Sharp Builds: We Configure the Ultimate Porsche 911 Turbo

Matt Bubbers May 11, 2020

Win a 1:18 scale model of a Porsche 911 by configuring your own 911 Turbo! Follow @sharpmagazine and @sharp.auto on Instagram and then configure your dream 911 Turbo S. Post your version and tag @sharp.auto in your design. Entries close Thursday May 14, 2020.

Porsche just dropped a new 911 Turbo, which means the sports car world has its new presumptive king.

The question is not should we get one, but how do we spec it? There are millions of possible configurations. We’ve been agonizing over every paint colour, every optional extra, every permutation of contrast-stitch thread and two-tone leather.

To PCCB, or not to PCCB? That is the question. (Actually, Porsche has solved it, since the Carbon Ceramic Brakes come standard on the Turbo S.)

We dreamed up our ideal version below. But we’d love to hear your thoughts, too. Come up with your own 911 Turbo here and tag @sharp.auto on IG.

First, A Brief History

Flashback to the early ’70s. The story goes, more-or-less, that a bunch of lab-coat wearing German engineers thought it would be fun to take some of the turbocharger tech they’d used to create monstrous 1,100 horsepower CanAm racing machines and cram it into the 911. Blissed out listening to Heino’s latest hit Blau blüht der Enzian on repeat, they created an icon: the whale-tail wing, fat fenders and 276 hp. It was hot stuff, wicked fast with plenty of turbo lag, and not for the faint of heart. But, the engineers didn’t stop there. By the end of the decade, the Turbo’s engine had grown to 3.3-litres and they’d added an intercooler to improve the thermodynamics. At one point, they even chopped the roof off to create the 911 Turbo Cabriolet — the single most popular car of the ’80s, as judged solely by the valet lots of elite country clubs.

In 1995 came another seminal moment in Porsche Turbo history: Will Smith’s character in Bad Boys races through Miami in a black 964 Turbo. The car in the movie was actually Michael Bay’s own. In the latest instalment of the franchise, Bad Boys For Life, Smith had to make do with a 911 Carrera 4S because the new Turbo had yet to be invented. Thankfully, it’s here now.

Meet the New Turbo

Meet the all-new, 992-generation 911 Turbo S. It cranks out 640 hp (at 6,750 rpm) and 590 lb-ft of torque (2,500-4,000 rpm) from a 3.8-litre flat six motor breathing through a pair of bigger, meaner turbochargers. Top speed? 330 km/h. Slam on the brakes and active aero — movable wings front and rear — flip up in the blink of an eye to act as an air brake. You need it, since this thing can move as fast as a small airplane.

The Turbo S coupe starts at $231,700 while the Cabriolet starts at $246,300. We’ll go for the coupe, because it’s one-tenth of a second quicker from 0-100. (Also, we’d argue it just looks better.)

For our Sharp x 911 Turbo S, we wanted a timeless look that could go from day to night. Nothing too outré, because the whole point of the Turbo is that it’s everyday transport and a ballistic sports car. The brown interior with wood trim and gold wheels pay homage to the car’s 1970s roots, but the rest is subtle and thoroughly modern.