LlBr

The joke will be on you. Before I waited for my TT build, I waited for my 997S to accelerate.

It's the new parents ugly baby syndrome here. Nobody can tell the parents what everybody else knows.

You're thinking road car, right? Strongly suggest you go to a Turbo forum and ask former 997S owners.

Nugget

It's hard to imagine anyone driving both and not ending up with a favorite. Fortunately for all of us, it's pretty easy to line up test drives in these cars and evaluate their different capabilities for ourselves on our favorite roads.

It might not be a simple decision but the only wrong answer is to not buy a Porsche at all.

gota911

You got THAT ^ right! See the pic in my signature for proof!

Boeing 717

Oh im going to have another one soon thats for sure. After visiting the museum and factory I got all horny for a 997, only not too recently thinking i was an aircooled guy for life, the question now is which 997. If turbos come down another 10% in a year or so thats what im going to get, if not itll be a 997s.

maverick

I believe someone asked several pages back about cost to maintain a TT vs C2S . So far my Turbo has only cost me oil changes, brake fluid flush, 2 tires and 2 alignments. Warranty has taken care of the rest. Since the cars share many of the same components (4wd excluded) cost to maintain should be fairly similar. They are both beautiful cars and reward their owners equally relative to the reason they chose the car they drive.

DJ23

I take her out on Rt 8 early on Saturday or Sunday mornings. At that time I'm able to safely exercise the limits of this car. As for the other days I enjoy it's quick acceleration and precision turning with the PTV. I didn't buy my Turbo to go fast but to enjoy the quality that this car was built for. If I really want to I only live 30 minutes from Lime Rock where I can truly over indulged my TT if I desire. I have an installed 9500 CI that allows me to drive free of the worrisome speed trap. I enjoy my Turbo. I've even read in some journals where it is considered the flagship of Porsches. I'm not knocking the C2S. I had one for five years and loved it. I just wanted something different with a lot more power and a different tempo to the road. That's all. Again it's just personal preference.

Jay

jakes dad

I can fart in two octaves - guess which one is which.. and remember, one has extra mass...

rodsky

You have a great car. I love the 2010 with PDK. Awesome!

Chris from Cali

I hear you about the cars. There's no question that the Turbo is the daddy. I'm not making the "steering feel" argument nor am I denying that the Turbo is the lust-worthy one. You hit on something that also affected my decision: Virginia is one of the few places where radar detectors are a no-no. If radar detectors were legal here, I'd be driving a Turbo.

Edgy01

That's because you haven't gotten into real maintenance yet. For example (we're going to keep this simple) get an estimate on a spark plug change for a turbo vice a 997S. Twice the price, because many more hours of labor are consumed removing plumbing, etc., to access them.

I owned a turbo for over ten years and there was nothing inexpensive about the maintenance.

Fahrer

I guess if money was no object I would go for a turbo. My 997S is plenty fast though, handles great, sounds wonderful and is relatively simple. I just consider myself lucky to have one.

nicoff

Original Question:
Is there a really big difference between the S and the turbo?
The obvious:
Price: Yes. The Turbo is much more expensive.
Power: Yes. The turbo has a lot more power.
The other:
Handling: There is a difference between the handling of a 4wd (turbo) and a 2WD. Some prefer the 2wd because of the skills that it demands from the driver. Others like the "user friendliness" of the 4wd. The S comes in 4wd also so both 4wd models should handle similarly.
Style: This is another preference issue. I prefer cabs and for me the lines of the S cab are nicer than those of the turbo cab. To each his own!
Tracking: The turbo is a more powerful tracking machine, however the S tracks just fine.

There is no right or wrong answer here. You have to decide what you want based on your needs.

Edgy01

Actually, the turbo is not that expensive comparatively. I opted for a very loaded S versus a very plain jane turbo. Again, Porsche gives you the ultimate control over what you get for your pesos.

Opinions herein are like--well, you know. Everyone should test drive the various models to determine which works best for them, rather than reading a bunch of drivel from us online.

seattle_sun

So, I haven't read all 12 pages, but I'll throw in my opinion! I have in the past owned the 997 C2S, GT3, and turbo.

Is there a big difference between the C2S and Turbo? Yes, mind bending acceleration in the Turbo. There is NO comparison between the two in that respect.

Handling- For me the Turbo still handles great. Does the 4 WD take away from some of the steering input? Sure, but for most people it won't be a big deal.

Costs- The turbo is bullet proof. With 35,000 miles on the turbo, it didn't cost me any more than the Carrera.

So, what would I suggest? Probably the turbo, because you'll always be wondering if you should have got one. However, I recently sold mine and the reason was boredom. It was so stupid fast, that any chance I got, I would try to get that boost rush, but after a while it got tiresome. Instead of enjoying the drive and listening to the exhaust, I just found the drive boring, unless I got that boost.

The C2S is a wonderful car. Put on an aftermarket exhaust and listen to that flat 6. Great handling, braking, and very reliable. For a daily driver, much better than the GT3 (which after driving on the track makes you realize how much "safer" the carrera is!).

So, what did I end up getting? An Aston Martin Vantage. Again, I'm just loving the drive. Listening to that exhaust howl and letting the revs sit around 3500 during cruising is sublime. Never thought I would miss that linear NA acceleration, but it's nice. Why the AM vs Porsche? Still love Porsches, but I have had one type or another for 20 years. Just time for a change.

ac27

you will never look back on the S..... unless you start tracking