The 2010 Porsche 911 Turbo debuts in Frankfurt next month. Here's the Cabriolet. Both Coupe and drop-top will make 0 - 60 in just 3.2 seconds.
There’ll be some big news from Porsche, next month, at the Frankfurt Motor Show. But we’ve gotten a first look at the 2010 Porsche 911 Turbo – which will be offered in both Coupe and Cabriolet trim – and want to share it with our readers.
The word, “more,” immediately comes to mind when describing the new Porsche flagship. It will be defined by an all-new engine, a new design, and performance numbers that normally fit into the supercar category. Yet, it also will deliver better mileage, a seeming must, no matter what category you compete in, these days.
The big news is the all-new flat-six boxer engine, the first time in the 35-year history of the Porsche Turbo that the sports car gets an all-new engine of its own. Displacing a modest 3.8 liters, it nonetheless will make a stunning 500 horsepower – 20 bhp more than the 3.6-liter boxer-six in the 2009 Porsche 911 Turbo. Torque jumps from 511 to 516 pound-feet with the optional Sport Chrono package. That’s enough to launch the 2-seater from 0 to 60, the German maker claims, in just 3.2 seconds.
To make those numbers, the new engine feature Direct Injection, a variable turbine geometry turbocharger, and a new expansion intake manifold first used by Porsche on its GT2 supercar.
Buyers will be offered a choice of either a 7-speed manual gearbox or the Porsche-Doppelkupplung. Call the latter PDK, for short. It’s essentially the same gearbox offered as an option on the new, 4-door Panamera, and can operate in either automatic or manual mode. In essence, this electronically-shifted manual system always has two gears ready to go, so there’s none of the bucking of earlier electro-mechanical transmissions, and shifts are not only smooth but lightning fast.
With an all-new 3.8-liter engine, the 2010 911 Coupe and Cabriolet will hit top speeds of 194 mph.
Along with the enhanced turbo system and the PDK, the Sport Chrono Package will feature dynamic engine mounts. First introduced on the new GT3, the mounts use a special magnetic fluid that can be adjusted, electronically, to either sport or comfort mode.
Porsche claims a top speed of 194 mph for both the Coupe and Cabriolet – not quite the 200 mph mark that has become something of a defining point for true modern supercars.
The automaker also reports that the 2010 Porsche 911 Turbo will produce 18% lower CO2 emissions. While precise fuel economy numbers were not released, the immutable link between fuel consumption and CO2 output suggests mileage will increase by a similar amount. The ’09 Turbo Coupe is rated 16/23, while the Cabriolet gets 15 in the City and 24 on the Highway.
The 2010 Porsche Turbo Coupe and Turbo Cabriolet will both go on sale in January 2010, with U.S. pricing set at $132,800 and $143,800 respectively.