Not Turbo, but Carrera GTS 992.2 is the First Hybrid 911 in History
Internal combustion engines are fading away. The ones we have the chance to use today will be the last before batteries and electric motors take over. Soon, the challenge of awakening our senses, sparking thrills, and satisfying our insatiable need for speed will rest on them. However, it seems that no one has told Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Porsche about this, as in recent months all these companies have either significantly updated their traditional engines (Ferrari) or announced entirely new ones, as Lamborghini did with the successor to the Huracán. Now, Porsche is presenting its entirely new approach to the internal combustion six-cylinder boxer engine for the facelifted 911 generation 992.
Increased displacement, electrically powered turbocharger, as well as greater power and better performance without sacrificing efficiency – these are the features of the new T-Hybrid system, which will become the foundation for all future Porsche 911 powertrains, from Carrera to Turbo.
The first hybrid Porsche 911 in history is the 992.2 Carrera GTS. Porsche was open to some form of electrification for the 911 right from the start of the 992 generation development. We learned this in 2018 during a prototype drive with Dr. Frank Walliser. Among other things, that’s why the current 911 is so “spacious” – the bodywork was designed from the beginning to include space for a battery to store extra energy to assist the internal combustion engine and, if needed, provide several kilometers of pure electric driving.
However, what we see now is not the hybrid 911 we imagined, mainly because the tiny 1.9 kWh battery located at the front, where the traditional battery used to be, will never be able to independently drive the wheels. The hybrid module's role here is to enhance performance without compromising efficiency and emissions. This is achieved by adding a 54-hp electric motor (which boosts to 64 hp in overboost mode) that adds 150 Nm to the already impressive figures achieved by the new 3.6-liter boxer.
As a result, the internal combustion engine alone has 485 hp, and the entire powertrain achieves a combined output of 541 hp with a torque of 570 Nm, which peaks at 610 Nm.
The priority for Porsche's engineers was to increase the power and performance of the 911 without worsening efficiency and emissions. The new single turbo weighs the same as the old twin-turbo setup (27 kg – the same as the entire hybrid battery), and the entire car is 50 kg heavier (1595 kg) than the model it replaces. 10 kg has been saved by offering the rear bench seat as a free option for GTS models. The car will be offered only with the PDK transmission – the e-motor was squeezed between the engine and the gearbox, so using a different transmission is not possible. Interestingly, only 2% of all Carrera 992 models left the factory with a clutch pedal, half of which were ordered by Americans. The seven-speed manual transmission will soon return as an option for the weaker 3.0-liter Carrera variants, most likely with the debut of the T version. At this point, there is no confirmation from Porsche that the Carrera S will ever return to the lineup.
The new Carrera 2 GTS T-Hybrid costs at least 854,000 PLN, which is 78,000 PLN more than the pre-facelift model. The justification for this increase, besides the entirely new, more powerful engine and powertrain, is the richer standard equipment (e.g., rear-axle steering at no extra charge). Externally, the facelift is minimal (new bumpers and lights), but the cabin has seen a change in the button layout.
