“There is nothing else like it. Nothing.”
After a six-year pause, Porsche brought the 911 Turbo back to the United States market in 1986. The difference compared to other 911s was, of course, the engine, a Bosch fuel-injected 282 bhp 3.3 liter/201 ci flat six with a turbocharger.
With the standard four-speed manual transmission (the Porsche five-speed could not reliably handle the Turbo‘s power), you could expect to hit 60 mph in 6.1 seconds, with a top speed of 157 mph in the 3,000-pound Turbo (the 2025 911 Turbo coupe is about 3,700 pounds). Fuel mileage was an unimpressive 16 city/22 highway by the day’s standards (15/20 by today’s measures) with premium gas, which meant you were paying a $500 gas guzzler tax. A 22.5-gallon gas tank meant a range of 355 to 380 miles with a 10% fuel reserve.
The 911 Turbo‘s base price was $53,475—about $157,000 in 2025 dollars. Standard exterior and mechanical equipment included tinted glass all around, a front and rear spoiler, heatable and electrically adjustable outside mirrors, heatable windshield washer nozzles, integrated fog lights, four-wheel vented disc brakes (but no ABS), and an engine oil cooler. Tires were 225/50VR-16 in the front and 245/45VR-16 for the rear, both mounted to 16-inch forged alloy wheels (both tire sizes are still readily available). Inside, a leather interior, a 4-spoke leather-covered steering wheel, an air conditioner, a central locking system, power windows, and Blaupunkt’s Monterey AM/FM stereo cassette with four speakers were all standard.
Production & Period Reviews
Porsche sold 1,424 Turbos in the United States during the 1986 model year, with many of the eager buyers happy to avoid the vicissitudes of gray market imports.
Like many turbocharged Porsches in the 1980s, the 911 Turbo was somewhat of a poster child for turbo lag. The immortal quote from Car and Driver:
“A cheerleader in a clapped-out Mustang II will have no trouble beating you across an intersection while checking her makeup. As a matter of fact, one did exactly that to us.”
All the buff books agreed that the wider rear wheels and tires substantially improved the handling over 1970s Turbos. However, there was a feeling that the mid-eighties Turbo was not as differentiating as the seventies version had been, perhaps because many other performance cars (including others from Porsche) had closed the gap by 1986.
The View From 2025
After all that has been written about them, I don’t feel I have anything startlingly new to say about the 911 Turbo—perhaps the reason it has taken me so long to generate a blog post about it.
Porsche 911 Turbos have (of course) excellent club support from many sources and are often available in the Hemmings Motor News classifieds, on eBay Motors, and on Bring a Trailer. 911 Turbos from the 1980s have held their values very well. According to Hagerty’s valuation tools, all the money for a 1986 Porsche 911 Turbo coupe in #1/Concours condition is $275,000, with a more normal #3/Good condition car going for $175,000. As I write this blog entry in April 2025, there’s a Black 1986 911 Turbo with black leather seats and 16,000 miles for sale on Hemmings, asking $182,500.
Make mine Silver Metallic, please.
Other eighties Porsches I have written about include the 1980 924 hatchback coupe, the 1982 924 Turbo hatchback coupe, the 1982 928 hatchback coupe, the 1985 911 Carrera Cabriolet, the 1986 944 Turbo hatchback coupe, the 1987 911 Carrera coupe, and the 1988 944 hatchback coupe.
Eighties Cars 