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I,m buying a 2003 966 turbo s on saturday, can anyone tell me what are the differences between the standard turbo & the S version, (apart from the increased bhp). I thought they had ceramic brakes fitted but this one doesnt. Are there any other upgrades which should be obvious?

Welcome John! Youcan see the differences in the brochure here: http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=230970 However, they only made the Turbo S for model year 2005. I suspect you are getting a Turbo Tiptronic S.

Hi John check the v5 and vin as Richard says the S was late 2004 through to 2005 finishing around august september 05,sometimes people buy an S badge from Porsche and fit it and as Richard also adds it could be tip S which is differant

Thanks for the info. I've printed off the brochures & i'll take them with me on sat. The cars got a big S badge on the back & is advertised as 450bhp, but i've got my doubts

if its an S, it should have ceramic brakes on.

Can't be an S if its 2003, looks like somebody's put an S badge on

I'd be asking where the extra 30BHP has come from. The Turbo S has bigger turbos, if the 'S' is just stuck on the back I wonder if the 30BHP is the result of a remap, or some other 'stuck on' device like fiddling with the waste gates..... Tony

Or it magically comes when you stick the S badge on! So is it the X50 option that was only available in 04/05 or is it a S model and is there an actual difference?

X50 was available on earlier cars. For the last production run, Model Year 2005 (from 1st Sept 2004) they offered the Turbo S variant. This was essentially a Turbo with an X50 kit, ceramic brakes, and a host of goodies. The standard Turbo and X50 options were also available for MY2005.

So we could have an X50 here, which would explain the lack of ceramic brakes. Perhaps the owner just wanted some external reference to his extra power so stuck the S on. In any event I would expect the X50 pack to be evident on the documentation?

Should be on the handbook and, if Porsche still do it, a sticker on the car somewhere. I know where it is on a 944 but not a 996.

for a 2003 car the VIL will be stuck on the underside of the luggage compartment lid. They stopped putting them there when the 997s were launched. As the 996 Turbo S was produced alongside the 997 from launch in September 04 they didn't have the sticker either.

Sounds like a "vanity upgrade" to me. You can always tell them, because the "S" is always offset too far to the right on the engine cover, when it is added afterwards.

Got the garage to fax a copy of the VIL to me today, no X50 option listed, I think they are trying to pull a fast one. Anyone had any dealings with this garage - 690 specialist cars in Durham?

Hmmm. Specialist Cars? How specialist is a Toyota Corrola? That aside, as I thought, it's a Tiptronic S. The fact they advertise it as a "911 S Tiptronic S" is very misleading. However, it does say 420bhp in the listing, so it is standard.

no dealings with the garage but I know it. They sell a lot of subarus, and other boy racer type cars. Just seen the advert and it is a tiptronic S not a turbo S ad says 420BHP model. I can call in and have a look today if it helps only 10 miles from me and I'm passing with a small detour this morning

here is a genuine Turbo S from a dealer I would recomend http://www.rpr626.co.uk/html/porsche-cars-for-sale-04.html

yep I'd second that, a fabulous car, I know Peter too he's an R3 member

Peter supplied me with my Turbo [ ]

on a slightly differant note if you can try and get an x50 at the very least i think it is worth the small premium,the S has the ceramic brakes in my opinion I really think it is worth the extra mostly due to the lower unsprung weight which does affect performance but there is a slight premium for S's at the moment the x50 you could always add 6 pots and alcon's ,to me the beauty of these cars isnt just the standard spec but what you can do to them after to make them more sporting ie brakes remap and suspension at the moment they really are the price performance bargain of the century( Richard just sold his beautiful car at an absolute steal) I think when more people wake up and realise this you will find the supply dwindling and prices rising

I hope so may offset the fortunes I've lost over the years in depreciation due to itchy feet[8|]

Car was absolutely mint - could have passed for brand new without reg plates, couldn't leave it there. Now its on my drive. Unfortunately had to leave my C4 in part ex, only car i've ever sold that i was sad to leave. New cars power is awsome though. Thanks for all the help & advice

Im Green,[:'(] Well done

I have pondered the same question myself tbh though what would you replace an S with I have a family and use the back seats did this summer went to Hungary I dont want to get rid of a Mezger engined car and replace it with something inferior the only other car would be 997 Turbo S but that at the moment is big bucks,I did see one at Reading in ice blue metallic with centre lock wheels but aside from that better and cheaper to cut the itchy feet off