2001 Porsche 911 Turbo -Shelby had a philosophy that larger displacement equals more power. Porsche, once again, defies that theory by cranking an amazing 420 horsepower out of a 3.6-litre flat-six. No, that's not a typo, 420 horsepower, making it the most powerful Porsche sold on American soil. Horsepower isn't the only credit this car gets. With a 0-60 time of 3.8 seconds, this car is undoubtedly the most practical super car in the world.

If anyone can keep a straight face when saying Porsche isn't one of the best-engineered cars in the world, they would sure enough insist the world is flat. Never in history has an automobile been able to combine performance, luxury, and price in such a complete package. Never in history has a race-bred automobile been able to turn an ordinary driver into an experienced veteran. Porsche has never ceased to amaze us, and it hasn't stopped with its new 911 Turbo.

From the first time you sit in the new 911, you know its Porsche. Through city driving, it feels wild and crazy. The twin KKK turbos gulp more air than two "economy" cars and send you hurling through city traffic at an amazing pace. You can tell by the red light stops and 90-degree turns this car will send you over the edge. Then you clear the city, nothing but road lies between you and your summer home on the beach. You hesitate a full stomp on the pedal fearing time travel, but you go for it. A engine erupts with a gluttonous yell and sends you soaring on the pavement. About 4 seconds into it, when you realize you're over the speed limit, you become aware of a weird feeling -this is a car you can control!

The full-time all-wheel drive and automatic spoiler (deploys at 75 mph) keeps you firm to the ground. This car's drivability is what makes it the accomplishment that it is. The 911 Turbo sucks up speed with the utmost class. The two turbos, working in parallel, spool up without the expected hesitation when engaging the next gear. They are so well incorporated, the throttle response so linear, the amount of torque so generous; when driving this car you forget about the turbos altogether. The engine's modular design is a (tiny) side-step from the race track version, and the water-cooling, double-overhead cams, four valves per cylinder make you quickly forget that this car doesn't have any sponsorship badges and you aren't on a racetrack.

The Porsche Stability Management (PSM) is the real "talent" behind the wheel. This guardian angel can detect if you have pushed this car's almost unattainable limits, and can bring you back from the edge. It detects if the car is in an emergency and automatically corrects under/over steer, break slippage, speed, etc. The ingenious PSM system reads steering angle, transverse acceleration, yaw, road speed, longitudinal acceleration/deceleration, and wheel rotation speeds through sensors. Working faster than the driver, it corrects for wayward acceleration and manages the throttle using the throttle butterflies. This system might save your life and you wouldn't even know it!

Using a Mercedes-Benz originated transmission, this car will impress you either in Automatic or Tiptronic mode. Position the lever in the left hand gate, and you have a conventional automatic Ð which is enough for anyone. Drop it down to the left and you have a race-car inspired manual with toggle switches mounted on the steering wheel spokes. Swift and silky-smooth shifts are easy for this beast, which automatically compensates for any road. The system, which previously had five increments, now has infinite adjustments to adjust to any road, from a 60-degree climb to a 15-degree downhill charge; either way this car feels as if it's part of the road.

To put any production car on a higher pedestal than this Porsche is impossible. There is no higher level. Period. This car is so enormously capable, so super-speed hungry, and so stable it would simply be a blatant lie to say any car does a better job at combing what every driver wants. At an estimated price of around $111,000, the car is $30,000 less than the previous Turbo S, $17,000 below the upcoming BMW Z8, and $45,000 under the Ferrari Modena; this car is a bargain. Our hats off to the boys at Stuttgart, for they truly have created the roads most perfect car. AZ AutoNetDirect.com.