New Porsche 911 Turbo 50 celebrates five decades of an icon

Of course the base car is a 992 Turbo S as we know and love, but you don’t have to look too closely to note it’s a 50 Years. Most distinctive is that livery, with the stripe and turbo script draped over the shoulder line and rear haunch of the car, as a nod to the Carrera Turbo that started it all. Also quite distinctive is the rear wing which, per the plastic ‘Whale Tail’ of the original, is painted Anthracite Grey. The colour also appears on the rear apron, mirror base and intake trims.

That little badge on the back is cool, too. Look closely and you’ll see an image of a turbocharger with Turbo 50 over the top and 1974-2024. A similar turbocharger image is shone on the floor via a floor projector from the doors.

On the inside the 1970s influence is immediately apparent, with McKenzie tartan on the seat centres and door cards. You can see Turbo 50 on the headrests too, while an aluminium plaque above the glovebox also says ‘Turbo 50’ and more importantly, which of the 1,974 cars each is.

The Heritage Design package can take things even further if you so choose, with a satin white graphic, as well as Fuchs-style Sport Classic wheels. You get the 1964 Porsche crest throughout the car, more tartan on the inside and green dials.

Technically the Turbo 50 is standard Turbo S fare. That’s to say it’s an absolute monster, with a 650PS (478kW) 3.7-litre twin-turbo flat-six and all-wheel-drive, good for 0-62mph in just 2.7 seconds. The 50 Years will also get the optional 10mm lower PASM sports suspension, lift system, matrix lights and carbon brakes as standard.

The first Turbo 50s will meet their owners in autumn this year. After that, we can expect to see a potentially hybridised facelift next year, following the introduction of the 992.2 Carrera and GTS – the latter Porsche’s first-ever hybridised 911 road car.