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This Porsche looks like a 930 (which was the 911 turbo designation of the late 70s to late 80s), but it is not. Still, very sexy it is, and I love this body style. I need to finish up this article fast because I’m finding my fingers wanting to type silly words like “Autotrader” and “Cars.com” now. Too bad the turbos’ pricing have apparently skyrocketed over the past 2 years (well, for me that's a good thing).
There’s a 930! This one is sporting a Kokeln intercooler as well, which is way bigger than stock.
I recall doing a full-day’s test on a bone stock 930 at Kokeln years ago. I brought this car in with the laggiest turbo ever, and it spitted out 240whp, whereas a good 930 usually did 260whp on its dyno. It was later confirmed the turbo was in so-so shape.
So we added a new Kokeln/KKK turbocharger, an identical Kokeln intercooler to the one in the picture above, and an intake. Not only did the car jump to 325whp, the torque went up by 105 lb-ft. But let me paint you the proper picture. This torque increase meant the turbo spooled up 1500 rpm sooner. That may sound significant, but think about how significant it was in a car that does 135mph in third gear, which was our test gear, and it did over 90mph in second!
So, you can imagine the difference in a normal-geared car, where it may mean 12-15mph quicker spool in the midrange—which is an incredible difference. However, in this case, thanks to the 930’s incredibly tall 4-speed gearbox of the early years (this car was a 1980 model-year), it hit the torque I'd arrived with 30mph sooner in third gear! It's third gear had a 0.893 ratio (um, yeah). The quicker spool literally startled me when I floored it in second gear for the first time. I was not expecting such a difference.
Boy, did this test make me want a 930. And you see, that’s a problem I have with these tests, and my wife keeps warning me every time I go out to perform a new one.
Here’s a look at a lightly modified 996 Turbo. Stock, this car hauled with 420bhp from its 3.6-liter twin-turbo flat-six. The 996 body style was available from 1997-2004, and actually up to 2005 for GT2 and GT3 models.
Here’s its successor, the 997.1 Turbo, which came with 480bhp from its 3.6-liter twin-turbo flat-six in 2007. The 997.2 turbo, which came out in 2009, is the one with the crazy launch control and dual clutch transmission (PDK) that saw 0-60mph times in the upper 2-second range.
When I caught the 997 Turbo’s hood open, I snapped a quick shot from afar to show you that, while I’ve always said “there’s nothing like driving a modified 911 Turbo,” the engine bays just aren’t much to look at. This one is showcasing its by-pipe, and you can just catch a glimps of the twin conical air filters (which do get direct cold air when the hood is closed, thanks to the open vents). That’s about all you’re going to get visually. Even the intercoolers are tucked away behind the rear wheels. But that's okay, these cars perform so well that asking it to also look good under the hood would be like expecting your wife to be—oh, nevermind. My wife didn’t approve of this joke when I ran it by her (true story). It was pretty kosher!
I have spent a little time on the dyno with a Porsche 997.1 turbo, and let me say that the first modification I would do is to add larger intercoolers. In stock trim, the intake air temp sky rockets on the dyno with one quick pull. I know it's much better on the road, but when you've got the IAT barely moving with the addition of a larger aftermarket unit, it's no wonder why aftermarket units help so much on the road in both power and IATs. Imagine the difference on the track!
And now onto some Porsche GT cars…
