In recent years, however, there’s been a shift. Turbochargers aren’t as exotic any more. Most cars with an engine have them, and Porsche isn’t averse to using Turbo as a badge on cars without an engine, let alone a turbocharger. In 2025, it’s all about natural aspiration. The screaming 4.0-litre in the GT3 and GT3 RS has well and truly stolen our hearts – and for good reason. Who knows how long Porsche can continue to produce such wonders as the regulatory net closes in…

All of which may well have contributed to Porsche feeling it had to do something extra special with this new 992.2 version of the Turbo S. Rather than the usual evolutionary approach to developing the outgoing version, this £199,100 newcomer comes accompanied by some on-paper figures that look pretty revolutionary. Over 700bhp peak output, for a start, and a Nürburgring lap time 14 seconds faster – 14 seconds – than its predecessor. Deeply impressive – but does it come at the cost of everyday usability, the cornerstone of the Turbo S?

That I will find out in a few hours. But my time with the car starts at the Ascari circuit in the Andalucian mountains. Its wide-open tarmac turns bathed in endlessly reliable sun mean this feels a long way from the Nürburgring, but there’s ample scope for discovering exactly how the newly hybridised Turbo S handles the track element of its wide-ranging brief.

That T-Hybrid system is based on the one first seen in the Carrera GTS, and represents the second stage of a technology that clearly had a lot more to give. Unlike Bentley and Ferrari rivals, it’s a mild hybrid rather than a plug-in, which would have been too heavy, according to Porsche. It uses a 216-cell 1.9kWh battery. Factor in the e-motor integrated into the eight-speed PDK gearbox and the electrification element adds 81bhp and 139lb ft of torque.

While the 911 GTS uses a single electric turbocharger, the Turbo S gets two smaller units, mounted low either side of the 3.6-litre flat-six engine. On the GTS, the compressor wheel and turbine wheel measure 83mm and 80mm respectively, whereas on the Turbo S they are 73mm and 65mm, allowing the electric motors to spin even faster – 145,000rpm versus 120,000rpm.

Total system output is 701bhp and 590lb ft of torque, helped by the combustion engine itself being upgraded with a lighter valvetrain and crankcase, as well as new pistons and a different compression ratio. Because the electric motors can whip the turbos up regardless of engine speed, peak torque is spread all the way from 2300rpm to 6000rpm (improved from 2500rpm to 4000rpm in the 992.1 Turbo S).

It’s this added flexibility that’s more noticeable than the increase in power. Out of Gachot (a slow left-hander named after ex-F1 driver Bertrand Gachot, whose imprisonment in 1991 after a road-rage incident inadvertently boosted the career of Michael Schumacher), I go for the accelerator and, rather than the brief pause a 911 Turbo veteran would expect, there’s a near-instant response.

It’s not as crisp as the GT3’s naturally-aspirated unit, but it’s far closer than you expect forced induction to be. The PDK ’box, too, is not as sharp or responsive, but then again you’re less inclined to use it given the torque on tap from little more than idle.

Comparisons to the GT3 are unfair, but at many circuits the Turbo S would likely be quicker around a single lap thanks to the sheer power on tap; 0-62mph takes 2.5sec, 0-100mph takes 5.5. Around the ’Ring, however, the extra weight (up 85kg on the previous Turbo S) means it can’t match a GT3, but the advances in power and aero make it way quicker than the car it replaces.

There’s additional active aero in the shape of a new front diffuser, contributing to a reduction of overall drag by 10 per cent, while the tyres (Pirelli P-Zero Rs in this case) are more adept at controlling temperatures and 10mm wider at the rear. The carbon-ceramic brakes are the largest Porsche has ever fitted to a two-door production car. At the front they’re 420mm in diameter, with 10-piston calipers, while at the rear 410mm discs are mated with four-piston calipers.

Those upgrades all play a part, but it’s the hybrid system that’s the game-changer. Utilising a 400-volt architecture, the Turbo S features the debut of an electro-hydraulic version of Porsche’s dynamic chassis control system (ehPDCC), whereby the active anti-roll bars generate countering forces to keep the car as balanced as possible.

In action, the results of ehPDCC create an intriguing contrast. The ability to maintain body control belies the softer feel of the Turbo S, which has MacPherson strut front suspension, rather than the double wishbones used on current 911 GT models, and the effect is a more languid, less connected front end.

The car’s balance is utterly superb and brilliant fun, though. Flick to the right then to the left, induce understeer, get on the power and – hey presto – you’ve got a proper drift machine. And guess what? That throttle response means it’s way easier to balance the slide with power than in any previous Turbo S.

In truth, the playful tyre shredding feels like it suits the car more than a balls-to-the-wall hot lap. I try it, once, and the results are formidable, but I don’t feel the need to go again. Like a watch that will work down to 400 metres, I enjoy the idea that it can deliver such feats yet I don’t want to test it repeatedly.

No, I’m more interested in what the Turbo S is like away from the confines of Ascari, out in the real world where, Porsche says, the vast majority of Turbo S drivers have their fun. Exiting left out of Ascari’s dramatically huge front gate, the wireless CarPlay navigation is directing me towards Ronda, then south towards the Costa del Sol. Classic Turbo S heartland – in my mind, at least.

It soon reveals itself to be remarkably easy to place on the road. Cars with this level of performance are often difficult to drive on public roads, with their poor visibility and hulking great width. The Turbo S, at 1900mm across without mirrors, is merely 13mm wider than a BMW M2. It’s by no means narrow, but factor in the brilliant driving position plus excellent view out and the Turbo S never feels awkward or ungainly.

While it’s tempting to take the Turbo S for a lap of Ronda, time is of the essence, so I press on down the A-366 south-east into the Sierra de la Nieves mountains. Locals used to collect winter snow and store it in pits, some of which can still be found today, then use it for cooling during warmer months. Right now, however, the Porsche’s dual-zone climate control is doing the heavy lifting as the road meanders aggressively through the exposed limestone outcrops. Even with the drive mode set to Sport and ehPDCC in a firmer preset, the ride quality of the Turbo S is quite outstanding. Tyre noise has been reduced, while only a squeak of wind noise from the driver’s side mirror lets the side down slightly.

Out from the shadow of a towering peak and into the brilliant autumn sun, a long switchback left hoves into view and focuses the mind. Right foot pivoting to the brake pedal, there’s plenty of feel, even when the brakes are cold, and the stopping power is ferocious. The steering wheel also offers vivid communication, ensuring the driver is well aware of the level of grip and the state of the road surface.

On the road, even heavy-handed inputs are masked by the ehPDCC and rear-wheel steering keeping everything composed and pointing in the right direction. Settle things down and you’ll find it’s easy to build up a rhythm, with third gear enough to get you into and out of most corners.

However, while the powertrain is formidably potent and responsive, there are times when it leaves me cold. That’s not helped by a new titanium sports exhaust system (saving 6.8kg) fitted as standard on the Turbo S. As with the hybrid engine in the GTS, the low, deep sound seems a little too heavily synthesised for my liking, at least when heard inside the car. Thankfully there are still some boosty annotations to the soundtrack, although the overall theatre falls short. Thus far, in both the GTS and the Turbo S, the T-Hybrid flat-six is a touch too clinical at the expense of character.

My progress is stunted by a slow-moving Renault Scenic just south of Yunquera. Possibly blue at some point its life, it now wears the dusty, destructive patina of many an Andalucian summer in the mountains, yet its driver (arm out the window, faded chequered shirt rolled to the elbow) is driving it like a teenager with a black box logging their every move.

Eyeing up an overtake, my view ahead dappled by the Spanish fir trees lining the straightening road, I hit the red Sport Response button, swing out to the left and fire past – all in one fluid and devastatingly rapid movement. It’s hard not to raise a smile at such acceleration and it’s equally easy to argue that hybridisation has indeed broadened the bandwidth of this car. Yet it’s not fleeting moments of exhilaration that truly explain the desirability of the Turbo S.

For absolute thrills, many current 911s will do a better job. GT3, GT3 RS, Carrera T even – they’re all higher on the ‘one last drive’ list than a Turbo S will ever be. But while setting a seven-minute lap time at the Nürburgring certainly isn’t easy, it pales into insignificance next to what else the Turbo S can do.

That’s because making a track car is one thing but combining it with this sort of genuine, unfussy usability is just about the hardest trick to pull off. There’s a reason you’re unlikely to see the Aston Martin Vantage or Ferrari Amalfi appear anywhere near the Turbo S on a lap time leader board, any more than you’re likely to see a Radical being driven regularly on a soaking wet British motorway. They’re two extremes, at opposite ends of the scale, and never have these two sets of talents come together in one car quite so convincingly as they do in a 911 Turbo S. car