Unless you have been living under a rock for the past few years (which is honestly fairly understandable at this point), you’ve likely noticed a tremendous move towards electric vehicles, hybrids, and other alternative energy sources in the automotive industry. This has been such a tremendous initiative across the board that some manufacturers have even committed to ditching the internal combustion engine entirely. One of these manufacturers is none other than Mercedes-Benz, who have committed to an entirely electric lineup of vehicles by the turn of the next decade.
It’s accurate to say that their counterparts from Stuttgart have a differing view, perhaps, of the future of the sports car. While their fully-electric Taycan has been well-received from day one, Porsche has shown absolutely no desire to abandon their beloved flat six any time soon. Seeing that the 911 is a hallowed marque with generations of rabid enthusiasts, but also looking to the future and understanding that some degree of electrification is inevitable, Porsche has been very measured and methodical when it comes to integrating hybrid technology into the 911.
It seems like this project is slowly coming to fruition, as new spy shots featuring the hybridized 911 Turbo S have now been uncovered. Here’s what we know so far about this hybrid Porsche.
Devil’s the Details
First things first – the hybrid certainly won’t appear until the current 992 generation gets a facelift in around a year or so. From the photos, it appears as though the hybrid 911 won’t appear all that different than its petrol sibling from the front. However, the rear clip clearly shows unique, squared-off dual exhausts, and a slightly-tweaked setup for the taillights. These may find their way into all 992.2 911s, or they may be exclusive to the hybrid models to subtly differentiate them from the internal-combustion models.
A Mild Hybrid
It also appears that Porsche will fit the hybridized 911 with a mild hybrid system running at 400 volts, instead of a heavy plug-in hybrid system running at 800 volts like its fully electric cousin, the Taycan. This will enable Porsche engineers to keep the legendary driving characteristics of the 911 largely intact, without having to completely re-engineer a new chassis for the sports car to accommodate four electric motors and a heavy complement of batteries.
With all that said, there will still be a large increase in the weight of the hybrid version which will require substantial tuning of the spring rates, dampening, and body roll, among other suspension components. A video of this hybrid test mule hurtling itself around the Nurburgring shows the ride to be a little unsettled and squirrely, so it stands to reason that Porsche is focusing on squaring away their power plant before moving on to any of the other components.
Overall, though, this mild hybrid system means that rabid, gasoline-huffing 911 fans of old should fear not the development of this new-fangled 911. It’ll look as it should, and, once the engineering staff in Stuttgart lays their wrenches down for the last time, it will drive like one should, too.
911 Hybrid – Coming Soon?
Porsche has continued to be very tight-lipped about the development of the hybrid 911s, and understandably so; their commitment to engineering over all else dictates when the hybrid will see the light of day, not arbitrary schedules based on what’s fashionable in the auto industry now. There are a few things we know for sure, though: the end result will be a Porsche 911 through and through, and that is the best news anyone could deliver.
