Review of the Turbo 3.0 book in Octane magazine's October 2019 #196 issue:
We'll come clean: this book was released last year but our review copy was mislaid during Octane's hastily carried-out office relocation form Bedfordshite to London. It's author, Ryan Snodgrass, very kindly offered to send us another one—and we're so glad he did, because this is a truly exceptional work.
A companion volume to Snodgrass' previous magnum opus, Carrera 2.7, this mammoth 536-page tribute to the Porsche 911 Turbo is printed on creamy archival paper and presented in a stout slipcase. Pay extra for the 300-off Publisher's Edition and you get an even stouter clamshell box that additionally houses convincing reproductions of Porsche ephemera such as press releases and photos, and actual 35mm colour slides, plus a 20-page supplement on how the book was put together.
Is either version worth the money? Emphatically yes, because the level of detail and the production values are stunning. To give just two examples: expert financial book-keepers were hired to check the production data for all 2819 Turbos built; and because no detailed cutaway drawing was ever made of the Turbo, noted cutaway artist Makoto Ouchi was commissioned to draw on. The print specification—which apparently involved '15-micron stochastic hybrid screens' and 'special wide-gamut inks'—will have any bibliophile salivating over their silkscreened linen slipcase.
Every possible aspect of the 1975–77 Turbo is covered in depth: development, build, mechanical, design, one-offs and special editions, racing versions... There's even a spread devoted to specific tyre inflators, jacks and plastic gloves supplied by Porsche for the Turbo's space-save tyre.
As you'll have gathered, we're impressed. It's taken a while for Turbo 3.0 to make it into these pages, but it was well worth the wait.
—Mark Dixon