Following extensive development efforts to produce the 918 Spyder hybrid supercar, Porsche is now weighing options regarding a hybrid variant across the sports car range, including the flagship 911.
“We have a lot of ideas, but we have not approved them for production yet," explained Porsche global sales and marketing head Bernhard Maier. "The 918 Spyder shows that Porsche has the capability to produce very convincing hybrid sports cars.”
"Maybe in the next generation. Why not?” Porsche boss Matthias Muller further reinforced the idea of a hybrid Porsche 911. “There is no reason against it and we will see whether we have some reasons to do it. We are doing some studies to see whether it can work, whether it will work. We will see.”
A number of factors have caused the idea of a Porsche 911 hybrid to become more and more pragmatic. Porsche must move forward and deliver ever more performance despite ever stringent emissions and fuel economy regulation. Secondly, the latest BMW i8 is a purpose-built hybrid sports car that boasts performance aimed squarely at the Porsche 911.
Porsche is currently developing a four-cylinder power unit for the Boxster and Cayman sports car. The turbocharged 2.5-liter boxer engine is expected to debut in both models next year. According to Autocar, the new engine is most likely to serve an all-new hybrid platform. It's more compact dimensions will allow more optimized hybrid packaging in the rear-engine Porsche 911.
Porsche has already offered hybrid options for the Cayenne, Panamera and Macan, which feature a supercharged 3.0 liter V6 engine mated to an electric motor. However, sources within the brand insist that the V6 will never be offered for its iconic boxer-powered sports cars.
Stay tuned as we learn more about Porsche's hybrid 911 development in the months ahead.
By Danny Choy
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