Porsche’s 300km/h test drive of the new 911 Turbo S
Test drives do not get any more extreme — or nerve racking — than the one Porsche pulled off for its new 911 Turbo S on an empty airport runway.
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Qantas jetliners sit idle along the Sydney airport fence line – an ironic backdrop as Australia’s fastest-accelerating car was put through its paces yesterday reaching speeds of up to 300km/hr tearing up the tarmac.
Test drives do not get any more extreme — or nerve racking — than the one Porsche pulled off for its new 911 Turbo S.
Wealthy enthusiasts pushed the $500,000 supercar to its capacity at the “once-in-a-lifetime event” made possible only by coronavirus travel restrictions.
Two months worth of planning involving Porsche, The Sydney Airport Authority, Australian Federal Police, Border Force and the Motorsport Safety and Rescue (MSR) saw the third runway at Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport shut for the unique test experience.
“This would have been very difficult to undertake if the airport hadn’t been closed,” MSR boss Geoff Becker told News Corp Australia.
“When the idea was first raised the Sydney Airport Authority were quite receptive to it. Two of the three runways are still operational in both directions and the third runway was chosen because of the easy access to the area and the locaton of the fire station.”
Mr Becker said risk assessments were done measuring everything from braking and stopping distance and how quickly they could evacuate the site if the third runway was urgently needed.
“We needed to do all this testing to make sure we were satisfied ourselves that it was safe.”
Sydney Airport General manager of operations Matthew Duffy said the event was run according to strict safety protocols with the co-operation of a dozen government agencies including Australian Federal Police.
“A $1 coin is enough to cause a catastrophic failure of an engine, which is enough to cause an aircraft to crash,” he said.
Porsche Centre Sydney South dealership General Manager David Jackson said it was safer than ordinary test drives on busy streets.
“Driving down the runway at those speeds is probably safer than driving down some of the roads around Sydney at 100km/h,” Mr Jackson said.
“There is no traffic out there. There are no pedestrians, nothing to worry about.
“Speed thing is relative at the end of the day — relative to what’s around you and what the conditions are.”
Bathurst 1000 winner Luke Youlden was among a team of experienced supervisors.
“It’s safer than any test drive you can do,” Mr Youlden said.
“You’re on the widest bit of tarmac known to man, there is no one coming the other way and you have a race driver in the car with you.
“You never get to exploit the limits of these cars anywhere other than a controlled environment like this – if you do it’s highly irresponsible.
“It’s an amazing machine. The quality of the launch really impresses me the most. It accelerates much harder than a V8 Supercar.”
Zero to 100km/h in 2.7 seconds, to be precise.
“It’s amazing that they’ve pulled it off,” Porsche customer Bruce Hibbard said.
“You couldn’t even imagine in your wildest dreams that you would be on the actual airstrip here. It’s just amazing.
“I’ve had Ferraris and McLarens but I keep coming back to Porsche.
“The cars are just amazing.”
Marketing and events manager for Porsche Centre Sydney South Belinda Coen described the high-speed test drive as “a once-in-a-lifetime, money-can’t-buy experience”.
“Everybody really appreciated this was their one chance to come and do something like this,” she said.
General manager of operations at Sydney Airport Matthew Duffy said the event was run according to strict safety protocols with the co-operation of a dozen government agencies including Australian Federal Police.
“A $1 coin is enough to cause a catastrophic failure of an engine, which is enough to cause an aircraft to crash,” he said.
While new car sales have dropped by more than 20 per cent in 2020, luxury brands such as Porsche, Maserati, BMW and Mercedes have bucked the trend as buyers treat themselves to new wheels in lieu of overseas holidays.
WHAT IT IS LIKE TO DRIVE
Nothing launches like a Porsche 911 Turbo S. The 478kW/800Nm twin-turbo supercar squeezes air from your lungs, putting your body through more G-force than most cars manage during emergency braking.
The Porsche’s automatic transmission, four-wheel-drive system and traction control maximise grip as it streaks past 200km/h eight seconds after you take off. My instructor calls for “soft hands” to counter mild crosswinds as we go faster than a Boeing 747 as it leaves the ground.
Streaking past the 300km/h, the 911 Turbo S’ spoilers adjust their angle for maximum stability as enormous carbon-ceramic brakes prevent the car from splashing into Sydney’s Botany Bay. It’s an awesome experience – one unlikely to be repeated.
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