Porsche 911 Turbo Receives Popular Mechanics and Popular Science Awards

Magazines Recognize the 2001 Twin-Turbo Sports Car for its Overall Design and Engineering Excellence and its Ceramic Brake System

ATLANTA, NOV. 9, 2000 --- The editors of Popular Mechanics magazine this month selected the Porsche 911 Turbo to receive a 2001 Design & Engineering Award, while the Popular Science editors have given the Porsche Ceramic Brakes – an available option on the 911 Turbo – a 2000 “Best of What’s New” Award.

“Our editors, all experts in their respective fields, know innovation and outstanding creativity when they see it,” said Popular Mechanics Editor-in-Chief Joe Oldham. “Our readers have told us that no other award program inspires the same confidence. This award adds an extra measure of assurance for our readers to go out and make an intelligent purchase decision.”

Oldham officially announced this year’s winners on Nov. 1, 2000. The Design & Engineering Awards honor innovation, invention, design and engineering in five fields: automotive, technology, home improvement, outdoors and science. The 21 winners for 2001 are featured in the December issue of Popular Mechanics.

Porsche first introduced a 911 Turbo to North America for model-year 1976. The 2001 911 Turbo has a 415-horsepower, 3.6-liter, horizontally opposed six-cylinder engine with twin turbochargers, which allows the sports car to accelerate from 0 to 62 mph (0 to 100 km/h) in just 4.2 seconds and achieve a top track speed of 189 mph (305 km/h). The new engine sustains 415 lb.-ft. (560 Nm) of peak torque from 2,700 rpm to 4,600 rpm. Power drives through a standard six-speed manual transmission, and, for the first time in a 911 Turbo, Porsche offers the Tiptronic“ S five-speed automatic transmission as an option. The 911 Turbo also features all-wheel drive and the Porsche Stability Management system (PSM), which can detect a loss of grip at the front or rear and reduce instability by applying braking to individual wheels and, if necessary, altering engine power.

Another new option on the 911 Turbo is the Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake (PCCB) system, which received a 2000 “Best of What’s New” Award from Popular Science magazine. The award was presented today during an awards presentation and exhibition at the Tavern on the Green restaurant in New York City’s Central Park. The December issue of Popular Science magazine features a 26-page cover story highlighting the editors’ selections. This is the 13th anniversary of the magazine’s awards program.

“The 911 Turbo is at the pinnacle of Porsche’s 2001 sports car line-up,” said Frederick J. Schwab, president and chief executive officer of Porsche Cars North America Inc (PCNA). “At Porsche, we take design, engineering and safety very seriously. Professional praise from the industry experts means a lot to Porsche; it lets us know that we’re on the right track.”

All new Porsches have vented metal brake rotors, which means the center of the disc has vanes to help cool the rotors. This is crucial especially for heavy braking. The PCCB system, which will be available as a 911 Turbo option, features ceramic rotors that manage heat significantly better than the iron used in most rotors. When used with a metal composite brake pad, the ceramic brake rotor develops extremely high and very constant friction during deceleration. Ceramic brake pads also are available.

The PCCB system also cuts more than 44 pounds from the vehicle's total weight, thus providing a significant reduction in the unsprung weight of the car. Unsprung weight is anything that the car's springing mechanism does not hold off the ground, such as suspension arms, springs, wheels, tires and brakes. The heavier these components are, the more time it takes for the suspension to react to the road and driver's actions.

Finally, ceramic rotors and pads should last significantly longer than conventional materials, and they will not rust in wet or snowy conditions, which can change a cars braking characteristics.

PCNA, based in Atlanta, Ga., is the exclusive importer of Porsche cars for the United States. A wholly owned subsidiary of Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche AG, PCNA employs some 220 people who provide Porsche vehicles, parts, marketing and training for its 205 dealers in the United States and Canada. They, in turn, provide Porsche owners with best-in-class service. Stuttgart-based Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, though the smallest of vehicle manufacturers, remains independent. It does so by engineering the most exciting automobiles available and by providing engineering solutions for other vehicle manufacturers through its Research and Development facility in Weissach, Germany.

Popular Mechanics is published by Hearst Magazines, a unit of The Hearst Corporation. Popular Science is published by Times Mirror Magazines.

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