The original 911 Turbo shifted the boundaries of what was possible for a Porsche sports car when it first saw light of day in 1974.
The new model brought the benchmark turbo technology from the 917/10 and 917/30 racing cars into a production sports car with superior performance and combined it with a unique design and unprecedented day-to-day usability.
The 911 Turbo 50 Years anniversary model, which is based on the 911 Turbo S introduced in 2019, both pays tribute to and reinterprets this heritage.
The new edition will be available in South Africa from early 2025, priced at R5.9 million.
It boasts a heritage-inspired design. The standard side vinyl graphics, for instance, are a nod to the historic livery of the Porsche 911 RSR Turbo presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1973, itself a forerunner of the 911 Turbo.
The new edition features the current Porsche Turbo-exclusive colour Turbonite, which here makes its first appearance on a 911.
Another historical reference is the use of Anthracite Grey on the rear wing blade, rear apron, mirror base and air intake trims. A badge on the rear engine cover grille features a turbocharger icon and the years 1974–2024.
But how cool is this? When the door is open, the LED door projector projects the image of a turbocharger onto the ground next to the car.
The new edition’s cabin is also packed with Turbo history. The iconic McKenzie tartan adorns the centre panels of the seat covers and the interior door panels.
Additional Turbonite accents include the seat belts, controls, decorative stitching, trim strips with decorative inlays in black leather and the Porsche crest on the GT sports steering wheel.
An illuminated Turbo 50 logo, meanwhile, takes pride of place on the door kick plates, which are finished in black brushed aluminium. The logo is embroidered into the headrests of the Adaptive Sports Seats Plus. There is also a Turbo 50 logo on the back of the left rear seat.
Above the glove compartment is an anniversary plaque in aluminium, which bears both the Turbo 50 logo and the individual limited-edition number of the sports car.
Heritage Design package
The historically inspired, optionally available 50 Years of Turbo Heritage Design Package complements the anniversary model with numerous additional exclusive design and equipment features that hark back to the 911 Turbo models of the 1970s.
The base colour of the Heritage Design Package is provided by the Aventurine Green Metallic paintwork. Alternatively, both the standard 911 colours and Paint to Sample programme colours are also available.
One component of the Heritage Design Package is a high-quality decorative graphic in White (satin finish) consisting of three elements: the lollipop with individually selectable car numbers between 0 and 99, the 50 years of Turbo logo and a Porsche logo.
Those who prefer a minimalistic look can dispense with some or all of the graphic elements.
The historic Porsche crest from 1964 is used on the front bonnet as well as on the centre caps of the Sport Classic wheels, painted in Brilliant Silver and White (satin finish). The Turbo 50 and Porsche logos on the rear are in Gold.
In the cabin, additional leather features and additional tartan design elements round off the anniversary model. The dashboard trim, glove box and seat backrest inlays are covered with the classic pattern.
Top turbo performance
As mentioned, the Porsche 911 Turbo 50 Years is based on the 911 Turbo S that has been in production since 2019.
Its 3.7-litre boxer engine with variable turbine geometry twin turbocharging delivers 478kW and 800 Newton metres of torque.
The 911 Turbo 50 needs just 2.7 seconds for the sprint from 0-100km/h and hits 200km/h in a mere 8.9 seconds. Power is transmitted to the wheels by the 8-speed dual-clutch transmission (PDK) and the active all-wheel-drive Porsche Traction Management (PTM) with Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus (PTV Plus), including the electronically controlled rear differential lock with fully variable torque distribution.
A sports exhaust system with black tailpipes comes as standard. The 10 millimetre-lower Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) sports suspension and the lift system on the front axle are also included as standard, as are the LED matrix headlights
Exclusively for the owners of the 911 Turbo 50 Years, Porsche Design Timepieces is also releasing a special timepiece as an homage to the anniversary model.