Porsche 911 Hybrid – Go Go Go or Gas Saver?
A hybrid Porsche 911 – it’s quite the puzzler, isn’t it? What would you do with the iconic sports car – make it the planet saving green play toy or have more power on tap at the press of a button like a Formula 1 car?
There is talk of an all electric mode – this suggests you’ll be pottering around the streets of a busy city in a 911 saving the planet as you go. However, with the all electric mode comes talk of no-plug in ability – uh oh, you’ll have to fire up the gas engine!
The current thinking is that the 992 will eventually feature two versions of a hybrid drive. The first will likely provide a permanent torque boost to a smaller turbo charged engine and reduce gas consumption, while the second will provide a significant power increase at appropriate times during acceleration.
Porsche has proven the technology and delivered versions of it in the family orientated Cayenne and Panamera Hybrids, but the power buyers of the 911 want to see something more like this:
Porsche appears to be taking a pragmatic approach to delivering the hybrid version of the 911. Right now it appears any production model is 4 years away. The thinking is that this will give Porsche enough time to gauge the demand and see what happens with the all electric Taycan. Incidentally, production of the Taycan is apparently all sold out for the first year!
The upside of a hybrid 911 maybe one of balance. Porsche would likely add electric motors to the front wheels and a small battery system at the front end. That might equal more weight, but it may also help to move the balance of the weight to more 50/50 with a heavier front end. The result could be a well balanced car with lots of power and less fuel consumption. You could be saving the plant and driving on the race track!
Looks like we’ll have to wait and see.