As some of you know, the Porsche 911 Carrera will switch to an all-turbocharged engine lineup when the 991's mid-cycle facelift is introduced later in 2015. More details surrounding the upcoming engines have been spilled by the Aussies from Motoring, who recently spoke to the man in charge of the GT department at Porsche->ke1, Andreas Preuninger, and a Porsche Product Line Director. It seems there will be two different turbocharged flat-sixes, one for the base 911 model and the other for the 911 Carrera S.

The current, 3.4-liter, flat-six in the Porsche 911 Carrera will be replaced by a turbocharged, 2.7-liter flat-six that delivers at least 400 horsepower, or as much as the current 911 Carrera S. There is no mention of torque figures, but they are expected to drastically increase while also providing the model with an improved fuel economy. The 911 Carrera S will switch from a 3.8-liter flat-six to a turbocharged, 3.4-liter, flat-six with around 430 horsepower, or about the same as the current 911 Carrera GTS.

Despite going through a mid-cycle refresh as well, the 911 Turbo and the Turbo S will still feature the old, twin-turbocharged, 3.8-liter engine, revised for more power and improved fuel economy. While the 991 generation of the 911e has been package-protected to also feature a hybrid->ke147 system in case the need (e.g. market demand) arises, the upcoming facelift will not feature any type of hybridization.

Continue reading to learn more about the facelifted Porsche 911 lineup.

Why it matters

Porsche is obviously turbocharging and downsizing almost its entire 911 engine lineup as a first answer to the ever-tightening emission standards, but the carmaker wants to improve fuel economy while battling on more than one front. It's too early to talk about a 911 hybrid as part of the 991 generation, but the 992 generation from 2020 will be the first production 911 to also feature electric motors augmenting its internal-combustion engines.

While I think that adding electric power is good, the hybrid system may fundamentally change a 911's behavior, so I have some doubts for the time being. The 911 has always delivered a special driving feel courtesy of the pendulum effect created by the engine's rear position, so hopefully Porsche engineers can still dial that in for a 911 hybrid. Even so, as long as they don't make it full-electric, I'm good with it.

Porsche 911

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