The Porsche 911 is the poster child for iterative design, only changing subtly with each generational shift. Is the improvement of its performance as subtle as the updating of its design? DriveTribe decided to find out.
The channel pitted Ben “The Stig” Collins’ 2010 Porsche 911 Turbo (997.2 generation) against a brand-new 911 Turbo S (992 generation). Obviously, everyone involved in the production of the video knew that the newer, even higher-trim car would be the faster one — it would be deeply embarrassing to Porsche if it weren’t. But to prove just how much better it was, they gave it a handicap.
Read: Is A 1,400 HP Porsche 911 Turbo Fast Enough To Beat A MotoGP Bike And F1 Car?
Instead of just allowing The Stig to drive both cars, they handed the wheel of the 911 Turbo S to an “amateur” driver, GoPro CEO Nick Woodman. Not just the sponsor of the video, he is also a handy driver, having raced Pro Mazda open-wheel race cars, and 911 cup cars in the past.
Instead of having The Stig drive both cars, they entrusted the wheel of the 911 Turbo S to an “amateur” driver, GoPro CEO Nick Woodman. Not only was he the sponsor of the video, but he’s also a skilled driver, with experience racing Pro Mazda open-wheel race cars and 911 cup cars in the past.
So he’s a capable driver, if a slightly less experienced one than Collins — especially around Thruxton Circuit, in England, a track at which he has spent less time than his competitor. However, with 640 hp (477 kW/649 PS) at his disposal, as compared to the older car’s 493 hp (368 kW/500 PS), Woodman has a good chance of claiming victory against The Stig.
Warning, Spoilers Ahead
Indeed, the remarkable power and performance of the 992-generation 911 prove to be too much for Collins and his significantly older car to match. In the end, Woodman sets a time of 1:31.3, an impressive 4.9 seconds faster than The Stig.
Not to be outdone, Collins then takes wheel of the 992 and managed an even more impressive time of 1:25.8. That’s 5.5 seconds faster than Woodman, and a staggering 10.4 seconds faster than his initial time in the older car.
While it isn’t surprising that the new car is faster than the one that is 13 years older, the degree to which it has improved on the track, while looking more or less the same, is a bit of a surprise, and the video is a helpful reminder of just how hard Porsche’s engineers are working.