On the surface, Wimmer’s program for the Porsche 911 Turbo S Convertible oozes with flamboyancy, largely from the bombastic orange paint finish of the sports car and the litter of graphics and liveries attributed to the German tuner and its partners. It’s not a very pleasing sight if it were any other car. But it’s a 911 Turbo S Convertible, a car that in itself is filled to the brim with flash and attitude. It’s still largely an acquired taste, but it still grabs your attention, for better or worse. And so, like it or not, this is Wimmer’s new program for the 911 Turbo S Convertible. Good thing then that it also has a massive engine upgrade in there to the tune of 828 horsepower and 634 pound-feet of torque.

The power increase is massive and I think we can all agree that the 911 Turbo S Convertible is capable of squeezing as much out of it as it possibly can. The performance numbers validate it too because this tuned 911 is ridiculously fast, possibly even faster and more powerful than a limited edition supercar like the Ferrari F12tdf. The paint job and stickers might not be to everyone's taste, but there's no denying that Wimmer has a program here that will make owners of the drop-top 911 Turbo S stand up and take notice, at least until they hear about how much it’s going to cost.

Ultimately, this is the biggest sticking point for a lot of customers who are interested in getting aftermarket upgrades for their cars. Wimmer’s asking price is no different since it’s charging a whopping €310,000 ($327,300) to present would-be customers a Porsche 911 Turbo S Convertible that’s unlike any other.

Continue after the jump to read more about the Porsche 911 Turbo S Convertible by Wimmer.

2017 Porsche 911 Turbo S Convertible By Wimmer

Specifications
  • Make: Array
  • Model: 2017 Porsche 911 Turbo S Convertible By Wimmer
  • [do not use] Vehicle Model: Array
Pros
Cons

Exterior

It’s all about that brighter-than-sunshine orange paint, ladies and gentlemen. That and the array of graphics and liveries of Wimmer and its tuning partners. These items are largely the extent of what the German tuner is offering for the exterior of the 911 Turbo S Convertible. It’s not much in terms of quantity, but fortunately, there are other avenues by way a 911 Turbo S Convertible owner can add some upgrades to his car.


The first option is looking at other tuners and while there aren’t that many who have presented programs for the 911 Turbo S Convertible, a lot have showcased their offerings for its coupe counterpart. The good news is that a lot of tuners are adaptable to the car and that’s no different with the 911 Turbo S.

What others have done

Note: photo of the Porsche 911 Turbo S Stinger GT3 Gen 2 by TopCar

One tuner known for building some outrageous body kits for the 911 Turbo S is TopCar. Over the year’s we’ve seen the Russian tuner present a bevy of upgrades for the range-topping 911 and a significant part of those upgrades revolve around new aerodynamic body kits that can be purchased with our without carbon parts. One of the more recent examples is the Stinger GT3 Gen 2, which featured new bumpers and fenders, a new rear wing and bit sport diffuser.

Note: photo of the Porsche 911 Turbo Aerokit Package

Another option is completely removing the tuner equation and going directly to Porsche and its own personalization division, Porsche Exclusive. There, a customer can get a wanton list of packages and upgrades on the exterior, including the Aerokit Package that the automaker introduced in 2015. This package consists of two key components: a front spoiler lip and a redesigned rear lid. Other Porsche Exclusive-designed parts, include bespoke headlamps and taillights, exclusive wheels, body trims, and custom paint colors of the bespoke variety. The paint colors could be particularly useful if an owner prefers a different color over his car’s standard shade or that of the German tuner.

Interior

Note: Standard 911 Turbo S Convertible interior shown here.

It's a similar story with the 911 Turbo S Convertible's interior in the sense that Wimmer left it completely stock. It’s not the end of the world though, because customers can also look somewhere else to get the cabins of their 911 Turbos dressed up to their liking.

What others have done

TopCar’s Stinger GT3 Gen 2 kit doesn’t have interior mods of its own, but somebody like TechArt is known to offer these refinements, particularly a wide range of carbon fiber interior parts and trims to go with add-ons to the steering wheel and carbon seat back panels, among others.

Going the aftermarket route is a good option for interior upgrades, but the best one remains going to Porsche itself. Not only does the German automaker provide a comprehensive list of options for the 911 Turbo S Convertible’s cabin, but it actually takes the input of the customer and see what he likes to see from his car. That’s a level of personalization that not a lot of tuners can boast of.

Past examples of dressed up 911s include the 911 Turbo Lime Gold and the 911 Turbo Cabriolet

Note: side-by-side interior photos of the Porsche 911 Turbo Lime Gold and the 911 Cabriolet by Porsche Exclusive.

The latter received a smattering of upgrades on the interior, including a full red leather treatment on the entire surface of the cabin that’s complemented by a handful of aluminum inserts and carbon fiber surrounds. These options are far from the only items available because as the 911 Turbo Lime Gold shows, Porsche Exclusive can also go the flamboyant route with a Deep Chocolate Brown surface that’s contrasted by seats finished in the same Lime Gold Metallic finish as the car’s body.

Drivetrain

So the Porsche 911 Turbo S Convertible’s exterior upgrade is polarizing while the interior upgrade amounts to nothing. What justifies this program? The short answer, of course, is the engine. That’s where the German tuner really went to town, giving the 911 Turbo S’s 3.8-liter, flat-six engine a massive upgrade that nets an output of 828 horsepower and 634 pound-feet of torque. The tuner accomplished all of that by installing a pair of bigger turbochargers into the engine equation and complementing it with new pistols, connecting rods, fuel pump, intake manifold, and throttle valve. Do the math and that adds up to an increase of 248 horsepower with the resulting performance numbers being just as impressive.

Consider this: the standard 911 Turbo S Convertible can sprint from 0 to 60 mph 2.8 seconds. With Wimmer’s program, that time drops to 2.6 seconds. Just as impressive, the sports car can now hit 124 mph from an idle position in just 8.4 seconds, go up to 186 mph in 17.9 seconds, and hit a top speed of 226 mph! Va-va-voom, indeed!

Line Wimmer’s program up with other tuners and the results are just as spectacular.

Take TopCar’s Stinger GT3 Gen2 kit, for example. The tuner didn’t reveal the extent of work it did on the turbocharged six engine, but it did claim to get a new output of 750 horsepower out of it, resulting in a 0-to-60-mph sprint time of 2.6 seconds and a top speed of 217 mph. There’s also TechArt, itself an aftermarket connoisseur of all things Porsche. The tuner’s kit largely revolves around its Techtronic management software that’s earmarked specifically for the 911’s engine management unit. When installed, the module adds an extra 60 horses and 96 pound-feet of twist to the 911 Turbo S’s output, bringing the total number to 640 horsepower and 649 pound-feet of torque. That results in a 0-to-62-mph time of of just 2.7 seconds, a 0-to-124-mph time of 8.5 seconds, a 0-to-86-mph time of 23.3 seconds, and a new top speed of 210 mph. Even better, TechArt has said that it’s lining up a more potent program for the 911 Turbo S that’s scheduled to arrive in 2017. That one gets an output of 720 horses and 678 pound-feet of torque.

Check out the table below to see how these three engine programs from these Porsche aftermarket wizards stack up against each other.

Tuner

Power

Torque

0 to 60 mph Time

Top Speed

Wimmer

828 horsepower

634 pound-feet of torque

2.6 seconds

226 mph

TopCar

750 horsepower

none mentioned

2.6 seconds

217 mph

TechArt

640 horsepower

649 pound-feet of torque

2.7 seconds

210 mph


Pricing

Here’s what you need to know about Wimmer: it builds an incredible engine program for the 911 Turbo S and as impressive as it is, it comes with a steep price tag. This particular build, donor car included, amounts to €310,000, or about $327,300 based on current exchange rates. Deduct the $200,000 price tag of the actual 911 Turbo S Cabriolet and you’re looking at a kit that costs well over $100,000 with the engine upgrade alone accounting for over $55,000 of that total. By comparison, TechArt’s software upgrade to the 911 Turbo S Cabriolet’s turbocharged six engine costs just north of $4,300. The big difference, of course, is that Wimmer’s built is more all-encompassing while TechArt largely focused on the engine’s software program.

Competition

Porsche 911 Turbo S by Edo Competition

This program was presented in 2014, or before Porsche released updates to both the 911 Turbo and Turbo S models. It’s still worth noting though, not because of the relatively small power increase to 590 horsepower and 575 pound-feet of torque, but because the result of Edo’s upgrades is a 911 Turbo that can do 0 to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds (the same time as the update models) and hit a top speed of 213 mph. Notice how even with an “older” program, the car’s top speed still pulls out higher than that of TechArt? And really, if for nothing else, one busy exterior vinyl body wrap deserves another.

Read the full reiew here.

Conclusion

The Wimmer program is a mixed bag if you take it for all of it's worth. Whereas I'm good with the orange wrap of the car, I'm not as sold on all the decals and liveries. But none of that matters though because the engine upgrade of this program alone is well worth the trouble of getting it, even if the price is a little up there.