Nervous, scary, unforgiving. As forbidding as it was enormously fast, the 911 Turbo of yore was not a car for the unskilled; a great deal of driver prowess was necessary to make the most of its performance potential. In particular, the turbo had a nasty habit of kicking in with a sudden unexpectedness, leaving the driver to deal with hairy tail-out consequences, not helped by the rear weight bias.

But, that was also the best part of the car; it just wasn't for everybody. Following a year's hiatus, the 911 Turbo returns with a more civilized manner yet, with a more powerful 3.3-liter flat six, bigger brakes, a coil-sprung chassis and new body panels. It now displays much better road manners via a smoother boost deliverly through a modified wastegate, a silky hydraulic clutch and a new differential designed to maintain optimum traction from the rear wheels. And while all this makes the car more user-friendly to the average driver, the $95,000.00 price tag (base price) will again keep the Turbo out of all but the most blessed hands.

"The turbo driver both drives and steers with his right foot," said Ed Peter, export sales manager of Porsche AG. That sums up what Porche hopes will be the essence of the new 911. You won't see nifty techonology like 4-wheel drive or the Tiptronic transmission on the Turbo, as "this would change the character of the car entirely, and that is not what the Turbo customer wants."

Porsche redesigned the Turbo with hopes of maintaining the thrill of the powerful rear-engined sports cars, and after nearly a week of blasting through the pristine French countryside, I can say that they succeeded.

We were introduced to the Turbo in the warm, southern hills surrounding Nice, and our drive took us along the same route Napoleon once used to reach Paris. The heavily contoured terrain and variable weather gave us ample opportunity to sample the car's capabilities - 500 miles of dry, wet, and ice-strewn roads caused this writer to feel more than a little apprehension, but, happily, the new Turbo displayed none of the characteristics that had caused both dread and exhilaration previously. On the contrary, the car provided an adhesive quality barely challenged. Even through the most acute, off-camber corners, the massive Brigdestone supplied enough paw print to keep the 3274-lb chassis in line. The radials measure 205/55ZR in front and 255/40ZR behind (wider and lower than the '89 Turbo), and they're mounted on 17-in. 959 style alloys.

In addition to the hearty rubber, the Turbo sports a suspension closely related to the Carrera 2. There is the same damper-strut front axle and semi-trailing rear arm configuration; but the Turbo is rigidly suspended with stiffer progressive rate springs and tauter twin-tube gas shocks. While the suspension setup leans toward the stiff side, it is not at the sacrifice of ride quality.

The car's character is also affected by the new differential. The simple mechanical control for slippage varies between a mild 20 percent on acceleration (to prevent one wheel from breaking traction) to a 100 percent locking factor under braking. The leaves the Porsche with none of the "launch" characteristics we so vividly remember from its predecessor. At speed, the 911 assumes a purposeful tuck position, and we comfortably saw 275 clicks (165 mph) on the speedometer.

The Turbo also gets brakes capable of halting its mass from 60 to 0 mph in just 2.7 sec. and 105 ft. The four-piston, fixed calipers clamp onto massive internally vented and drilled discs measuring 12.6 in. in front and 11.7 in. behind. In conjunction with the ABS system, this Porsche has perhaps the most powerful binders of any production vehicle. Precise power steering derived from the Carrera line makes cramped city driving less a chore than it once was, and on our drive, allowed a free hand to wave at adoring French Porschephiles.

The leather-clad cockpit is of a standard Porsche issue, and like all Porsches, there are airbags for both driver and passenger. There is also a computer to relay findings with its display inside the tachometer. Readouts include average fuel consumption, boots pressure, and outside air temperature. The electronically adjustable seats are fine, although more pronounced side bolsters would have been nice. A revised center console houses the lever for the extremely precise 5-speed gearbox, which sports revised ratios for a sportier feel. Each gear has a solid "snick" and the hydraulic clutch is very easy and forgiving to operate.

The new Turbo easily outguns its predecessors, producing 315 bhp (up from 282 bhp) and 332 lb-ft of torque (up from 278 lb-ft). It's capable of launching the Porsche from 0 to 60 mph in under 5.0 sec. and tops out at 168 mph. Instead of using the Carrera's larger 3.6-liter as a base, or going the multi-valve route, Porsche chose to squeeze the extra ponies from what is essentially the old 3.3-liter alumimnum motor. A large part of the extra power comes from a larger KKK turbocharger equipped with lighter rotating masses for higher top boost pressure and better response at low rpm. After the air has been boosted by the turbo, it passes through a 50-percent larger intercooler that has been "flowed" to further reduce air restriction equals a more effective supercharging reaction.

From there, engineers turned to the exhaust system with the goal of reducing backpressure. The new system permits low backpressure from a controlled three-way, metallic catalytic converter and increased muffler volume, thereby reducing losses caused by the converter. The entire motor is suspended with slick hydraulic mounts, while noise reduction is further aided by the same dual-mass fly-wheel of the Carrera cars.

Externally, the Turbo still sports the pronounced wing of the earlier cars, however, the bumpers feature a more rounded aero-style look terminating in reworked front and rear grilles. The electronically-controlled side mirrors have also received a redesign for less drag, and the rear valance is punctuated by dual exhausts. While the massive tail is deemed necessary to force air to the motor, it also boosts the Cd to 3.6; although lower than in previous years, it is hardly a wind cheater.

But the 911 Turbo really doesn't care about air resistance; it can muscle through the densest atmosphere easily by brute horsepower. Porsche enthusiats seem to know this; while there were six hundred Turbos allocated for the U.S. market this first year, there are already 1100 orders. But not to worry - Porsche says it will build as many as needed.

VW & Porsche and European Automobiles Magazine, April 1991.