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
2025 Infiniti QX80
Infiniti’s Flagship SUV Sets A Course For Extravagance
This full-size Infiniti QX80 started out as the QX56, a hastily rebadged version of Nissan’s truck-based Armada full-size utility. That was in the early 2000s when the luxury SUV craze was exploding. It wasn’t as much as a game-changer, as it was “try to keep upper”. Now, this new QX80, Infiniti is promising to “Reimagine the luxury SUV”. Let’s see if Infiniti has turned their imaginations into reality.
Well, if over the top is what Infiniti was shooting for in the all-new 2025 QX80, mission accomplished. There’s an overall feeling of extravagance here that we haven’t experienced from Infiniti in quite some time.
It’s not just the open pore ash wood trim with aluminum inlays, 24-speaker audio, and plush quilted leather seating; there’s also nicely integrated ambient lighting, a massive glass roof, plenty of tech, lots of active driving assistance, and even chilled center console storage. Forward of that is a dual touchscreen setup; the top 14.3-inch touchscreen for infotainment sits next to the digital gauge display in a single housing; while just below, there’s a 9-inch one for climate controls.
You are reminded this is still a body-on-frame utility the moment you have to climb up into the cockpit, but there’s also the commanding view of the road that comes with that. Captain’s chairs are standard for the second row, but a three-place bench is optional with all trims except for top Autograph which comes exclusively with these climate-controlled massaging chairs, along with a touchscreen control panel. The third-row experience is great, too, with heated leather seating, and adult size room for three.
Now, there is a whole new experience coming from under the hood. The last gen’s V8 has been replaced with a new twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6 rated at 450 horsepower, 50 over the V8. More notably, torque is up by more than 100 lb-ft to 516. Transmission is a nine-speed automatic, two more gears than last year, with rear-wheel drive standard, four-wheel drive an option. Max tow rating is 8,500-lbs.
And at the test track, it did pull strongly off the line, getting up to speed in a hurry with the 0-60 sprint taking just 6.3 seconds. There is roughly 3 tons of weight to push through the quarter-mile, but that twin-turbo does it well, finishing in 14.7 seconds at 95 mph. Gear changes are incredibly smooth, while not hindering acceleration in any way.
It's an impressive looking utility from any angle.
In panic braking runs, there was some fade and a considerable amount of nosedive, but our average stopping distance of 115 feet is not bad for a vehicle as big and heavy as the QX80. Last gen, the QX80 moved from the Titan truck platform to the global Patrol SUV chassis, which shifted the vibe from budget Escalade to Lexus LX fighter. The attending improvement in ride and handling was the real bonus, and that largely continues for this gen with air suspension and Dynamic Digital Dampers on all but base QX80s. While we could certainly feel all that weight through our cone course, body roll was well-controlled and without significant oversteer or understeer.
It’s an impressive looking utility from any angle, starting right up front with the big “bamboo forest” grille. The overall shape is boxy, but all body panels are smooth; and for better or worse, Infiniti joins the flush door handle fad. Look for its “Artistry In Motion” design theme to work its way down through the rest of the Infiniti lineup. All QX80s ride on 22-inch wheels except for base Pure trim which makes do with 20s.
A full power play includes standard motion-activated rear liftgate and power operation of both second and third row seats, expanding cargo capacity from 22 cu-ft behind the third row to 59 behind the second, and a max of 101.0 cu-ft with both rows folded.
Government Fuel Economy Ratings with four-wheel-drive are not great: 16 city, 19 highway and 17 combined. We averaged 18.6 mpg of premium. That’s a much worse than average Energy Impact Score, using 17.5 barrels of oil annually, with 8.6 tons of CO2 emissions.
Driving such a PUREly LUXEurious SENSORY overload, you’ll probably be expecting people to want your AUTOGRAPH, which we’re guessing is how Infiniti came up with their grade structure; pricing starts with Pure at $84,445 and climbs to $112,590 for Autograph.
The 2025 Infiniti QX80 is a massive SUV that delivers massive amounts of power and luxury. They aimed for the moon here and have clearly blasted themselves into a much more competitive orbit in the big buck, big hauler, sport-utility galaxy.
Specifications
As Tested
- Engine: 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6
- Transmission: 9-speed automatic
- Horsepower: 450
- Torque: 516 lb-ft.
- EPA: 16 City | 19 Highway | 17 Combined
- 0-60 mph: 6.3 seconds
- 1/4 Mile: 14.7 seconds at 95 mph
- Braking, 60-0 (avg.): 115 feet
- MW Fuel Economy: 18.6 mpg (Premium)