The new, all-wheel-drive Porsche 911 Turbo. Interior view of the Porsche 911 Turbo. The Porsche 911's rear spoiler undergoing a wind tunnel test. The Porsche 911 Turbo engine. Schematic of the Porsche 911's VarioCam Plus.

According to Porsche, the joint production agreement with the VW plants gives it an opportunity to produce its SUV "in a cost-optimized manner" and offer it for sale at a competitive price. The company believes that Leipzig is ideally situated in terms of transit logistics on the axis between Bratislava and the seaports of Emden and Bremerhaven. It was in July 1998 that Porsche first revealed that it intended to build an SUV with permanent four-wheel drive. It will share a platform with a VW SUV. Development leadership for both products, which will be distinguished by entirely independent product features, has been assumed by Porsche and its Research and Development Center in Weissach.

Meanwhile, Porsche's newest model, the remarkable all-wheel-drive, 305-km/h (190-mph) 911 Turbo, is now in production, 25 years after the first Porsche Turbo appeared. Power output is 309 kW (414 hp) at only 6000 rpm with 560 N•m (413 lb•ft) of torque available between 2700 and 4600 rpm. That means an extra 160 N•m (118 lb•ft) of torque at 2000 rpm than that of the previous 911 Turbo.

Horst Marchart, Member of the Board of Management with responsibility for research and development, said the new car has been designed to make it clear that it is enormously powerful—but not in an obtrusive way. At the front there are large air inlets for three radiators, and bi-xenon headlamps. The side view has "bold" inlets and outlets for the charge-air intercooler and the rear spoiler deploys hydraulically only as speed rises above 120 km/h (75 mph). The car achieves a Cd of 0.31 and lift values of 0.02 at the front and 0.01 at the rear. It uses two turbochargers, twin charge air intercoolers, two catalytic converters, four oxygen sensors, four camshafts, and four valves per cylinder. In addition to this, it has variable intake camshaft adjustment, variable valve lift, state-of-the-art engine management, and boost pressure control. All this gives a 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) time of 4.2 s. After another 10 seconds, the 911 Turbo can reach 200 km/h (124 mph).

The car shows an 18% improvement in the Euromix fuel consumption figure compared to the previous model. Exhaust emissions are also reduced. "The car complies with D4 and U.S. LEV emissions standards," said Marchart.

The car has obtained type approval at the D4 exhaust emissions limits of 1.0 g/km (1.6 g/mi) CO, 0.1 g/km (0.16 g/mi) HC, and 0.08 g/km (0.08 g/mi) NOx. Marchart emphasizes the importance of Porsche's VarioCam system. This adjusts the camshaft on the intake side and is supplemented by a valve lift switch function, also on the intake side, which Porsche calls VarioCam Plus. According to the company, this system is made up of two interconnected, switchable cup tappets on the intake side of the engine operated by two cams of different size on the intake shaft.

The six-speed manual gearbox for the 911 Turbo (a five-speed Tiptronic with auto and push-button manual shift modes is also available as a 911 Turbo first) is a redesigned system upgraded to meet torque and output demands. The car uses the 911 Carrera 4's all-wheel-drive system with viscous coupling and Porsche dynamic driving control. Late this year the 911 Turbo will be available with ceramic composite brakes. These can be retrofitted to models being produced now. As well as enhanced braking efficiency, service life and weight are reduced.

Stuart Birch

AEI July 2000