There’s a brand new Porsche 911 on the horizon as the current 991 generation prepares to bow out after a 6 year tenure as the reigning icon of Zuffenhausen. Then again, of course we knew this would happen, and it seems to be following the established timetable like a German train schedule.
Like many of the last few iterations of the 911, this one also comes rife with speculation, mostly surrounding possible controversial changes to what’s traditionally expected to comprise of the sports car formula. The 996 brought an end to the air-cooled era, for example, and the 991 did away with hydraulic steering in favour of electric assistance introduced turbocharging to even the base Carrera models.
What we do know so far about the next 911 (let’s call it the 992, shall we?) is that it will have a higher emphasis on technology over the outgoing car. Like the second-generation Panamera, there’s going to be more of a focus on selectively transitioning the sports car experience away from one that’s mostly grounded in the analogue to ones that are improved through digitisation.
For example, there will be fewer tactile buttons within the new interior, replaced with a TFT centre console screen as well as a digital instrument cluster similar to Audi’s Virtual Cockpit. Crucially, however, the next 911 will see the introduction of a hybrid powertrain, melding that with the current crop of turbocharged flat-six engines to make it the first Porsche sports car to feature both powertrain characteristics.
Naturally, Porsche will have taken more than a few lessons from their 918 Spyder hybrid hypercar, which eschewed turbocharging for a high-revving race-derived 4.6-litre V8 motor to be augmented with a pair of electric motors (one for each front wheel) for a combined output of 652kW and 1,280Nm.
How exactly they will choose to implement the hybrid elements in a rear engine, rear-drive layout is still a mystery, particularly while maintaining proper balance and having weight impact that’s within reasonable limits. Or are they exploring the possibility of making every 911 all-wheel drive enabled?
What we can see in the video here is this prototype does look quite nimble. Assuming it’s the next Carrera 4S and running a hybrid powertrain, those changes have not compromised its ability to be driven hard and even be playful when pushed too hard out of a corner. Sounds just like the current cars do as well, sporting their 3.0-litre twin-turbo Boxers.
Porsche is also reported to be kicking around the idea of a fully electric 911, possibly in small volume production in a similar fashion to Audi’s short-lived R8 e-tron. To ensure the transition to a more digitised 911 that’s embraced electrification, the 992 isn’t expected to feature too many styling changes over the 991.
While all 911s are in many ways merely evolutionary from the version they effectively replace, this one could be more so than others. It will sit upon an improved version of the MMB platform that underpins the current car and will notably feature a rear end that features a brake strip that links both tail lights, akin to the one seen on the 718 duo and new Panamera.
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