Driving the Porsche 911 Turbo S: everyday hypercar will leave you with a sense of awe


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The specs

Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six

Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm

Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto

Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km

Price: From Dh796,600

On sale: now

Have you ever walked into a restaurant feeling ravenous, but then been completely overwhelmed as the staff whisked out plate after plate of food as part of a seven-course banquet? You can expect much the same outcome when strapping into Porsche’s latest 992-generation 911 Turbo S.

It satiates every conceivable need-for-speed craving and goes so far beyond with its assault on physics that all your senses are left in a state of shock and awe.

The big daddy of the 911 line-up recently launched in the UAE market – priced from a tad under Dh800,000 ($217,835) – and it spearheads Porsche’s range until the next-gen 911 GT2 RS debuts towards the end of this year.

Need for speed

The standard 911 Carrera and Carrera S are already formidably rapid, but where these two are scalpels that elegantly dissect winding mountain roads, the Turbo S is more like a meat cleaver. It’s still razor-sharp and perfectly balanced, but there’s not much subtlety in how it goes about its work. It’s pure annihilation.

The 10-spoke alloys have a 20-inch diameter at the front and 21 at the rear. Courtesy Gautam Sharma
The 10-spoke alloys have a 20-inch diameter at the front and 21 at the rear. Courtesy Gautam Sharma

There was a time when the 911 Turbo was the only turbocharged model in the Porsche line-up, but nowadays even the “regular” 911 models have a pair of turbos strapped to their flat-six motor. Even so, the Turbo S sits in its own universe, thanks to towering outputs of 650 horsepower and 800Nm from its 3.8-litre engine.

The sheer grunt of this power plant translates to dizzying performance stats as the Turbo S dispatches 0 to 100 kilometres per hour in 2.7 seconds (with the optional Sport Chrono package), 0-200kph in 8.9 seconds and it hits 330kph flat out. It accelerates so violently, you almost get a headache.

Safe bet

The entire Turbo S package has been engineered to the nth degree, as that brute of an engine is complemented by active aerodynamics, a clever all-wheel-drive system with rear-wheel steering, plus a bespoke suspension set-up with widened front and rear tracks.

A huge footprint is provided by massive rubber – 255 millimetres wide at the front and 315mm at the rear – wrapped around a delectable set of 10-spoke alloys (20-inch diameter at the front and 21 at the rear). Nestled within the rims are gigantic carbon-ceramic brakes that wipe off speed with lung-compressing vigour.

Early 911 Turbos had a fearsome reputation for spitting you off the road and into the weeds, but that’s no longer the case. The 992-generation 911 Turbo S is warp-speed rapid yet it’s safe, predictable and so securely tied down that it may as well be riveted to the road.

We subjected the Stuttgart stormer to an acid test by making a beeline for some sinuous back roads in the Hatta mountains.

These ribbons of tarmac are not only narrow, they’re also bumpy in parts and replete with blind crests. Stretching the Porsche’s legs in this terrain makes for a challenging exercise, given how quickly it piles on huge speeds. Reassuringly, grip levels are mind-boggling, the brakes are mighty and the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission is quick and decisive.

An everyday hypercar

Gripes? There is some lag down low until the turbos spool up, but from 2,500rpm onwards propulsion comes in a tidal wave. Ride quality is firm, but that’s not surprising in a vehicle this fast and focused.

This is essentially a two-person car with the rear seats are for show only. Courtesy Gautam Sharma
This is essentially a two-person car with the rear seats are for show only. Courtesy Gautam Sharma

The rear seats are for show only, but storage capacity isn’t too bad as you can stash 128 litres in the front compartment and 264 litres behind you if you fold down the rear seats.

There’s not much on this planet that could go faster on real-world roads, as the Porsche’s expansive performance envelope puts it up there with McLarens, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, with those cars costing substantially more. In addition, the Turbo S is easier to live with as entry/egress is comparatively simple (no gymnastics required), all-round visibility is relatively good and it’s a doddle to park in tight spots.

If ever there were an everyday hypercar, here it is. One could argue that the much cheaper 911 Carrera S already serves up ample exhilaration, but the Turbo S leaves you dumbstruck … in the best possible way.

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Squid Game season two

Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk 

Stars:  Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun

Rating: 4.5/5

Libya's Gold

UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves. 

The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.

Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo hybrid

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 390bhp

Torque: 400Nm

Price: Dh340,000 ($92,579

Sonchiriya

Director: Abhishek Chaubey

Producer: RSVP Movies, Azure Entertainment

Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Manoj Bajpayee, Ashutosh Rana, Bhumi Pednekar, Ranvir Shorey

Rating: 3/5

Director: Paul Weitz
Stars: Kevin Hart
3/5 stars

Company profile

Date started: December 24, 2018

Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer

Based: Dubai Media City

Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)

Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech

Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year

Funding: Series A funding of $2.5m with Series B plans for May 2020

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

Sarfira

Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal 

Rating: 2/5

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F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

UK-EU trade at a glance

EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products

Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

Cutting red tape on import and export of food

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The specs: 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk


Price, base: Dh399,999
Engine: Supercharged 6.2-litre V8
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 707hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 875Nm @ 4,800rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 16.8L / 100km (estimate)

The specs

Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six

Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm

Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto

Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km

Price: From Dh796,600

On sale: now