Porsche has confirmed the 911 will gain its first ever hybrid powertrain this summer, as part of a major model update two years in the making.
Due on sale by the end of the year, the ‘992.2’-generation Porsche 911 receives a host of mid-life revisions, including subtly altered exterior styling, a reworked interior and updated six-cylinder petrol engines.
It is one of four new Porsche models arriving in 2024 – one of the German marque’s busiest years on record for new product launches – alongside the new Panamera, Taycan and electric Macan.
The changes are intended to sustain the 911’s appeal through to 2027, when an all-new ninth-generation model will join the increasingly electrified Porsche line-up.
The most significant change to the 911 in its sixth decade of production, however, is the adoption of a unique petrol-electric hybrid system.
Set to appear in a new four-wheel-drive model being revealed in the summer, it combines a tuned version of Porsche’s turbocharged six-cylinder engine with a specially designed electric motor housed within the front axle assembly. The petrol engine provides drive to the rear wheels, while the electric motor drives the front wheels.
A 48V integrated starter motor in the dual-clutch automatic gearbox will provide electric boosting properties and power for ancillary components.
The new 400V system is claimed to generate its own energy reserves using the engine as a generator – in a function similar to that of a range-extender drivetrain – as well as via brake regeneration, negating the need for external charging.
Electric energy is stored in a specially developed lightweight lithium ion battery. With an energy capacity well below the batteries used by Ferrari and Mercedes-AMG in their plug-in performance models, it has been configured specifically for rapid energy charge and discharge properties.