1993 Porsche 911 Turbo S2 Test: We Have IMSA at Home

From the February 1993 issue of Car and Driver.

As fast as Porsches are, there are always drivers who want more­—more power, more speed, more excitement. These are the people who, after acquiring Porsches, take what remains of their disposable income to Porsche speed boutiques like Automotion, Andial, and Ruf rather than to the more common cash-therapists of the affluent, such as Armani, Ferragamo, and Rolex. For these guys, Porsche has just released an exclusive new model.

It's called the 911 Turbo S2 and, as the name suggests, it's a sportier variation of the already rapid and powerful Turbo model. The model was created as the streetable counterpart to the 911 Turbos being raced in the IMSA Supercar Series. IMSA mandates that certain critical components must be shared by both the race cars and the street cars.

It is those components that provide the S2's extra sport. There's a larger, more efficient intercooler, a new KKK tur­bocharger that breathes easier at high rpm, and slightly hotter cams that match the revised turbo's high-revving orientation. Porsche coyly allows that the modified engine develops 322 hp at 6200 rpm and a torque peak of 354 pound-feet at 4800 rpm—barely more than the normal Turbo's 315 hp at 5750 rpm and 332 pound-feet at 4500 rpm. Right.

In fact, what we have here is the fastest streetgoing model that Porsche has ever sold in America. We measured a top speed of 178 mph, up from the standard Turbo's 166 mph. Acceleration from 100 to 150 mph dropped from 27.7 to 19.7 seconds. And the S2 engine pulled strongly up to its 6600-rpm redline in every gear but fifth­—and almost did that, too.

Truth is, if this engine isn't making in the neighborhood of 370 hp, then we've all been giving Sir Isaac Newton and his laws of motion way too much credit for the past several centuries.

There is, however, a down side to this uprated engine. All the extra power added to the top end has come from the bottom. As a result, the S2 is a slug around town. In our rolling 5-to-60-mph test, the S2 needed 6.5 seconds—0.8 second longer than the regular car. In top-gear accelera­tion, the S2 needed 14.2 seconds to go from 30 to 50 mph and 11.9 seconds to get from 50 to 70 mph. The standard Turbo covers those intervals in 12.0 and 10.0 sec­onds, respectively. You can get boost in the S2 as low as 3000 rpm if you wait long enough, but for the most part, the engine doesn't get fired up until the tach needle wings past 4000 rpm.

Even with a 6000-rpm clutch drop, the best 0-to-60-mph time we recorded was 4.8 seconds, 0.4 second slower than a standard Turbo. In the quarter, the S2 ran thirteen seconds flat at 110 mph, com­pared with 12.9 seconds at 108 mph in the stock Turbo.

Alwin Springer, Porsche's North American motorsport director, tells us that a new turbine housing was developed for the S2 turbocharger after the engine was finalized for production. He promises that it will improve the engine's low-rpm responsiveness without sacrificing much of its top-end rush. It should be in stock by the time you read this.

Aside from its engine, the S2 feels just like a stock Turbo, which is not surprising because nothing else was changed on the car. It's a testament to the chassis that it copes so effortlessly with the additional 50-odd hp.

Porsche has always installed its most powerful brakes on 911 Turbos, and this one is no exception. The S2 has huge vented rotors clamped by ABS-assisted four-piston calipers. Combined with the 911's rear-weight bias (which is ideal for braking) and its wide, grippy Bridgestone Expedia tires, these big brakes stop the S2 from 70 mph in just 158 feet. More impor­tant, the brakes feel just as powerful and secure if you hit them hard from 170 mph.

The chassis doesn't lack for cornering grip, either—we measured 0.90 g on the skidpad, achieved with the Turbo's unique combination of throttle-on understeer and throttle-off catch-me-if-you-can oversteer. It's not as touchy as it sounds, though. If the driver is aware of the fact that any 911 Turbo will always swing its tail wide if you back off the throttle in a hard corner, he can use this characteristic to make subtle cornering corrections, particularly in long sweepers.

All of this is great fun, particularly because the S2 retains the compact, upright layout that is one of the most lov­able things about every 911. You sit high and can see every corner of the body, so you are motivated to hurl this car around far more enthusiastically than if you were buried within a wide-fendered, low-slung, mid-engined, slit-windowed speedster. This quality combine with the Turbo's lavish creature comforts to produce one of the world's most livable supercars.

Porsche is planning to build only twenty S2s, the minimum needed to satisfy IMSA's rulemakers. To get one, you start with a 911 Turbo and specify the TS2 option package, which adds $11,072 to the $108,870 base price of a standard Turbo (including luxury tax). We borrowed our S2 from Scottsdale Porsche, the Arizona dealership that has loaned us several lim­ited-edition Porsches over the years.

Before focusing your laser-intensity Porsche lust on the S2, you should be advised that there's a revised 911 Turbo on the way. Though still equipped with only one turbo, its 3.6-liter engine will develop 354 hp and 390 pound-feet of torque. And the car will ride on eighteen-­inch wheels and tires. The engine output suggests that this new Turbo will be a tad sower at the top end than the S2, but quicker everywhere else. Expect it to arrive in America sometime in May or June.

If, however, your need for speed can't wait, or you're attracted to limited-produc­tion models, or you care more about accel­eration above 100 mph than below it, the S2 is currently the meanest Porsche to be had in the land.

Specifications

Specifications

1993 Porsche 911 Turbo S2
Vehicle Type: rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2+2-passenger, 2-door coupe

PRICE
Base/As Tested: $108,870/$120,492
Options: Turbo S2 package, $10,065; "supple" leather seats, $375; velour floor mats, $125; luxury tax on options, $1057

ENGINE
turbocharged and intercooled SOHC flat-6, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injection
Displacement: 201 in³, 3299 cm³
Power: 370 hp @ 6200 rpm
Torque: 354 lb-ft @ 4800 rpm 

TRANSMISSION
5-speed manual

CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: struts/semi-trailing arm
Brakes, F/R: 12.7-in vented disc/11.8-in vented disc
Tires: Bridgestone Expedia S-01
F: 205/50ZR-17
R: 255/40ZR-17

DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 89.4 in
Length: 168.3 in
Width: 69.9 in
Height: 51.6 in
Passenger Volume, F/M/R: 43/13 ft³
Cargo Volume: 3 ft³
Curb Weight: 3300 lb

C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 4.8 sec
100 mph: 10.8 sec
1/4-Mile: 13.0 sec @ 110 mph
130 mph: 18.9 sec
150 mph: 30.5 sec
Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 6.5 sec
Top Gear, 30–50 mph: 14.2 sec
Top Gear, 50–70 mph: 11.9 sec
Top Speed: 178 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 158 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.90 g

Interior Sound
Idle: 62 dBA
Full Throttle: 80 dBA
70-mph Cruising: 72 dBA 

C/D FUEL ECONOMY
Observed: 12 mpg

EPA FUEL ECONOMY
City/Highway: 13/21 mpg 

C/D TESTING EXPLAINED

Reviewed byCsaba Csere

Contributing Editor

Csaba Csere joined Car and Driver in 1980 and never really left. After serving as Technical Editor and Director, he was Editor-in-Chief from 1993 until his retirement from active duty in 2008. He continues to dabble in automotive journalism and WRL racing, as well as ministering to his 1965 Jaguar E-type, 2017 Porsche 911, 2009 Mercedes SL550, 2013 Porsche Cayenne S, and four motorcycles—when not skiing or hiking near his home in Colorado.