Porsche has been spotted testing what's thought to be an electrified version of the updated 911 Carrera currently in the works.
Porsche has been testing prototypes for an electrified version of the updated 911 Turbo for a couple of years, but this is the first time we've seen prototypes for an electrified version of the base Carrera. The giveaway is the yellow sticker on the windshields, a requirement for testing electrified cars in Germany, where this prototype was snapped.
Porsche CEO Oliver Blume confirmed last year that an electrified 911 is coming. He said it will be a hybrid along the lines of the former 919 Hybrid LMP1 race car, and not a plug-in hybrid like the 918 Spyder hypercar. This means there won't be a plug, and any electric motor-generator(s) will purely be used to support the internal-combustion engine and recover energy under braking.
This is also something veteran Porsche engineer August Achleitner, whose swan song at Porsche was the current 992-generation 911, told Motor Authority in a 2019 interview.
“We spent a lot of money for the LMP1 engagement, but we also learned a lot,” he said. “I think right now we are a step ahead in comparison to other competitors and we want to use it.”
The first members of the updated 911 range, referred to internally as the 992.2 generation, should start appearing shortly. We'll most likely see them as 2025 models in the U.S. It's likely the electrified 911 will be a new member, possibly labeled as the Carrera S E-Hybrid, or Carrera 4S E-Hybrid if the electric drive system is used to power the front wheels.
Interestingly, there are also rumors that the updated Carrera will return to a naturally aspirated engine instead of the current turbocharged unit. This is backed somewhat by the new air vents in the rear fascia of the prototypes, which are a typical sign of 911 prototypes testing a new engine.
Porsche is committed to electrification in a big way. The automaker is aiming for 80% of its sales to be electric vehicles by 2030, and for the remaining 20% to be mostly hybrids, made up purely by the 911—the last holdout at Porsche for the internal-combustion engine.
