The First Porsche 911 Hybrid to Debut May 28th
When the 992 generation of the Porsche 911 debuted back in 2018, we were told that the chassis was designed with the future in mind. Specifically, the addition of a hybrid electric system, the first of its kind in a Porsche 911.
Fast forward to today, and after months of speculation and spy photos, Porsche announced that the development of the 911 hybrid powertrain was complete, and they will hold a world premier of their next generation sports car on May 28th.
“For the first time in our icon’s 61-year history, we are installing a hybrid drive system in a road going 911. This innovative performance hybrid makes the 911 even more dynamic,” Frank Moser, Vice President Model Line 911 and 718 said.
The hybrid system seems to be geared more towards performance, bringing an 8.7 second improvement on the Nürburgring over it's predecessor.
Over the course of performance testing, Porsche brand ambassador Jörg Bergmeister completed a lap of the circuit in 7:16.934 minutes; 8.7 seconds faster than the corresponding version of the predecessor model. The test car was equipped with standard road tires, plus the aero kit with a fixed rear wing that has been available as an option previously, providing increased downforce at high speeds.
No word, at least in this press release, if there will be any efficiency improvements over the outgoing model, but that’s probably a given.
No doubt there will be outcry from the Porsche 911 purists. Probably just as much as when the 911 went water cooled with the 996 generation back in 1997. But you can’t stop progress, and the performance numbers don’t lie.
And more likely than not, this is Porsche’s first step to a completely electric 911. Starting with the Taycan, then the Macan and soon the Boxster/Cayman, I’m thinking we’ll see a fully electric 911 by the end of the decade.