In 1974 Porsche introduced the first production turbocharged 911. Although called simply Porsche 911 Turbo in Europe, it was marketed as Porsche 930 (930 being its internal type number) in North America. The body shape is distinctive thanks to wide wheel-arches to accommodate the wide tires, and a large rear spoiler often known as a "whale tail" on the early cars, and "tea-tray" on the later ones. Production figures of the car soon qualified its racing version for FIA Group 4 competition as the Porsche 934 of 1976. Many participated at Le Mans and other races including some epic battles with the BMW 3.0 CSL "Batmobile". As demand for the Turbo soared in the late 1980s, Porsche introduced novelty variants including a slant-nose version (option M505/M506), while not significantly improving the range mechanically. Only in 1989, its last year of production, was the 930 equipped with a five-speed gearbox. The 930 was replaced in 1990 with a 964 version featuring the same 3.3 L engine.
My main goal was to get a car as close to what I already had but with Autopilot and all-wheel-drive (AWD) and people have asked what I ended up with. I figure the best way to start is to show the 2 orders. The 75D has a rated range of 259 miles, while my 85 had a rated range of 265 miles. The 75D has better efficiency with AWD than the 85 did which is why such a big differnece in battery size made little differnece in range. The ranges were close enough that I was comfortable with the slight step down. 20,000 for the 100D wasn鈥檛 worth it to me. My 85 got me everywhere I wanted to go and the S75 was very close to the same range. I loved the Dolphin Grey of my original car and the tan leather interior. The grey in the new cars is a bit darker (my wife likes it more, I like it a little less) and they changed from tan leather to cream synthetic leather.
The cream color is fine by me (I really dislike black and white) but I found the synthetic leather has a lot more dye transfer which I鈥檓 not happy about. I had a sunroof on my original 85 as I don鈥檛 like solid roofs and that was the only option back then. Now you can choose between a sun roof and an all glass roof. The interior wood is lighter and is on the dash and on the console. It has a very upscale look and I like it even more. A factory console is nice (I had to use an aftermarket one in my S85). The rear cupholders are great to have too. Overall the interior is a great upgrade over my 85 with more comfortable seats, heated steering wheel, more cupholders, rear USB chargers, rear trunk cover, etc. The only downside has been the dye transfer on the seats.
I intentionally avoided Smart Air Suspension on my S85 as I didn鈥檛 want extra maintenance/costs around the system, but there was no option to get a new S without it. I鈥檝e already had the entire system fail once and my car was in the shop for 2 weeks for it. I find it has added little value and likely will continue to be an area that needs more maintenance. I鈥檓 not a huge wheel person but the new ones are slightly easier to clean and look a bit better to me, so that鈥檚 a plus. Much has been bundled into the base and premium upgrades package. Before, there were more decisions to be made. I wouldn鈥檛 have paid for or wanted the bioweapon defense mode filter, but it came with the cold weather features I needed. The new S75D is quicker, 4.2 seconds 0-60 mph vs 5.4 seconds 0-60 for my old car.
Frankly, they鈥檙e both fast and I didn鈥檛 need anything quicker. The S75D is, however, slower charging. There鈥檚 a noticeable difference at Superchargers where it doesn鈥檛 charge as quick as my 85 did. Also, on other plugs, depending on the amperage, the new car charges slower as my old one had the special 鈥渄ual chargers鈥?configuration. Telsa鈥檚 charging cable they provide is also less capable of a fast charge than the old one. Overall, apples to apples, ignoring the 2 big features I wanted, the S75D was a nice upgrade with mostly positive benefits, but nothing that I would have upgraded for individually or as a collection. I upgraded for AWD and AP. So what about AWD and AP? My old S did a great job through some very tough winters with the winter wheels I had. The S75D is more sure-footed and able to both push and pull you through the slush and snow.