2014 Porsche 911 Turbo and Turbo S debut

Porsche is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its 911 Turbo in the best possible way: by announcing the next-generation of the rear-engined beast. The 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo and Turbo S are here, and man oh man, do they seem like the business.

At the heart of the new Turbo is a rear-mounted, turbocharged, 3.8-liter flat-six engine, making use of twin, variable-turbine-geometry turbos. For the standard Turbo, the result is 520 horsepower, a 0-60 miles per hour sprint of 3.2 seconds and a top speed of 196 mph. Not quick enough you say? Well, Porsche will also happily sell you a Turbo S with 560 horsepower, 0-60 mph in just 2.9 seconds and a top speed of 198 mph. Impressively, Porsche also notes that the Turbo S will dispatch the Nürburgring Nordschleife in "well under 7 and a half minutes – with standard production tires." Church.

All that engine power is managed by Porsche's seven-speed PDK dual-clutch gearbox, which would seem to be the only available transmission for the Turbo. The PDK transmission and turbo engine make use of a new thermal management system that, in concert with an auto stop/start system, are expected to make this 911 Turbo more fuel-efficient than ever. Expect EPA ratings closer to the car's on-sale date at the end of 2013.

Keeping the 911 in contact with the ground is of paramount importance, given the velocities at hand, so Porsche has also outlined a new all-wheel-drive system, with rear-wheel steering. The Porsche Traction Management AWD setup features electronically controlled and activated multi-plate coupling, is water-cooled and can drive higher levels of torque to the front wheels. The rear-wheel steer system consists of two electro-mechanical actuators in place of control links on the rear axles. These allow for 2.8-degrees of rear-wheel steering, and improved steering response and turn-in as a result.

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