Porsche dropped the naturally aspirated engine from the 911 lineup, with the exception of the GT3 models, which means even the base 911 Carrera is force-fed as much air as possible. Back in early February 2022, we spotted the very first prototype of the facelifted 2023 911 Carrera doing some cold-weather testing. Just a few days after that, a second prototype was spotted with some interesting changes that hinted the naturally aspirated flat-six would be making a comeback. With the 718 Cayman and Boxster GTS range being powered by a naturally aspirated flat-six, the rumors began to swirl out of control as it would, actually make sense. After all, the 394-horsepower, 4.0-liter mill definitely emits a nice soundtrack. Now we know that the 911 Carrera won’t be going back to its free-breathing roots, and the reason is a bit surprising.

The 718’s NA V-8 Is, Quite Literally, A One-Hit Wonder

When Porsche introduced the 4.0-liter Flat-Six in the 718 Cayman and Boxster GTS, it didn’t take long for everyone to realize how much better it sounded than not only the flat-four in the base 718, but also the turbocharged engine in the current Porsche 911 Carrera. As such, it didn’t take long for rumors to swirl that the flat-six in the 718 GTS would, most definitely, find its way into the 911 Carrera when the facelifted model is revealed for 2023. These rumors have now been put to rest and, as sad as it is to say, a naturally aspirated flat-six will probably never be found in the 911 Carrera again.

According to Porsche Board Member, Frank-Steffen Walliser, who spoke with Car Expert, the 718’s flat-six will not land in the 911 Carrera. When he was asked about it, he gave a very flat response: “No.” But it’s not because Porsche doesn’t want to, and there’s actually a very good reason. In general, automakers do everything they can to cut costs and increase profits – this is why so many cars share the same platform and you can usually find the same components spread across various models too. This is where things get interesting, though, as Porsche didn’t design the 718 GTS’ flat-six that way. In fact, the NA flat-six in the 911 GT3 and the 718 Cayman GT4 RS is almost completely different from the flat-six in the 718 Cayman GTS.

So, did Porsche drop the ball? Well, no. Walliser admitted to Car Expert that “it was not a wrong decision” for the company to develop the 718 GTS’ flat-six specifically for it. As he put it, that model-specific engine has proven to be the 718’s success and that “customer response was over the moon,” and even went so far as to say that it gave the Cayman and Boxster a “second life.” That’s great and all, but this news also means that, without any other model to plant this flat-six in, the engine won’t be around for much longer. Remember, Porsche confirmed a while ago that it was considering an electric 718 and, more recently, we learned that a 718 EV concept was going to be revealed sometime soon.

Now that we know the 911 will probably never have a naturally aspirated flat-six again – outside of the GT3 models, of course – there is at least some good news. The Porsche 911 Hybrid has already been spotted testing on public roads, so it will be revealed soon, and it will even be faster than the current Porsche 911 Turbo S. When the 911 does go electric, it will probably look wildly different, so take the chance to enjoy the 911 as it is while you can.