Review Roundup: 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S

As I merged onto the freeway, bound for a remote canyon road sixty or so miles outside of L.A., I pointed the nose straight and matted the throttle for maybe four seconds, before coasting out of it and merging. In Porsche’s most powerful 911 Turbo ever, those four seconds, as it turns out, are enough to get you chased down, lit up, pulled over, screamed at, and written up for an alleged enormous number, but not before being threatened with arrest, forcible removal, and impound of my bright-red $223,000 demonstrator. I had traveled 5.2 miles.

There’s really nothing like lag happening here. Even in its weakest moments, this engine is a blink away from burying your shoulder blades into the Turbo S’s seat backs. What you hear is the mechanical grit, bellow, and rasp of a flat-six.

“Unreal! How did they do that? It’s a blend of what the 991.2 Turbo S was and a GT3 RS,” I said. “It’s sharp, delicate, precise, talkative, but bloody fast, too. I wasn’t expecting this at all. This is a driver’s car.”

There is the thrill of launching it from a standstill – bullets have left the barrel more slowly – and seeing just how fast it’ll attack corners and hang on through a series of turns. Something which it does so well, even GT3 RS drivers are going to be impressed.

The Porsche 911 Turbo S might not wear its performance intentions on its sleeve, but it’s more comfortable, more practical and more tech-savvy than just about any other modern supercar. In fact, it’s every bit as fast as those top-dollar performers, and yes, it’s quicker, too.

This has got to be one of the great sports cars of all time… The acceleration is mind-blowing. I mean, eyes in the back of your head, “I can’t believe this is happening” mind blowing.

The Turbo boasts all manner of technical trickery to help deploy all that horsepower. The tires are huge and offer prodigious grip, while a rear-wheel steering system improves agility. Standard ceramic-composite brakes partner with active aerodynamics to ensure the Turbo has the stop to match the go. It’s a tour de force that delivers almost unrivaled real-world performance in a way that’s easy to access.