PORSCHE 911 992.2
The 911’s 2024 facelift brings hybrid power to the 60-year-old icon
There’s a lot we don’t know about the 992.2-generation Porsche 911 that's due to arrive in less than a year. But the thing we do know for sure is the most significant: that it will have a new engine line-up including, for the first time on a 911, a hybrid.
Key new arrival is a turbocharged mild-hybrid unit (T-HEV). It’s ‘self-charging’ – that is, the battery gets charged by the engine and brake regen, not by being plugged in. The e-motor is capable of generating an extra 80bhp or more, fed by a high-performance Varta battery thought to be 2kWh in capacity.
Inspired by the KERS technology used in F1, the software for the fast-charging 400-volt system was, we hear, co-developed by Porsche and Rimac. The T-HEV system fuses two electrical elements. According to a supplier, the integrated starter generator (ISG) creates an on-demand instant boost effect and drives the auxiliary equipment. The actual e-motor positioned under the fuel tank propels the front wheels and improves the weight distribution.
The tiny battery which powers the compact electric drive unit is charged by the combustion engine and the brakes. For complexity reasons, amanual gearbox is not an option, sources say. The complete T-HEV module is claimed to weigh no more than 25kg.
The base engine is apparently a modified 3.0-litre 2TCI (twinturbo) six rated at 390bhp and 346lb ft. Assuming the e-motor contributes about 85bhp and 130lb ft to the action, the combined output should be in the area of 475bhp and 477lb ft. Performancewise, the 911 T-HEV would thus rank between the 911 GTS and the Turbo. It’s been reported that the top-of-the-line 800bhp-plus GT2 RS due in 2026 will also take the T-HEV approach.
Expect the 2024-25 GT3 and GT3 Touring to stick with a 4.0-litre flat-six, but with output increased from 503 to around 521bhp. But then, after a maximum of 1500 cars are built, the 2026 GT3 will switch to a more efficient mild-hybrid naturally-aspirated 3.6-litre engine with identical outputs.
Carrera S models are set to go up from 444bhp to 454bhp and from 391lb ft to 406lb ft. The GTS is expected to increase in capacity from 3.0 to 3.6 litres, gaining 10bhp as peak output increases to 483bhp. That 3.6-litre engine could also replace the 3.8 use
