The 992.2 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Is a Hybrid, Though You’d Never Know

Not since Porsche blew air cooling out the back door in 1999 with the 996-generation 911 has there been a bigger change that will upset more Porsche fans than the hybridization of the 911. Fans, however, are not necessarily owners, and those with the means will not mind the 21st-century tech one bit, because if Porsche didn’t tell anyone this updated 992.2 was a hybrid, no one would know by how it drives.

For now, the new 3.6-liter flat-six operating in perfect stoichiometry all the time, its electrified turbocharger, and eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox with an integral electric motor are limited to the GTS, which used to be powered by a jazzed-up version of the twin-turbo 3.0-liter in the base Carrera. The three-letter suffix is still the second step in 911 addiction following the Carreras but not as intense as the Turbo or GT models. Porsche says that the 40-pound lighter engine, which no longer has any accessory drive (A/C and all other ancillaries are either electric, moved inside the engine, or made redundant by the motor in the gearbox); the addition of an estimated 1.5-kWh 400-volt battery; and the numerous small changes for this facelift add 103 pounds to the GTS.

The 478-hp engine and 53-hp motor combine for a total of 532 horses (yes, it’s fuzzy math). That’s 59 more ponies than the outgoing GTS, which if you are to believe the claimed weight, will be more than enough power to keep the pounds-per-hp ratio moving in the right direction. The last 911 GTS we tested hit 60 mph in 2.8 seconds, so it’s safe to assume the new model will at least match that, though we wouldn’t be surprised if it shaves a couple tenths of a second off that time.

The dot-two maintains the 911’s iconic shape. The bumpers are new, and there are aggressively styled active shutters in front to bring the coefficient of drag down to 0.29 Cd. Europeans get an even slipperier 0.27-Cd GTS because it can take advantage of a partially deployed spoiler in an Eco mode, but that doesn’t comply with U.S. CHMSL regulations.

Gone is the twisting ignition switch to the left of the steering wheel. Porsche replaced it with a simple button. There’s been much hand-wringing regarding this, but our issue with the interior is the fully digital instrument cluster. The outgoing car had a mechanical tach at the center of the cluster, and Porsche says many owners complained about the steering wheel blocking some of the gauges. But the 911 has almost always suffered from its steering wheel obstructing some of the gauges, so we have a hard time believing the 992.1 was the nail in the coffin on mechanical instrumentation. Though we suppose if you complain about something long enough, it’s destined to change.

Anyway, the screen is cheaper, but at least Porsche does some cool stuff with it. There are seven different views, including a classic five-gauge cluster, but the most interesting of them is a track-focused mode that clocks the tach so that the redline is near 12 o’clock. Porsche would have scored more points if it had kept the orientation of the tach numbers so that they locked with the twist, like a real clocked tach out of a 917.

Comparisons to the Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray are inevitable. The two couldn’t behave more differently. There’s a lot of EV theatrics in the E-Ray—motor whir and Jetsons-like noises. You even feel the electric torque tug on the front axle. But the GTS’s optional all-wheel-drive system remains a conventional setup with a driveshaft running to the front. Also, just as in the first-gen Honda Insight, the GTS can’t drive under electric power alone. So the Vette has the edge with that party trick.

Summon all the thrust, and the perception of boost building is instantaneous. The motor in the transmission contributes wait-free grunt while the motor in the turbocharger builds manifold pressure. There is a display in the central touchscreen that shows what’s happening and how electrons are being shuffled about, but this is a car where you shouldn’t be paying attention to any screen. Getting lost in a drive is what a sports car should embody, and this hybrid 911 is fully capable in that regard.

The GTS comes out of the gate in coupe, Cabriolet, and Targa body styles, with rear- or all-wheel drive. If the purest of dynamics is your wish, keep it two-wheel drive. The driven front axle seems to increase the steering’s centering effort and otherwise muffle the feedback just a touch.

Matthias Hofstetter, powertrain chief for the 718 and 911, confirmed that the 992 was supposed to be a hybrid from the start but that the engineering team couldn’t decide on what hybrid setup to implement. The system they settled on is a good one, because it works in the background mostly undetected while keeping the crisp dynamics and solid feel we’ve come to expect from a 911. He also confirmed that there is no chance of this hybrid ever getting a manual transmission. Not even the leakiest of leaky sources inside Porsche will comment on the fate of a three-pedal 911. We suspect one will come with the surely forthcoming 992.2 Carrera S, and if Honda could figure it out with the Insight, we bet the great minds at Porsche could find a way.

The bad news is that the GTS coupe starts at $166,895. The back seat is no longer standard, though adding the +2 second row is a no-cost option. That’s mega money, but until Porsche sees sales drop, you better believe it will keep raising its prices. That’s just basic supply-demand, and plenty of people will line up for this water-cooled hybrid.

Source: Reviews - aranddriver.com