Tested: 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S Lightweight Is a Near-Hypercar

The criteria that define a hypercar are as clear as a glass of Metamucil. Is it a seven-digit price tag or a limited-production run necessary to secure the nomination? Or must it have seven Toyota Camrys’ worth of horsepower surrounded by a beautifully sculpted body that’s constructed of exotic materials to qualify? Perhaps a complex powertrain pairing electric motors and a manic internal-combustion engine? Or can the workaday Porsche 911 Turbo S be a hypercar without any of those things?

We’ve previously tested an identical Gentian Blue 911 Turbo S, and it became the quickest 911 that we’ve strapped our Racelogic test equipment to. This time around, the Turbo S was equipped with the $10,340 Lightweight package, which includes fixed carbon-fiber buckets (18-way seats are available at no additional cost), rear-seat delete, less sound deadening material, lightweight glass, and the PASM sport suspension with a 0.4-inch drop. As a result of that weight-loss regimen, this Turbo S tipped the scales at 3566 pounds, a substantial 80 lighter than the standard model and just 344 pounds more than the featherweight GT3