What Does This Button Do?

The 2012 Porsche 911 didn’t make our list of the Top 10 Cars for the 2012 Apocalypse, but one button may lead you to believe that the car is armed and ready for battle. Like an old pirate ship, the button’s graphic looks like two barrels pointing outward, ready to deal damage to the Chevrolet Cavalier parked in your Porsche 911’s reserved parking space at work.

Unlike many buttons, it’s completely clear what the button does after one touch. In this case, Porsche makes it loud and clear.

Related: Is a Porsche 911 Worth the Upgrade From a Boxster or Cayman?

The button activates the Porsche 911’s optional sport exhaust system, perhaps one of the most aggressive Sport mode exhausts out there and definitely one of the loudest I’ve tested. When switched on, the exhaust’s sound transforms from a refined mechanical note to Hulk-smash angry with engine rumbling, gargles and spurts of popping on deceleration.

The sound of the exhaust system echoes throughout an entire parking garage, scaring off pigeons and muting passenger conversation before you ever even get to driving it. To tell the difference between a Porsche with the standard exhaust and sport exhaust: standard 911 Carreras have oval exhaust tailpipes, while the optional sport exhaust available on the Carrera and Carrera S with dual tips for each side. These are reflected in the button’s graphic. And the price for the optional exhaust? Some $2,925.

Not only is the exhaust mode option activated by the driver, but it can also open up automatically when the 911’s Sport mode is activated. To hear the standard and sport exhaust in action, visit Porsche’s website for sound clips of both systems.

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