New Porsche 911 Turbo S 2026 review: the undisputed daddy of the 911 range
The new Porsche 911 Turbo S gets hybrid power with 701bhp, and it's all the better for it
Verdict
You could save a heap of cash and opt for the excellent Carrera or super-sharp GTS, but in doing so you’d be ignoring the might of Porsche’s fearsome flagship. The Porsche 911 Turbo S is the undisputed big daddy of the 911 range – it always has been, and always will be. If you want the ultimate expression of the world’s most accomplished sports car, this is it.
With every generation, the Porsche 911 Turbo S has gained power and complexity, but its all-round usability has never faltered. The familiar rear-engine, all-wheel-drive recipe has continued through three decades and five distinct models, but for the facelifted 992 edition, the maker has turned to electrification to further boost its appeal.
In a development of the T-Hybrid system used in the 992.2 GTS, here there’s not one, but two eTurbos powered by a 1.9kWh battery and an electric motor mated to the PDK dual-clutch gearbox. Power is up from 641bhp to 701bhp, and there’s 800Nm of torque to draw on. The result is a 0-62mph time – in our Turbo S Cabriolet test car – of just 2.6 seconds, and a top speed of 200mph.
We first drove the 992.2 Turbo S Coupé shortly after the car’s reveal at the Munich Motor Show last autumn and were blown away by the staggering, unrelenting performance on offer. Needless to say, that sheer sense of speed is only heightened by removing the roof – all with no tangible trade-off in the handling.
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On a single-track road with hedges either side, the driving experience is akin to hitting hyperdrive in the Millenium Falcon. With the sound bouncing off the branches, the feeling of focus is palpable; the set-up in the 911 Turbo S is softer than a GTS or GT3, yet never anything but perfectly planted. You can adjust the level of damping, but even in the car’s firmest setting, it doesn’t feel upset by broken back roads.
You’d also be hard pressed to notice any kind of flex in the body – a common problem when you lop the lid off a sports car in the transition from coupé to convertible. The Turbo S, like all 911 Cabriolets for that matter, is inherently stiff, so only when you’re really on it or you hit a bump mid-corner, do you feel even a hint of movement in the body.
The powertrain updates are the big news, of course. They don’t fundamentally change the car’s character, but mated to the lightning-fast eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox, the electric turbos completely eliminate any interruption of power. The 992.2 Turbo S is astonishingly quick point to point.
You don’t have to take manual control of the gears to enjoy this car to its fullest, but doing so undoubtedly ups the engagement. Mind you, you may find that third is so flexible – pulling strongly from seriously low in the rev range – that second and fourth are all but redundant.
When you want to just sit back and relax – a 911 Turbo speciality – that same combination of engine, electrical assistance and slick PDK, makes this the consummate all-rounder. In Normal mode (there are Wet, Sport and Sport Plus settings, too) with only a fraction of throttle, the Turbo S will sift through its gears, changing up at barely 1,500rpm. Refuse to flex your right foot and you’ll be doing 40mph in seventh.
Roof down, the 911 Cabriolet can challenge its most refined rivals for open-air appeal. With the side windows raised and the electrically operated wind deflector in place, there is almost no buffeting whatsoever; you can hear the wind more than you can feel it. It means that while other convertible drivers might be forced to raise the roof on the motorway, Porsche owners can enjoy top-down motoring without any compromise.
With the roof up, the 911 is more refined than ever, although wind and road noise are still obvious at 70mph. But while you might not notice the engine or exhaust with the top down, they’re much more prominent with it in place; you may even pick up on the occasional flutter from the two turbos when you lift off.
Our model’s combination of two-tone leather, GT Silver paint and red roof is a timeless, classy mix, and while Porsche still makes you pay extra for stuff such as adaptive cruise control (£1,468) and surround-view cameras with ‘Active Parking Support’ (£1,298) – yes, even on a £200k car – the cabin is wonderfully crafted and beautifully ergonomic.
There’s loads of adjustment in the seats, and the main screen has a row of shortcut buttons beneath it for easy access to things including the Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC), sports exhaust and nose lift system. The centre stack has yet more physical buttons, including those for the climate control and heated seats.
No one expects a 701bhp all-wheel-drive sports car to be practical – although there is a decent space under the bonnet, plus two tiny rear seats, if that kind of thing matters – or particularly frugal, but after resetting the trip, we saw an impressive 32mpg at a steady cruise. Take that with a pinch of salt, though – over almost 100 miles, our 16mpg average tells the true story.
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| Model: | Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet |
| Price: | £209,100 |
| Powertrain: | 3.6-litre twin-turbo petrol |
| Power/torque: | 701bhp/800Nm |
| Transmission: | Eight-speed auto, four-wheel drive |
| 0-62mph: | 2.6 seconds |
| Top speed: | 200mph |
| Economy/CO2: | 24.0mpg/266g/km |
| Size (L/W/H): | 4,551/2,033/1,304mm |
| On sale: | Now |
