Porsche’s decision
to start building entry-level 911 models with turbocharged engines certainly
ruffled more than a few feathers, but for tuning companies, it was a godsend.
It is no secret that it is much easier and cost-effective to extract additional
power from an engine using forced induction than a naturally aspirated one.
British tuning company Litchfield has made the most of this with the 992-gen
911 Carrera and Carrera S.
Straight out of the
factory, Porsche’s 3.0-liter twin-turbo flat-six pumps out 379 HP and 450 Nm in the Carrera and 444 HP and 530 Nm of torque in the
Carrera S. Litchfield’s plug-and-plug ECU tune lifts power to an extraordinary
572 hp and 650 Nm. That means almost 200 hp can be gained easily,
putting the new 911 almost on par with the 991.2-generation Turbo S in terms of
outright grunt.
Purchasing
Litchfield’s ECU tune won’t break the bank either, as it is priced at an
entirely reasonably £ 1194 (US$ 1,466) including VAT. Right now, Porsche is
developing a new 911 Turbo and Turbo S, whose power is tipped to sit at
approximately 620 and 650 HP, respectively. Inevitably, their engines will be
significantly different than the base Carrera and Carrera S, but they will also
be much more expensive. Given what can be achieved with the plain vanilla
versions, it will be interesting to see how high tuning companies will take the
new Turbo models.
