tested
- Engine: 4.0-liter boxer-six
- Horsepower: 493
- Torque: 331 lb-ft
- EPA: 15 City | 19 Highway | 16 Combined
- MW Fuel Economy: 14.5 mpg (Premium