Toronto Star
· collected 2026-10-03 · by Kyle Patrick Special to the Star
The 2026 Porsche 911 Turbo S, priced at over $300,000, offers 701 horsepower and advanced hybrid technology, including an electric motor integrated into its transmission for additional power and reduced turbo lag. Despite its formidable performance capabilities, the car is understated in appearance, with subtle visual cues that distinguish it from less powerful models. The article focuses on the Turbo S's refined handling and technical advancements while noting its subdued aesthetic compared to its more flamboyant predecessors.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-03,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
No other internal combustion machine has made 701 horsepower as easy to live with as the 2026 Porsche 911 Turbo S.
If you’re of a certain age, the Porsche 911 Turbo was a bedroom poster all-star.
asserted
Turbo → make → age
Often red, sometimes done up in full ‘80s flachbau (slant nose) style with side-strakes and pop-up headlights, and always with the “whale tail” on display, Stuttgart’s finest shared prime real estate with the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini, Crawford and Stamos.
asserted
Stuttgart → do → Ferrari
The 2026 Porsche 911 Turbo S may share the badge, but it is not the same sort of car.
uncertain
it → share → car
The range-topping 911 is still the most powerful option of them all — now with a whopping 701 horsepower — but it’s cleaned up.
asserted
it → top → horsepower
All of that makes this an eerily capable supercar, but at comfortably more than $300,000 as-tested, the Turbo S is almost too subtle for its own good.
asserted
S → make → good
The characteristic intakes aft of the doors, which necessitate even wider hips than a standard 911, are the most obvious signs of this ultimate model.
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which → necessitate → model
There are vertical slats in the lower front bumper that automatically adjust for optimal airflow.
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that → be → airflow
These debuted on the Carrera GTS model last year: undoubtedly useful, they’re still fussy to these eyes.
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they → debut → eyes
Banish the thought of Prius power from your brain: Porsche has instead wedged a small electric motor within the casing of the eight-speed PDK transmission, producing up to 53 hp on its own.
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Porsche → banish → own
The turbochargers now also feature electric motors.
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turbochargers → feature → motors
This too is also familiar from the GTS; the Turbo S just doubles the number of turbochargers.
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S → double → turbochargers
While I could spend this entire column talking the technical side, the results are key here: an almost complete absence of turbo lag plus the torque-fill from the transmission’s electric motor gives the Turbo S the sort of quick reflexes normally reserved for electric cars.
uncertain
absence → spend → cars
The term “sledgehammer” has never felt so appropriate.
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term → feel → ?
A handful of EVs may sprint up to 100 km/h even quicker than the Turbo S — it’ll do it in barely over two seconds in the right situation — but none with the associated savagery.
uncertain
it → sprint → savagery
It’s the only peak behind the curtain the 911 provides: a hint of the sheer mechanical complexity and robustness required to launch over 1,700 kilograms at the horizon with such a quickness.
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911 → ’ → quickness
The transmission shifts are there, but only offer the briefest pause in the process of rearranging internal organs.
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shifts → offer → organs
I showcase launch control for family and friends (in a safe, controlled environment of course).
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I → showcase → course
Even as the pilot I need a breather after a few runs.
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I → need → runs
The adaptive suspension is tuned for grand touring tastes: it is more forgiving over bumps than the GTS but no less sharp when the driver selects Sport or Sport Plus drive modes.
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driver → tune → modes
An electro-hydraulic evolution of the brand’s anti-roll system ensures the 911 stays flat no matter how hard it is thrown into corners.
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it → ensure → corners
Braking is strong and intuitive; the massive carbon-ceramic discs never even hinting at their limits on the road.
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discs → hint → road
Like all modern 911s, the Turbo S has excellent steering, with an appropriate amount of weight and consistent feedback.
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S → have → weight
This car is easily capable of the sorts of speeds a race track requires; that it can still be entertaining at mere mortal speeds is important.
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be → require → speeds
That’s where it will be operating most of the time, after all.
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it → ’ → time
All the while drivers get to enjoy the best exhaust note of all the modern turbocharged 911s, the 3.6-litre flat-six happily spinning up to 7,500 rpm.
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drivers → get → rpm
Fuel efficiency isn’t a sexy subject but it deserves mention here
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it → deserve → mention
: the Turbo S’s observed 12.9 L/100 km makes it a genuine road trip machine.
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it → observe → ?
A Bose audio system provides appropriate levels of sonic satisfaction.
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system → provide → satisfaction
Technology is intuitive without being overwhelming, there are still plenty of physical buttons for major controls, and the plus-two rear seats can be used for extra storage.
asserted
seats → be → storage
My mind says no, while my heart yearns for the extrovert, poster-worthy shapes of the Ferrari Amalfi, Aston Martin Vantage, and McLaren Artura that occupy this rarefied air.
asserted
that → say → air
Reality sits somewhere in the middle: buyers at this end of the market don’t concern themselves with price, and this ultimate 911’s combination of face-melting pace and province-crossing endurance single it out.
asserted
combination → sit → it
The 911 Turbo might not be as extravagant as it once was, but there is value in flying under the radar.
uncertain
it → be → radar
The Aporia
