Hardship assignment. Pilgrim endured
Mediterranean sun and air in the call of duty.compared to this 911. In this applica-
tion, I expect to find the brakes have the
capacity to turn the poor car inside out.
The Turbo S’ rear end and stance
serves as an attention-sucking tractor
beam. The rear haunches seem to go on
for yards, and I joked to Frank Walliser,
vice president of the 911 and 718 model
lines, that this might be the first 911 with
a track width greater than its wheelbase.
He chuckled and confirmed the car is
0.8 inch wider than the previous 991
version—and 1.7 inch wider than the
992 Carrera S, itself already boasting
some “widebody” 911 treatment. He also
mentioned he does not believe the 911
should get any bigger, but that’s a topic
for another day.
As we cruised along, I noticed the
Auto Stop feature, a first for a Turbo
S. Thankfully, Porsche also provides a
conveniently placed Off button. Other
than that, the more I rode in the new
car, the more I liked the difference in
feel. Relative to the 991 Turbo S, and as
I discovered when I drove the Carrera S
earlier this year, its improved grip and
responses are almost certainly down to
the combination of the wider front track,
suspension improvements, and wider
front tires, which should all work to allow
better manipulation of the car’s front and
rear, from turn-in to corner exit.
A brief stint in the Cabriolet version
with the top down revealed a surprising,
almost complete lack of wind noise.
Otherwise, I sensed no measurable
difference to the coupes. That said, on
a racetrack the Cabriolet’s additional
weight might more readily make its
presence felt. Speaking of tops, the new
Turbo S Coupe also offers a sunroofless
carbon option.
With my experience of testing various
911 Turbo S models during the past
several years, my seat-of-the-pants gauge
confirms already that this new one will
deliver a measurable performance leap
forward, as nutty as that might be. But
with its backbreaking power, refined
suspension, eight-speed PDK gearbox,
and daily driving comfort, it’s all adding
up to a remarkably special result.Andy Pilgrim (^) FEBRUARY 1990
PRICE: $2.75
Although our cover
featured the new Lotus
Elan (“Beyond Miata!:
we exclaimed), the real
big story in this issue
was our pick of the
1990 Car of the Year.
Our teeny field—espe-
cially compared to
the modern award—
included just seven
cars, with the Lincoln
Town Car coming out
on top due to its comfy
cabin, aerodynamic
design, and safety
features.
FEBRUARY 2010
PRICE: $4.99
February 2010 was
our first taste of the
Ferrari 458 Italia,
which would go on to
beat the Mercedes-
Benz SLS AMG and
Audi R 8 V10 (both
also featured in the
issue) and win Best
Driver’s Car in 2011.
We also crowned
our 2010 Truck of the
Year, the Dodge Ram
Heavy Duty.
FEBRUARY 1970
PRICE: $0.50
We awarded the first
Car of the Year of the
’ 70 s to the Ford Torino.
The Torino beat out
seven other cars to
earn the title. Its win
was largely credited
to the model’s
bandwidth—the
Torino Cobra and
GT were “about as
much race car as
you’d be willing to
drive on the street,”
while the standard
Torino’s comfort as
a family car really
impressed us.
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