2001 Porsche 911 - Review

HI-RES GALLERY: 2001 Porsche 911

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There’s just one mental argument you need to win before you blow a hundred grand on a Porsche 911 Turbo: "Do I really need enough horsepower to peel back my eyelids?"

Score it if you answered "Duh!" The newest Porsche Turbo’s the fastest, most desirable car they’ve ever put on the street. Killjoy Feds wouldn’t let the ultra-exotic 959 out on U.S. roads, but the ’01 Turbo is nearly as quick, and any Porsche dealer you present with $111,000 will be glad to set you loose on the pavement in one.

The Turbo hammers out 415 horsepower from its 3.6-liter flat-six powerplant – nearly as much as a Dodge Viper from an engine less than half the size, thanks to the eponymous turbocharging and Porsche’s VarioCam variable valve timing system – and twists out 415 lb-ft of torque from 2700 to 4600 rpm. Step into it, and watch your face grow years younger as if by plastic surgery — or is it just the ear-splitting grin?

The engine is hung off the rear end, appropriate since you’ll want to make sure your ass is still there while it catapults you to 60 mph in about 4 seconds, about half the time it took you to read that last sentence. If you’re brave, you can stick with it all the way to 189 mph.

A slick-shifting six-speed manual transmission is the stock gearbox, but for the first time Porsche’s offering a Tiptronic five-speed automatic with steering-wheel-mounted shift buttons. Click and clack all you want – it’s programmed to not let you frag the gears. When you’ve had enough of the speed exercises, stomp on the stupendously powerful anti-lock brakes, which feel like the air brakes on newfangled 300-foot-tall rollercoasters: stomp, whoosh, stop, sans drama.

2001 Porsche 911 Turbo interior Click image for larger view