Thirty years later on the road with 86 times built version
With the S built only 86 times, Porsche saved the reputation of the 964 Turbo thirty years ago. During our re-acquaintance with the model, it soon becomes clear that it was truly revolutionary.
When Michael Schumacher was still regularly conducting tests for colleagues at AutoBild thirty years ago, the editors presented him with a 911 Turbo for a super sports car test. Schumacher, who was then part of the Benetton F1 team, ran his right index finger over the front fender and played with the flared rear a bit in the corners, but he wasn’t really impressed with the car. In his eyes, the 911 Turbo was too heavy, too soft, too slow even and seemed to have been overtaken by time. That was not surprising, because Porsche had equipped the top version with the engine from its predecessor, a block that was already thirteen years old at the debut of the 964 model series for model year 1991. It was a kind of emergency solution after the failure of the performance project 965. It was not a really modern car, that was clear. The reputation of the 911 Turbo institute had been tarnished, that much was clear. Until the new Turbo won the IMSA super sports car championship in the United States at the end of 1991 and Porsche came up with an extra spicy small series in 1992; this time there was an S after the word Turbo. And we got that car out of the stable thirty years later for a tough ride on inviting mountain roads. We want to discover the true face of the Turbo spirit!
The 3.3 in the 911 Turbo S produces 381 hp instead of 320 hp. Even more than the later 964 Turbo 3.6 (360 hp).
The striking color Speedgelb was specially mixed for the Turbo S at the time; it is incidentally the color that still adorns the calipers of Porsche’s ceramic brakes to this day. The three-piece Speedline wheels are 18-inch for the first time on the 964, so that they only fit into the widened Turbo wheel arches with pain and difficulty. Early standard 964s only fit 16-inch wheels, larger sizes initially had to adjust the fender edges.
With pain and effort in the wheel arches: the 18-inch Speedlines.
Removed a lot of things and windows made of thinner glass
When opening the doors you hear the metallic click of the mechanism, as is the case with all old 911s. You notice that the chassis has been lowered by four millimeters as soon as you sit down. The door itself feels lighter and also makes for a less solid sounding thud when closing. Like the front cover and hood, they are made of fiberglass reinforced plastic. Furthermore, the side windows and the rear window are made of thinner glass. By also omitting the rear seats and airbags, mounting lighter door panels and using less sound-absorbing material, the weight could be reduced by 180 kilograms, which is still thirteen percent of the total weight. You will not hear any difference acoustically. Even in this speed monster, the natural balance of the six-cylinder boxer engine results in an almost vibration-free operation. In addition, the turbo muffles the intake noises. Also the perfect view to the front and the poor view to the rear in the beautiful, but too flat Cup mirrors suggest that you are dealing with a regular 964. Then you notice how much effort it takes to change the direction of the 235 skids on the front axle, because this car does not have power steering. Weight saving, remember? If you go above 30 km/h, you can hear the first stones tapping against the wheel arches, which have no sound-damping material. The rock-hard chassis gives even the smallest irregularities to the bucket seats.
Different camshaft profile and higher turbo pressure
The close contact between road and car teaches the driver to appreciate its value as soon as he presses the accelerator pedal and the needle of the rev counter passes 3200. A few hundred revolutions per minute earlier than the standard Turbo, the turbo pressure is built up in the S, after which the car quickly changes into a jet fighter. Above 4,000 rpm, there’s no stopping it, and you can still hit it up to 6,800 rpm. The maximum power of the S is 381 instead of 320 hp. That plus is mainly due to the changed camshaft profile and, moreover, the turbo pressure in the S is a bit higher. Together, this ensures that more torque is available in the speed range that is relevant in everyday life. With the more directly tuned steering and the brake hydraulics that were taken over from the 964 Carrera RS, Schumi would probably have been happier at the time than with the technology of the standard Turbo. And he would have liked the bike more, too, although it wouldn’t have made him swoon. “The power delivery is from another era. As abruptly as the turbo comes in, the limiter intervenes so hard at high speeds,” the Formula 1 driver noted at the time. “Yet it still manages surprisingly well with the ancient concept with the rear engine.”
With the classic glasses on, which let you judge older models more and more mildly, we can say with hand on heart that this Porsche is simply sensational.
Obligatory but fun: next to a Beetle.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl