Following my test drive of the 987 Cayman, I had the opportunity to drive a 997 911 Turbo of the same generation and would like to report on it.

Porsche 911 Turbo (997)

The 997 Porsche 911, a departure from the teardrop headlights of the 996 and a return to the round headlights of the air-cooled era.

I remember well when it was first released, and I was strongly attracted to its design, which looked like a further evolution of the 993, with its moderately rounded body and silhouette that strongly resembled an air-cooled Porsche. At the time, it was too expensive to buy, and I used to watch 911s driving away in the city with my fingers crossed.

This 911 is a Turbo, the most powerful grade of the 997 model.The engine is a 3.6L horizontally opposed engine based on that GT1 crankcase.
The specifications are 480 PS/6,000 rpm, 63.2 kg-m/1,950-5,000 rpm, and 0-100 km/h in 3.9 seconds with the manual transmission, and 3.7 seconds with the Tiptronic S, our test car. The latest 992 GT3 also achieves 3.4 seconds, so you can see how fast it is.

It is a rare example equipped with a rare PCCB underfoot and a sports chrono package.

This is the Porsche "Turbo".

For Porsche, the name "Turbo" does not simply describe the mechanism of the engine. It has a special meaning,The name will be allowed only for the highest grade.

When you open the door and get in, you are greeted by plush seats with thick seating surfaces.Porsche seats still from this era are very soft.In particular, the seats in this turbo are very comfortable and do not seem to tire easily even when driving long distances.

When I started the engine and started to drive, I still felt that "turbochargedIt has a very dense feeling. The ride is comfortable and soft with a core (firmness). The suspension is what we call "Sanuki Udon" type, and its high potential for adaptability to the road surface and environment is clearly evident.

And then...It should be noted that Tiptronic is a wonderfulIt is. The Tiptronic is the last of the matured Tiptronic for the 911, and it is very well made. There is no shifting shock at all, and it is very smooth. The speed of shifting when shifting manually is naturally inferior to PDK, but this does not cause any stress.
The plus and minus buttons on the steering wheel are great to concentrate on steering and driving down winding roads.

Deceleration change also, although there is no blipping,The control to match and connect the revolutions with almost no gearshift shock is excellent,As expected, it is a world apart compared to the early Tiptronic of the 964 era.

Rare PCCB-equipped model

The ride is very comfortable.Due to the slightly older tires, there were times when I felt the road surface a little more rough than necessary, but I think this is where new tires would make for a great ride. As with the 987 Cayman I drove before, there is more noise from the suspension than in a modern Porsche, but it is still not unpleasant.

I can't tell how much the suspension has deteriorated, even though it has over 70,000 km on the clock, and compared to the latest 992 and 718 models, the difference between the models is more significant than any deterioration or sagging. The other day at the dealer, I was told that the suspension with PASM is electronically controlled, so it is less susceptible to sagging than normal suspension.

Two sides of the engine

When driving slowly at around 3000 rpm, one can flow through winding roads gracefully as if driving a large-displacement NA car. With ample torque, there is no strange turbo lag or torque fluctuation, and it is very easy to drive. This means that even when driving leisurely around town, one does not feel stressed.

The 911 Turbo's engine has such comfort, but when the driver puts it in Sport mode, drops to 3rd and 2nd gear on the manual shift, and starts to open the throttle, the 911 Turbo's engine changes drastically. is clearly audible from the rear of the car, and the engine is ready for battle.

It is as if the 911 has been transformed instead. The owner said that this "whoosh" sound is like a signal, and it feels as if the 911 Turbo is saying, "I'm ready. It is indeed true, and the response and sense of power in the rpm range from that point onward is intense.
With the owner's permission, though, I was allowed to step in,Full acceleration is so intense that it is hard to believe the car is more than a decade old.The level of acceleration is such that even today's Porsche can hardly match it. Moreover, the engine revs wonderfully smoothly. The needle of the tachometer turned toward the red zone more vigorously than I expected, so much so that I had to pull back on the gas pedal.

This is not an exaggeration; it is very similar to the feeling of the GT3 engine.

The tachometer needle moves faster and faster as it approaches the red zone in all generations of GT3 engines. However, this turbo's engine turns faster from the start, rather than accelerating.The tachometer does not rise faster; it is faster from the beginning.The car was about to enter the red zone at once. As one would expect from an engine of the GT1 lineage. This alone was enough to captivate me.

Four-wheel drive without being four-wheel drive

As I revved up the engine and drove through the winding roads, I suddenly found myself forgetting that I was driving a turbo or a four-wheel drive car.

That's how much fun it is to drive, and it makes me want to drive more and more, and it becomes even more fun as I get used to the intense stopping power of the PCCB and get in tune with this 911 Turbo.

Carbon Interior

It's hard to believe that this is the same car as when it was flowing gently. I hardly feel anything like four-wheel drive or its negative weight. The higher the pace, the more I feel like I am driving a RR 911, and I almost think that my 991 Carrera 4GTS is more "turbo" than the 991 Carrera 4GTS I have at home.

Sohyo (General Council of Trade Unions of Japan)

I think it's a really well balanced 911.
The Tiptronic and the engine are a great match, as I have been saying for some time.

I think it would be fun to steer it with a manual transmission, but that would be more in line with the NA. I would recommend Tiptronic for this turbo.

As I used to say when I owned a Panamera Turbo, the Porsche Turbo is truly "Jekyll and Hyde".
It has two sides, it can be driven gently or, if it wants to, it can be driven as well as a GT3. On top of that, it has the flexibility and comfort to be enjoyed on public roads.

Personally and honestly, it was the 911 I wanted.
This test drive has definitely added to my list of 911s that I would like to own myself someday.