I was out with the Porsche 911 Turbo Flatnose today, for a magazine photoshoot. It was a good opportunity to stretch the car’s legs and get a better feel for it.
I have to be honest, Porsche 930s take me a while to adjust to – they just feel so different to other Porsche 911s and require a quite different driving technique. However, once I got into the Turbo zone, I really began to enjoy the Porsche.
The sun was shining so, naturally, the Targa roof was off, which let the weather in and allowed me to savour fully the burbling exhaust which at full throttle sounds astonishing.
Because the single-turbocharger engine has little power or torque until the turbo cuts in, it’s essential to work the gearbox to keep the revs up and the turbo on song. This means you have to plan ahead when wanting to accelerate, say when overtaking. Drop it down a gear, floor the throttle and wait for the turbo to kick in – and, boy, when it does don’t you just know it! It’s not an easy car to to drive fast but, get it right and the rewards are plentiful.
Being a Targa, the body isn’t as still as that of a coupe – you can feel it flex on bumpy roads, but it’s still stiffer than a Cabriolet of this generation and the fun and rarity factors outweigh any slight handling disadvantage. Besides, a 930 has never been about out and out handling, but rather out and out straight-line grunt.
A classic 911 Turbo, whatever shape its nose or whatever type of roof it has, is a very special animal. One you need to learn to fall in love with. And when you do, it’s a feeling that will stay with you forever.
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@RabyPorsche Nice!
As a coupe yes, but as a Targa, no. It just doesn’t look right as a Targa.