If my best friend, the wealthy oil tycoon, is to be believed, Alberta's oil business is pretty much steamrolling along. Oh, sure, the boom is gone and all those migrant workers who had decided the oil-sodden Prairie province was actually Shangri-La have been left behind. But the well-monied "players" are all still swimming in their petrodollars. As proof, he claims to have seen a Ferrari -- complete with snow tires -- prowling Calgary streets during a snowstorm. Only a fool with too much money would attempt such a criminal offence, he deduced.
Indeed, the mere concept of trundling a Ferrari -- or Lambo, Aston Martin or Lotus -- through a Canadian winter would be proof of some sort of insanity were the person perpetuating such foolishness not so obviously wealthy. What's interesting, however -- at least from the automotive (not the mental health) side of the equation -- is there is one exotic car that is actually common on wintry Canadian roads --Porsche.
I am driving what for most people is the ultimate Porsche -- the 911 Turbo -- and I am neither in not-so-sunny Florida or almost-bankrupt Spain. In fact, with a set of Pirelli Sottozero snow tires slapped on those fancy rims, the 911 makes a more-than-passable winter car, if you can get over the fact you're slipping and sliding around in almost $200,000 worth of very dentable sheet metal.
The technology that makes the 911 Turbo so slush-friendly is pretty much the same stuff that tames all its wanton power on twisty roads. But, where I would normally compliment the all-wheel-drive system's rearward torque split for carving a perfect line through a hairpin, I'm now congratulating it for simply pulling me up a hill without useless wheelspin. Ditto the Porsche Stability Management (PSM). While usually getting high marks for its superior control on race tracks, it is now busy making sure I keep all that bodywork on the road. Even Porsche's Torque Vectoring (PTV) system, which helps high-speed cornering by braking the inside rear wheel, is probably making the car more controllable by keeping your humble scribe as glued to the pavement as possible when the tires are actually separated from the tarmac by fluffy white stuff. It may not make for dramatic advertising or scintillating bench-racing stories, but it does make the 911 Turbo the one truly all-weather supercar (OK, OK, for the five of you out there who own one, add the new Bentley Continental Supersports to the list as well).
In my first go-round with the latest version of Porsche's iconic Turbo, I tested the new seven-speed, dual-clutch, PDK automatic-shifting manual transmission. I liked it. It makes the car easier to handle, easier to drive and much quicker from zero to 100 kilometres an hour (a mere 3.4 seconds, says Porsche. Even quicker, claim some testers). It would seem a no-brainer this would be the tranny of choice -- unless you are a technophobe such as She-Who-Must-Be-In-Control-Of-Everything, who somehow prefers the six-speed manual still offered. It must keep her focused or something because, in truth, the 911 Turbo is slower and more difficult to handle with the manual. Not that it's a bad example of the breed, it's just the new PDK is that good. The other downside of the manual tranny is you can feel a little turbo lag, which the PDK disguises. It's minimal, but compared with the immediate, almost-knee-jerk reaction the PDK-equipped Turbo has to throttle application, the manual version is just a tick behind.
Naturally, the real reason this 911 is so quick is the new 3.8-litre version of the flat-six engine, which is equipped with direct fuel injection. It's so efficient that Porsche was able to turn down the turbo boost for better fuel economy and still increase horsepower to 500. It's a beast of an engine wrapped up in a silky-smooth package. Even in winter, it's easy to trundle around, not even remotely testing the available traction, although it's sure fun to mat the thing and imagine all those poor Teutonically perfect safety control systems trying to manage 480 pound-feet of torque when the tire/ice interface can only cope with 10.
Though winter is hardly the 911 Turbo's ideal backdrop, it does point to what makes the Porsche so special. There are any number of cars that can thrill in perfect circumstances (for my purposes, I'll call said circumstances the summer we didn't have last year). Far fewer are those real cars that can be driven any time, anywhere. That, in the end, is the true beauty of the modern Porsche 911 Turbo. One minute, it's challenging a Ferrari on a race track, and the next it's following a Suburban up a snowy cottage road.
It's a pretty amazing car.
dbooth@nationalpost.com---------
THE SPECS
Type of vehicle: All-wheel-drive sport coupe
Engine: Turbo 3.8L DOHC boxer six-cylinder
Power: 500 hp @ 6000 rpm; 480 lb-ft of torque @ 1,950 rpm
Transmission: Six-speed manual
Brakes: Four-wheel disc with ABS
Tires: P235/35ZR19 front, P305/30ZR19 rear
Price: base/as tested: $163,500/$175,940
Destination charge: $1,115
Transport Canada fuel economy L/100 km: 12.7 city, 8.3 hwy.
Standard features: Power door locks, windows and mirrors, climate control air conditioning, Bose surround-sound audio system with AM/FM/ CD/MP3 player and 13 speakers, steering wheel-mounted audio controls, hard-drive navigation system, cruise control, power glass sunroof, information display, tilt and telescopic steering wheel, leather seats, six-way power driver's seat, heated front seats, auto headlights, Porsche Side Impact Protection for driver and front passenger, limited-slip rear differential, Porsche Torque Vectoring, Porsche Active Suspension Management, tire pressure monitoring system, tire sealing compound and electric air compressor
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