Porsche Reveals the 2017 911 Turbo and Turbo S

2017 Porsche 911 Turbo S (Credit: © Porsche)

We’ve already met the 911 Carrera and Carrera S, so it was only a matter of time before Porsche unveiled the big-daddy of the revised 911 lineup. Today is that time, as the German automaker has pulled the covers from the revamped and more powerful 911 Turbo and Turbo S models.

Like the Carrera that we saw earlier in the year, the Turbo models carry a lightly tweaked body to separate them from the current generation. Up front the new-look 911 Turbo gains a set of updated headlights with two projectors instead of one, new dual tube-style LED fog lights, revised air inlets, and what looks to be a slightly lower nose.

Down the sides, the changes are far less dramatic, but still obvious in a side-by-side comparison. The revised 911 Turbo loses the plastic door-handle recesses and gains new integrated recesses for reduced drag, and gets new 20-inch rolling stock.

2017 Porsche 911 Turbo S (Credit: © Porsche)

On the rear, the changes are far more obvious, as the 2017 911 Turbo gains lengthwise air vents on the hood, wider 3D taillights that accentuate the wide backside of the Turbo models, new air outlets on the outside edges of the bumper, new reflectors that cross the top of the outlets, and slightly tweaked exhaust pipes.

A new look isn’t all that distinguishes the 2017 911 Turbo models, as it also has a revised powertrain. It carries on with a 3.8-liter twin-turbo flat-six engine, but Porsche reworked it to produce 540 horsepower in the Turbo and 580 horses in the Turbo S – 20-horsepower gains for each model. Respectively, these engines churn out up to 523 and 553 pound-feet of twist in overboost.

Porsche didn’t just up the power in these engines either, it also upped the technology that makes them more fun to drive. A new dynamic boost function maintains boost pressure during load changes, helping the 911 Turbo deliver almost seamless transitions from light throttle to heavy throttle.

The result of all of this reworking is a 2.8-second sprint to 60 mph for the Turbo S Coupe and a 2.9-second sprint for the Turbo Coupe – 0.1-second and 0.3-second improvements, respectively. Top speed also sees a nice uptick, as the Turbo jumps to 198 mph and the Turbo S hits 205 mph – increases of 2 and 7 mph, respectively.

2017 Porsche 911 Turbo S (Credit: © Porsche)

Porsche has also determined that the Sport Chrono Package needs be a standard feature for the 911 Turbo models, so it has made this change for the 2017 model year. This package includes the GT sport steering wheel found in the 918 Spyder, a steering wheel-mounted mode switch that allows the driver to choose from one of four drive modes: Normal, Sport, Sport Plus, or Individual, and a new Sport Response button that preconditions the engine for optimal acceleration for 20 seconds.

Plenty of other new features round out the changes for the 2017 model year, like standard active roll stabilization, Porsche Composite Ceramic Brake system, Adaptive Sport Seats Plus, Sport Design mirrors, and more on the Turbo S. On the Turbo model, a standard rearview camera, LED headlights, Park Assist, and the new Porsche Communication Management with online navigation are now standard.

The 2017 Porsche 911 Turbo models will hit showrooms in April 2016. Pricing will start from $159,200 for the 911 Turbo Coupe and rise to $171,500 for the Turbo Cabriolet – jumps of $8,100 and $8,500, respectively. The Turbo S model will start at $188,100 and jump to $200,400 for the convertible model – price increases of $5,400 for the coupe and $5,800 for the convertible.

The 2017 911 Turbo models will make their in-the-metal debuts at the Detroit Auto Show in January 2016.