The Porsche 911 anniversaries just keep rolling in. Just a year ago, we were celebrating 60 years since the first 911 (still the 901 then, of course…) was built, and this year, it’s a big birthday for the 911 Turbo, which is turning 50.
Hang on, 50 full years?
Yup, back in 1924, Porsche - along with BMW and Saab - was one of the first car makers to embrace turbocharging for road cars truly, and it developed the now-legendary 930 spinoff of the 911, featuring a 3.0-litre turbocharged flat-six engine, producing 260hp and using a four-speed manual gearbox because the standard 911 Carrera’s five-speed unit couldn’t cope with the engine’s prodigious torque. The Turbo was largely inspired by Porsche's huge successes with its mighty 1,100hp 917/30 turbocharged racing car in the astonishing Can-Am racing series.
It was the 911 (930) Turbo that really gave the 911 its reputation for wayward handling. This was mostly because the turbo engine’s turbo lag often meant that peak torque would arrive rather suddenly right in the middle of a corner, causing, er, some issues - hedge-damaging issues.
Obviously, in the years since, the 911 Turbo has become rather more house-broken, and thanks to the 1990s addition of standard four-wheel drive, these days, the Turbo is the 911 you buy if you want a useable daily driver, but one that can annihilate any Ferrari or Lamborghini you might care to nominate. Equally, turbocharged 911s - including the incredible 935 - would go on to success in sports car racing, including an outright win at the Le Mans 24hrs.
I presume Porsche has something special up its sleeve for this?
You presume right. To celebrate this big 50th birthday, Porsche has created a limited edition 911 Turbo 50 Years model, of which - naturally, just 1,974 examples will be built. It’s based on the latest Turbo S model, introduced in 2019.
The 50-year edition features distinctive ‘Turbo’ stickers on the side, based on the famed colours of the 911 RSR presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1973. The colour scheme also features the ‘Turbonite’ matte grey colour, which is exclusive to Porsche Turbo models. You’ll find it on inlays in the rear engine cover, the fuel tank cap, and the Porsche crest. It is also a contrasting colour in the Turbo 50 model logo.
Elsewhere, the rear wing, bumper and engine cover, base of the door mirrors, and air intakes have Anthracite Grey trims, all referencing the original 930 colour and trim layout.
There’s a special badge on the rear engine cover grille featuring a turbocharger icon and the years 1974-2024. In the door mirrors, LED projector lights shine an image of a turbocharger onto the ground. The wheels are special 911 Turbo S Exclusive Design wheels finished in Turbonite.
Inside, the seats are a bit of a seventies throwback, with ‘McKenzie’ tartan (black, white, and grey) fabric centres and door panels. There are Turbonite finishes for the seat belts, controls, decorative stitching, trim strips with decorative inlays in black leather and the Porsche crest on the GT sports steering wheel. There’s an illuminated Turbo 50 logo on the door sills, and that same logo is stitched into the headrests. Above the glovebox is a plaque with the Turbo 50 logo and the car’s individual number, while there’s also suede-like ‘Race’Tex’ trim and an analogue Porsche Design Subsecond clock with a special Turbo 50 design on the dashboard.
I could do with more heritage than that…
If that’s not enough Turbo heritage for you, there’s also the option of the Heritage Design package. This adds Aventurine Green Metallic paintwork, or you can choose your own custom paint. There are also white-background racing number graphics (numbered between one and 99) featuring the Turbo 50 logo and the Porsche badge. The bonnet and wheel centre caps get a classic (1964 era) Porsche crest badge, while the rear Turbo 50 and Porsche badges are gold-finished. Inside, Heritage Design models come with extra tartan and leather for the dashboard trim, glove box and seat backrest inlays, while the steering wheel gets the classic Porsche crest, the centre console gets the Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur logo embossed in the leather, while the clock face and the main dials are finished in green.
All of this would be mere marketing puffery if it weren’t for the 911 Turbo 50 Years’ mechanical package. Being based on the Turbo S means the 3.7-litre flat-six engine has two variable geometry turbochargers, which combined bring the power to 650hp, with 800Nm of torque. Thanks to the Turbo 50 Years’ kerb weight of 1,640kg that means a power-to-weight ratio of 2.52 kg/hp. Because of that, it takes just 2.7secs to hit 100km/h from rest, while getting to 200km/h takes a mere 8.9secs. There’s adaptive four-wheel drive, naturally, and an eight-speed PDK automatic gearbox. Porsche Traction Management and Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus are both standard, and there’s also a sports exhaust with black tips. Porsche Active Suspension Management adaptive dampers are also standard, and the suspension sits 10mm lower than normal, although there’s also a front-axle lift kit as standard to make getting over speed bumps a bit easier. There are Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes as standard, but the usual yellow callipers are now finished with a more menacing glossy black. Matrix LED headlights with the Porsche Dynamic Light System Plus option are also standard.
Anything else?
All of the 1,974 versions of the Porsche 911 Turbo 50 Years edition will also come with a special chronograph watch made by Porsche Design (a company that’s not actually part of Porsche but related by family links). The 911 Turbo 50 Years chronograph is equipped with the COSC-certified (that’s as accurate as mechanical watches get) Porsche Design WERK 01.200 movement with flyback function. The dark dial is finished in the same Turbonite colour as the car’s trim pieces, while the leather strap is made from the same leather as the car’s seats. There’s a transparent caseback, too, so you can admire the winding rotor, designed to look like one of the car’s alloy wheels.
If you’re quick, you might still be able to get one of the 1,974 examples being made, but the Irish price is a hefty €389,118. Still, you do get the watch thrown in. If that’s beyond your pocket, the 911 Turbo 50 Years is currently featured in an exhibit at the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart titled Beyond Performance - 50 Years of Porsche Turbo. As ever, we’d hugely recommend a visit.