Just in case it isn’t abundantly clear by now, the Porsche 911 Turbo S is a legend. It’s regarded as one of the most iconic models in history, as it has been ever since it was launched in the market 54 years ago. The sports car’s appeal is unlikely to lose its luster anytime soon, and it’s that particular timeless quality about it that has made the 911 such a popular model in the aftermarket tuning circle. The current-generation 911 has seen its fair share of programs from tuning heavyweights like TechArt, TopCar, and Gemballa. Now it's edo competition’s turn to get in on the action and the German tuner didn’t disappoint with a 675-horsepower creation called the 911 Turbo S Blue Arrow.

It’s a fancy name for a fancy tuning program for a fancy sports car. It also happens to be potent beyond words, not to mention capable of achieving incredible amounts of speed and power that fits into the performance legacy of the Porsche 911. It’s fitting, too, that this program comes from edo competition, the same tuner that’s responsible for some of the most impressive tuning creations in history. Remember what it did to the Ferrari Enzo all those years ago? I don’t expect this creation for the 911 Turbo S to match that in power and performance, but I do know that it doesn’t need to. The Porsche 911 Turbo S is its own unicorn, and edo competition did it a solid by sprinkling its pixie dust all over it.

Continue after the jump to read the full story.

Exterior

The exterior upgrades featured by edo competition on the 911 Turbo S are rather limited, at least when you compare them to what the sports car received from other tuners in past programs. Of these items, only a few of them actually stand out, including the new carbon fiber hood that's actually derived from the Porsche 911 GT3 RS. The front section can also be designed with either a two-part or three-part grille depending on the customer. The edo program also comes with plastic parts on the front, side, and rear sections of the 911 Turbo S. These parts can be further modified using more premium materials (perhaps carbon fiber?) should a customer want them. Rounding out the exterior upgrades for the 911 Turbo S are a new set of 20-inch ultralight forged alloy wheels that can be modified in a certain number of color combinations. The wheels themselves sit in front of color-coordinated brake calipers and are wrapped in Continental SuperContact 6 tires measuring 245/35R20 in the front and 325/25R21 at the back.

Steady offer, but other tuners have good ones, too

When you’re a car like the Porsche 911 Turbo S, the appeal for tuners is undeniable. Take TopCar for example. The Russian tuner was one of the most prominent tuners to build a tuning program for the 997.1 version of the 911 Turbo S, presenting its kit back in September 2016 with a heavy dose of aerodynamic upgrades. The front fenders, for example, were taken out and replaced with carbon fiber versions that feature their own GT3 RS ducts. Even the bumpers and the side skirts received carbon fiber parts while the bumper, in particular, now features stabilizers in the middle and are flanked by new side air ducts. Move to the rear end of the sports car and the rear bumper also received extra side air ducts. Couple those with a new rear wing, big sport diffuser, and a set of ADV.1 wheels and you have the makings of a well-rounded exterior upgrade program.

A more recent program for the Porsche 911 Turbo S comes by way of TechArt, which is arguably in the running as one of the most prominent Porsche tuners in the business. It certainly lived up to its reputation with what could be the most systemic exterior upgrade of any tuning program for the current-generation Porsche 911. The key proponent of this program is the carbon fiber aero kit, which is made up of a good number of new lightweight components. There’s a new front apron with its own front spoiler lip. A central air outlet is also included in the kit, as are carbon airframes around the front lights, carbon fiber fenders and wheel arches on the side, and a new rear apron with its own air outlet ducts, a carbon rear diffuser, and the tuner’s very own GTstreet R rear wing that is so big it actually has its own carbon side panels and winglets. Yep, it’s hard to beat what TechArt did as far as exterior upgrade programs are concerned.

Interior

Unfortunately, edo competition’s extensive tuning kit for the Porsche 911 Turbo S doesn’t include interior modifications. While that may be disappointing to here for some people, it likely doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, especially with the tuner’s promise of having an engine upgrade program that can turn its tuned version of the 911 Turbo S into the fastest and most powerful of its kind in the world. Still, the absence of any modifications to the interior of the sports car can be seen as a disadvantage, particularly when other tuners have some things to offer that edo competition doesn’t.

Topcar and TechArt have interior upgrade offers

TopCar didn’t specify the kind of interior upgrades it has for the Porsche 911 Turbo S, other than to say that customers have a wide breadth of personalized upgrades to choose from. Based on the tuner’s history, we know these personalized upgrades to feature anything from fine leather, Alcantara, carbon fiber, exotic wood trim, and the occasional animal leather for those who are into that kind of thing.

On the other hand, we know very clearly what TechArt has to offer in this regard. In fact, the tuner not just has one interior upgrade for the 911 Turbo S, but two. One of them is called the “Exclusive Package” that according to TechArt, comes with the most “exclusive leather trims.” For those who aren’t sold on the Exclusive Package, the tuner is also offering the “Clubsport Package.” This package is different in the sense that those leather trims that were touted on the Exclusive Package are substituted by premium Alcantara trim, as well as door opening loops, six-point harnesses, and a roll bar that will match the sports car’s body. In addition to these two interior packages, TechArt is also offering its own sports steering wheel for the 911 Turbo S, as well as the choice to cover the dashboard, center console, roof liner, sun visors, and door pillars in either leather or Alcantara.

Drivetrain

Engine upgrade programs are the specialty of edo competition so it’s no surprise that the tuner’s focus on the 911 Turbo S’ 3.8-liter, bi-turbo, six-cylinder engine is the highlight of the whole tuning kit. edo made it worth our while, too, with the promise of generating an output of 675 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque. So how exactly did the tuner do this? The short answer is a newly developed engine control unit that comes with improved levels of software optimization. Taken together, the upgrades also happen to help shed 60 kilos (133 pounds) off of the overall weight of the engine.

Put all these modifications in place and the Porsche 911 Turbo S is now capable of producing a massive 675 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque. Those figures translate to a 0-to-60-mph acceleration time of just 2.7 seconds. That’s essentially 0.2 seconds quicker than the standard 911 Turbo S. Take your eyes away from it and you’re going to miss it blasting past you. Even more impressive, the edo competition-tuned 911 Turbo S can also hit 124 mph from a standstill position in 8.6 seconds and 186 mph in 23.4 seconds.

Those are incredible acceleration times, but the most impressive number of this tuned 911 Turbo S though is 213.86. That’s 213.86 mph, which is the top speed the tuner achieved when it took the sports car for a run in the High Speed Oval ATP Papenburg in Germany. If that number sounds a little too good to be true, consider then that Auto Bild took the 911 Turbo S for its run around the Lausitzring circuit and reached the same number as far as the car’s top speed is concerned.

How do other recently released “special edition” 911s compare?

The timing of edo competition’s program for the 911 Turbo S is fitting because Porsche just released not one, but two high-powered variants in the past month or so. The first of these two models is the now iconic 911 GT2 RS that’s capable of producing 700 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque. The other model is the 911 Turbo S Exclusive Series, which also comes with more power than the “standard” 911 Turbo S, generating up to 607 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque. Check out the table below to see how edo competition’s tuning program for the 911 Turbo S compares to the 911 GT2 RS and the 911 Turbo S Exclusive Series.

Needless to say, the edo-tuned Porsche 911 Turbo S has some serious power within it that’s just waiting to be unleashed.

What about the other tuning programs

The tuner has proved its worth compared to the 911 Turbo S Exclusive Series and the 911 GT2 RS. Now we turn our sights on TechArt, which just so happens to have a massive engine upgrade of its own for the 911 Turbo S that amounts to 640 horsepower and 649 pound-feet of torque. It may fall a little short than what edo competition is offering, but with those figures, TechArt says that the 911 Turbo S is capable of going from 0 to 60 mph in 2.7 seconds before peaking at a top speed of 210 mph.

For its part, TopCar hasn’t provided word on the specific output it’s capable of getting, opting only to say that it’s developing a program that can bring the output of the 911 Turbo S to about 750 horsepower. If that’s true, TopCar would take the reigns from edo competition as having the most powerful tuning upgrade for the sports car. But for now, it appears that edo’s proclamation still has some legs to stand on.

Suspension

When you claim to have a tuning program that boasts of a massive increase in power, it’s important you add complementing upgrades to make sure that the car is still drivable. In essence, that’s what edo competition did to the Porsche 911 Turbo S, offering it with either a KW racing chassis with its own closure set or a specially developed sport suspension springs that lowers the car’s ride height by as much as 30 mm, or about 1.18 inches.

Pricing

Like most of edo competition’s past works, the tuner hasn’t announced the price for the whole kit. In fact, don’t expect it to be publicly announced because that’s not edo’s style. Instead, prospective customers are better off contacting the tuner directly if they want to get the program for their 911 Turbo S sports cars. I for one think that the whole kit will cost around $50,000 to $60,000.

References

Read our full review on the 2017 Porsche 911 Turbo.

Competition

Porsche 911 Turbo S Convertible by Wimmer RS

This program may have been presented for the convertible version of the 911 Turbo S, but it could also apply to the coupe model. That’s a good thing because Wimmer RS has a pretty impressive engine upgrade of its own, one that puts edo competition’s program for the updated 997.2 version of the Porsche sports car to shame. To be clear, the tuner’s engine tuning method differs from what edo has on offer, particularly the use of a pair of bigger turbochargers on the engine. Throw in new pistons, connecting rods, a fuel pump, an intake manifold, and a throttle valve, and you’re looking at an output of 828 horsepower and 634 pound-feet of torque. That’s enough to propel the car to 60 mph in just 2.6 seconds before rocketing to an incredible top speed of 226 mph.

Read our full review on the Porsche 911 Turbo S Convertible by Wimmer RS.

Conclusion

There are tuners who are known more for their past projects as they are for their current ones. edo competition is considered one of those tuners, and that’s a status the company has earned over years of incredible work. This program for the Porsche 911 Turbo S falls into the stylistic and performance whims of the German tuner. It’s got loads of extra power and massive improvements in performance to go with some evident changes to the sports car’s aerodynamic profile. I would’ve liked it to work on the interior, but I can’t complain about 675 horsepower. That in itself is worth the price of the whole kit.