Well, it's time for a historic moment - at the end of May 2024, Porsche revealed the first-ever electrified 911 GTS equipped with the T-Hybrid powertrain. So, do we think that the 992.2 has what it takes to overthrow its predecessor from its pedestal?
A few days ago, Porsche revealed the updated and upgraded 992-generation 911 series, and the big news may focus on the electrified Carrera GTS, but there's so much more to the story than just that. Usually, when the Stuttgart-based automaker presents a mid-cycle refresh, the changes are pretty hard to spot – after all, sometimes it's difficult to pinpoint generations from each other.
But this time around, there's no denying that it won't be too hard to explain what's different. The new standard includes an electrified 911 Carrera GTS model for the first time in the company's history. Still, we're not afraid that it will botch things up because it already has ample prior experience with the zero emissions world thanks to plug-in hybrid drivetrains and the all-electric Macan EV plus Taycan. For 2025, though, the main gist is that you can have a Porsche 911 pairing the iconic rear-mounted flat-six with an electric motor and an electric turbocharger. Thus, the 911 Carrera GTS output is boosted significantly to 532 horsepower and 449 pound-feet of torque. It's also a new 3.6-liter unit instead of the 3.0-liter unit that lives on in the rest of the 911 models, and the assembly has pretty unique characteristics along with a 59-hp boost over the Carrera GTS predecessor.
More exactly, the 'T-Hybrid' system keeps the engine at the ideal 14.7:1 air-fuel mixture all the way up to the redline, and the electric motor is powered by a small 1.9-kWh 400-volt battery pack that sits in the usual place of the 12-volt battery. Weighing just 59 pounds, not much more than the traditional battery, it puts the regular 12-volt unit in a new compartment behind the rear seats. When in use, the battery sends power to a traction motor sandwiched inside the eight-speed PDK gearbox, and there's also a single new electric exhaust-gas turbocharger for the 3.6-liter flat-six mill.
One important distinction between regular hybrids and the T-Hybrid, as well as compared to Porsche's E-Hybrid systems that are already on the road, is that Porsche's traction motor can't help move the car on its own, and the engine never shuts down for zero-rpm coasting either. So, sorry, you won't be able to drag about the new 2025 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS in front of the Toyota hybrid crowd. Meanwhile, the electric turbo also has a 14.7-hp (the traction motor has 53.64 horsepower) electric motor, which helps spool the turbo a lot faster than conventional units for almost lag-free acceleration. At the same time, it can also recuperate energy back into the battery.
Photo: Porsche
By the way, this is the first solo turbo application at Porsche in a while – about three decades! In contrast to other performance hybrid models on the market, the company will keep offering the 911 Carrera GTS with either RWD or all-wheel drive, but of course, the manual transmission model is now out of the lineup. The resulting performance is impressive – 60 mph in 2.9 seconds and a top speed of 194 mph (or 312 kph). Meanwhile, the new 911 Carrera GTS Coupe is 'fatter' by 103 pounds – or almost 47 kg. By the way, even the base 911 Carrera is now more powerful – up 9 hp to 388 hp, while the GTS gets rear-axle steering for the first time, and a standard sport suspension with adaptive dampers (PASM) is standard.
Now, let's get to what's different between the old and new 911 models, along with a few cool things that are worth considering. First, you'll notice the new headlights with four lens elements and the LED DRLs almost shaped like eyebrows instead of forming an 'X' pattern. Then there's the new bumper with five vertically aligned active air flaps on the Carrera GTS, the different composition of the central air intake, and the new 19/20 or 20/21-inch wheels (including 911 Carrera Exclusive Design sets with carbon fiber aero blades). At the same time, the rear has a new taillight band with a different 'Porsche' script plus model-specific exhaust systems – the Carrera GTS models have a bespoke sports exhaust system as standard.
There's also an optional Aerokit with a SportDesign front fascia and other elements, while inside, the changes are a lot subtler – the Porsche Driver Experience center now also includes, for the first time in a 911, a start button, still located to the left of the steering wheel, of course. Naturally, prices have gone up across the board, and the 2025 Porsche 911 Carrera starts at over $120k while the Carrera GTS is $164,900 or $172,700 with AWD and $178,200 or $186k for the Carrera GTS and GTS 4 Cabriolet or Targa 4 GTS. The current 911 Turbo, Turbo S, and GT3 RS models will trickle down to the 2025MY with unchanged prices and credentials.
As for what makes the new 999.2 Porsche 911 cool, we can think of some reasons – the updated Carrera is the first base Porsche 911 to do 60 mph or 96 kph in less than four seconds: 3.9 or even 3.7s with the optional Sport Chrono Package. Then there's the aforementioned start button, the first performance hybrid powertrain for GTS, an all-new 3.6-liter single-turbo boxer engine, plus the optimized suspension, active aerodynamics, rear-axle steering, and minute weight increase. Cool, right?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News